Boundary oscillations: Epistemological and genre transformation during the 'method' of thesis writing

In this article I offer an account of some of the 'boundary oscillations' I experienced during the writing of my doctoral thesis, and attempt to illustrate my personal struggle with the presentation of qualitative data. This struggle evolved through my search for an appropriate style to [re]present both voice and experience as a text, resulting in my turning towards genres alternative to those normally adopted in social science research. And it was during that process that I experienced both change and conflict in my epistemological position, as I moved from positivism, through postpositivism and towards postmodernism.     

From Clinician to Researcher: The Challenges and Rewards

After many enjoyable years of practice, I made a decision to retire, and felt the need for new but related interests. I knew it was going to be research because I have long considered the progress of my clinical work from that aspect. As a student, I had been trained in quantitative method, and I expected to experience a culture shock when ‘permitted’ to relax my previous research mode, with its dependence on statistical approaches based on preemptive hypotheses, to undertake a qualitative methodology novel to me.     

The distinctive South and the invisible North: Why urban ethnography needs regional sociology

This article is a review of urban ethnography's Northern bias and regional sociology's Southern bias. I begin by arguing that these two subfields have reified the South's reputation for regional distinctiveness and rendered the North's regional characteristics invisible. To illustrate why urban ethnography needs regional sociology, I explain how the reluctance to view Northern cities through a regional lens has resulted in canonical conceptualizations of “the street” that lack precision and clarity. I conclude with a discussion of how efforts to revive regional sociology by conducting ethnographic research in Southern cities will need to expand beyond the study of the South to achieve lasting impact in urban ethnography more broadly.     

Facilitating organisational change: Some sociocybernetic principles

Abstract

Innovations in the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), give rise to organisational change as a more or less intended concomitant. At the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, ICT is being deployed in a number of innovative ways to support the delivery of education and training and associated business processes. Part of my role, as a learning technology specialist, is to act as a facilitator of organisational change. In this paper, I give an account of my work. For guidance, I draw on the action learning, action research and organisational change literatures. I also explicitly draw on sociocybernetics to provide key concepts and principles. I set out my understanding of these key concepts and principles and illustrate their relevance and application using my Defence Academy and some other experiences as case studies.     

“Life at Lake Home”: An ethnographic performance in six voices; an essay on method,in two

Debates about representational forms in qualitative research have tended either to celebrate or to condemn particular forms. Such an approach reifies the differences between various means of expression and diverts attention from the interpretive, political and pedagogic issues which, in my view, lend importance to representational choices. Here, I offer an experiential account of performing ethnography, based on my own field work. I discuss performance both as process and product, and find points of convergence between my goals as an ethnographer and the resources of performance. As process, performance encourages participants — performers and audience members alike — to articulate and reflect critically on cultural contexts and meanings; as product, performance models (in ways more difficult through writing) episodes of social life which, often, are the object of naturalistic inquiry.     

Chicago,Jazz and Marijuana: Howard Becker on Outsiders

In this article on the social production of Outsiders I will situate its making in the daily practice of the social worlds Becker was involved in. Therefore I focus on the relations, interactions and situations which were relevant for the form, content and success of Outsiders. The fragments from my email communication with Becker, the collected interviews and other publications show that Becker demystifies Outsiders. In fact my contribution here is that I use Becker to demystify the ethnographic practice of Outsiders and describe it's mundane backstage reality, which is described by Fine as “the underside” of ethnography (1993).     

Is theory development essential for the social work dissertation?

Grounded theory methodology (GTM) is a popular methodology used in social work dissertation research. GTM entails the development of theory ‘grounded in’ and generated from data systematically gathered and analyzed through qualitative methods. But little is known of its theory development and relationship to social work education at the doctoral level. In this article, we reflect on contemporary usage of GTM with respect to the state of theory development in social work education by reviewing a sample of Canadian social work doctoral dissertations that utilize GTM, identifying if and how theory was developed. Our analysis draws from a broader review of GTM research published as social work doctoral dissertations in Canada using the Qualitative Research Quality Checklist (QRQC). The findings indicate that almost half of the dissertations in the sample did not contribute to theory development, and for many, theory development was not the intention. This raises a question about whether theory development when utilizing GTM is essential in social work dissertation research, and perhaps, whether the focus should be on exploring a social work issue rather than generating theory. The paper concludes with considerations for social work educators in regards to research methodology, epistemology, and theory.     

