This book has two central purposes: to demonstrate the importance of qualitative research through an examination of the type of data that it is capable of producing, and, to do so using first-hand research accounts of ethnographic work. In reflecting upon personal experiences of field-work, together with the research strategies employed, the authors illustrate their arguments in a detailed and accessible manner. The themes they discuss include the ethics and politics of field-work, reflexivity and data production, feminist field-work, the publication and production of studies, and an examination of the contrasting cultures of academia and what is normally termed the 'field', where knowledges are authenticated according to different rules and power relations.
| Foreword | ||
| 1 | 'Like That Desmond Morris?' | 3 |
| 2 | Peers, Careers, and Academic Fears: Writing as Field-Work | 45 |
| 3 | Feelings Matter: Inverting the Hidden Equation | 69 |
| 4 | Taking Sides: Partisan Research on the 1984-1985 Miners' Strike | 99 |
| 5 | Some Ethical Considerations on Field-Work with the Police | 122 |
| 6 | Dealing with Data | 145 |
| 7 | Greenham Revisited: Researching Myself and My Sisters | 177 |
| 8 | Racism, Sexuality, and the Process of Ethnographic Research | 209 |
| Index | 241 |
Overview
This book has two central purposes: to demonstrate the importance of qualitative research through an examination of the type of data that it is capable of producing, and, to do so using first-hand research accounts of ethnographic work. In reflecting upon personal experiences of field-work, together with the research strategies employed, the authors illustrate their arguments in a detailed and accessible manner. The themes they discuss include the ethics and politics of field-work, reflexivity and data ...