Friendship in the Field: Ethics and Reflexivity in Auto/biographical Research
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2014Author:
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Connor Tiarnach O’Donoghue, 'Friendship in the Field: Ethics and Reflexivity in Auto/biographical Research', Graduate Students’ Union of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, Journal of Postgraduate Research;, 2014Download Item:
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to explore a model of researcher reflexivity, drawn
from anthropological literature and applied to an auto/biographical study
of young men in university. Social scientific research can involve significant
revelation of self for research participants through data generation tools such
as interviews, diaries, photographs and social media, and this can have an
impact on researchers, who can often be sensitive to the type of material
they are studying, and sometimes deeply affected by it. This paper comes
out of life history research completed with participants who lived with the
researcher, and with whom he developed a friendship. Auto/biographies
were co-constructed across a series of themed, semi-structured life history
interviews, supplemented with visual and written data generated by the
research participants. The paper addresses issues of researcher reflexivity and
ethics when friendship intrudes on research, and looks at a number of models
for dealing with this, both in the field and in analysis stages. The paper draws
examples from Van Maanen’s Tales of the Field, Behar’s The Vulnerable Observer,
and Wolcott’s Sneaky Kid and its Aftermath: Ethics and Intimacy in Fieldwork. The
models for ethics and reflexivity provided by these works is analysed and
possible applications discussed.
Author: O’Donoghue, Connor Tiarnach
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Graduate Students’ Union of the University of Dublin, Trinity CollegeType of material:
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Journal of Postgraduate Research;Availability:
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ethics, reflexivity,, auto/biographical research, Narrative researchISSN:
2009-4787Metadata
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