Transparency and Unmasking Issues in Ethnographic Crime Research: Methodological Considerations

A transparency movement has begun urging researchers to publicize their data in order to ease replication and accountability. Some ethnographers have also begun arguing that researchers should unmask, or fully disclose, field sites and participant identities in order to replicate studies, verify accounts, and monitor social phenomena over time. However, for ethnographers studying violence and crime, full transparency or unmasking can get an ethnographer harmed. Thus, I broaden the unmasking/masking discussion by arguing for partial disclosures in dangerous research. To do so, I provide examples from my previous drug market ethnography and my ongoing gang research. I then propose safer ways to disclose field sites and participants, mainly through the following: semibiographical disclosure, where the ethnographer strategically omits some data in otherwise rich biographical portraits; through partial spatial disclosures, where the ethnographer reveals the field site's general area; and through invitational disclosure, where the ethnographer invites outsiders to meet participants in the field.     

The Ethical Challenges of Field Research in Conflict Zones

Drawing on 26 months of field research in El Salvador during the civil war, I analyze some ethical challenges that confront field researchers working in conflict zones. After briefly summarizing the purpose and general methodology of my research, I discuss in detail the research procedures I followed to implement the “do no harm” ethic of empirical research. I first analyze the particular conditions of the Salvadoran civil war during the period of research. I then discuss the procedures meant to ensure that my interviews with people took place with their fully informed consent—what I understood that to mean and how I implemented it. I then turn to the procedures whereby the anonymity of those interviewed and the confidentiality of the data gathered were ensured to the extent possible. Throughout I discuss particular ethical dilemmas that I confronted, including issues of self-presentation and mistaken identity, the emotional challenges of field work in highly polarized settings (which if not well understood may lead to lapse in judgment), and my evolving questions concerning the researcher role and its limitations. I also discuss the dilemmas that arise in the dissemination of research findings and the repatriation of data.

Researching social work: Doctoral work in the UK

This paper discusses some current issues in relation to doctoral studies in social work in the UK. It draws on recent research and other sources to illustrate that our knowledge about the scope and scale of such doctoral work is limited. However, developments within the discipline and the wider policy and institutional context of professional education suggest that research (in general) has an increasing profile. This trend, together with debates about focus and research approaches in social work, has implications for the possible extension of opportunities for doctoral studies. It is further suggested that 'professional doctorate' programmes or 'PhD by publication' routes may be more suited to the needs of doctoral students in social work, given different career paths relative to students in some other disciplines.     

Problems associated with choice and quality of life for an individual with intellectual disability: a personal assistant's reflexive ethnography

A gap exists between research and practice within the field of intellectual disability. In particular, researchers suggest that personal choice enhances quality of life. Following Bourdieu's suggestion to focus on improving the practice of theory rather than the theory of practice, this paper is a reflexive ethnography detailing my struggles to provide choice to an individual who, it turned out, cannot think in the ways necessary to make choices that would improve his subjective quality of life. A narrative is included with the hope of revealing social processes outside and within the field of intellectual disability and to provoke discussion regarding problems with choice and quality of life in the field.     

‘Do you really want to hear about my life?’: doing ‘feminist research’ with women in sex work in Eastern India

ABSTRACT

This article reflects on insights gathered from doing feminist research during my doctoral studies in international development. My research focused on the lives of women formerly and currently in sex work in Eastern India, and their experiences and resistance of everyday violence. I argue that the adoption of a life-history interviewing method created possibilities to move away from standard topics associated with sex work, and allowed women in sex work to discuss the dynamism and fluidity within their lives, within, before, and after sex work. I also explore how this method enabled the theme of koshto (pain) to emerge which challenges the framing of violence in sex work as exceptional. I argue that women in sex work need to feel heard and acknowledged within feminist research, not simply as subjects of knowledge gathering or to inform development discourses and interventions, but as human beings with dynamic personhoods. Finally, I share lessons learnt which can be useful to future feminist researchers researching sex work, within a current environment of ideologically polarised discussions on victimhood and agency in sex work.     

COMMENTARY (12 YEARS ON) ON ‘THE CONTRIBUTION OF OBSERVATION TRAINING TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOCIAL WORK’ BY JUDITH TROWELL AND GILLIAN MILES

This article aims to stimulate discussion about relationships between the lives of professionals and of service users. The idea is that when parallels are explored and developed, power dynamics between professionals and social workers are reduced, the quality of interaction and work with service users can be improved, and professionals can also be helped in overcoming difficulties in their own lives. I start with an outline of my own personal background and highlight my development throughout, including my emerging identity as a Buddhist. I discuss a case study involving ‘Sally’ and her family and our work together while I was a social work assistant in a Children and Family's team. I try to show the interconnections between the different difficulties that we faced and how that informed my work. I look at some of the benefits, pitfalls and boundaries of working from the point of view that service user and professional are both working to overcome their problems. I also interweave interactions I had at the time with Carlos, a drug user friend in a crisis and the impact he had on me. Because I include my own situation I have called this article a ‘case experience’.

Throughout I refer to Buddhist and psychoanalytic thinking and particularly to agreement between the two around ideas that inner‐resistance is the main barrier to personal evolution. I argue that faith is the key to unlocking resistance, and that faith should be understood as the development of a belief within people that they are able to progress rather than be destroyed in the face of inevitable problems.     

The sociologist as celebrity: The role of the media in field research

In the literature on qualitative methodology, little has been written about researchers who become public media figures, either with regard to the research process or the researcher's self. In this paper I discuss experiences I underwent and roles I assumed while doing research on a nationally publicized college athletic team. Unwittingly, my relations with my subjects thrust me into a highly visible position which led me to receive much media attention. Press coverage precipitated roles I had not planned to adopt: these include active force, bearer of the truth, defender of the faith, expert, and celebrity. This paper assesses the media's influence on my relations with research subjects, on my relations with others (strangers, acquaintances, fans, boosters, colleagues, friends, and family), and on my sense of self. In each case the media were potent in redefining situations and relationships.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Detroit, 1983. I would like to thank David Altheide, Andy Fontana, David Hayano, Joe Kotarba, Peter Manning, Shulamit Reinharz, Carol Warren, Louis Zurcher, and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. In addition, Patti Adler and Jean Blocker provided essential support in all phases of the research.     

Depictions and reflections: photographing visualizations of masculinities in Afghanistan and Democratic Republic of the Congo

In this photo-essay, I reflect upon my research for various NGOs over the years on gender issues in conflict areas, using my work in Afghanistan and DR Congo as example. I reflect on both the ways in which masculinities are represented in conflict-affected countries as well as by outside agents, and on the ways in which NGOs produce this kind of knowledge and my own positionality within these processes.     

Social Work Education without Walls: Ethnography as a Lens for Transformative Learning

A call for innovation in social work has been put forth to address our society’s greatest problems. This call applies to social work education, which encompasses multiple functions including teaching, research, and practice. Yet, innovation in social work is constrained by the limits of current social work approaches and methods. Increasing social work’s impact in the real world requires illuminating the complexities of reciprocal forces between human lives and the environment. Understanding such complexities incorporates spatial and interdisciplinary approaches, such as ethnography. Ethnography, as method and metaphor, is a lens for transformative learning in social work education: It is the message. Ethnography illuminates real-world complexities and deepens social work education through its core contributions: methodological holism, methodological engagement, and methodological comparison. In deepening social work education, ethnography renders visible salient links in social work’s field of dialectics, invoking the systems perspective. Yet, ethnography extends beyond and expands on the systems perspective, emphasizing engaged integration. Engaged integration of social work’s dialectics forwards the discourse about the profession’s identity. Thus, ethnography is a tool for advancing knowledge and promoting transformative learning in social work education.     

The Ethnos in the Polis: Political Ethnography as a Mode of Inquiry

In the social sciences, there is renewed attention to political ethnography, a research method that is based on close-up and real-time observation of actors involved in political processes, at times even extending the definition of these processes to move beyond categories of state, civil society, and social movements. This article examines the emergence of political ethnography from a number of disciplinary locations, such as political science, the cultural turn in sociology, and anthropology, and shows the value of this new approach for understanding how politics work in everyday life.     

Troubling Whiteness: Commentary on Harris's “The House of Difference”

This article focuses on Harris's (this issue) understanding of racialized subjectivity as a socially constructed phenomenon where fantasies about race are transmitted intergenerationally. I was raised as a “white” South African and I had two vivid associations to Harris's proposal that a “psychose blanche,” an invisible repository of unsignified, racially inflected thoughts, feelings, and selves exists at the heart of “whiteness.” In both cases I recalled a scene from my youth where I was taught that whites in apartheid South Africa deserved punishment and would receive this “come the revolution.” These lessons were crucial building blocks in the formation of my racialized subjectivity, and I describe and interrogate them in an attempt to add further variety and color to the landscape that Harris so deftly draws as she resignifies her “whiteness.”     

The personal is political: a feminist reflection on a journey into participatory arts-based research with sex worker migrants in South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article offers a personal reflection of my journey into participatory arts-based research with sex work migrants in South Africa. It begins by sharing some background information of how my own experience as a migrant woman, and my layered (sometimes conflicted) identities, have continued to shape and influence much of my scholarly work, including my commitment to engaging in research that supports (or at least tries to support) social justice. Through this article, I offer an example of how the ‘personal is political’ is entwined in feminist values of research and engagement. Those who experience the issues under investigation must be considered equal partners in research processes. Collaborative forms of knowledge production can support social justice, particularly if efforts strive to shift the centre from which knowledge is traditionally generated and disseminated.