Co-constructing the field for a critical ethnography of immigrants’ experiences in a Canadian Francophone minority community

Abstract

When conducting ethnographic research, immersion into the field and participant observation are essential characteristics of the methodology. As more traditional forms of ethnography have evolved over time to include contemporary approaches (institutional ethnography, feminist ethnography), so too have the fields where such research is undertaken. Indeed, the field itself is now recognized as a construction rather than a naturally occurring space. This article discusses the approach taken to co-construct the field for a critical ethnographic study of immigrants’ experiences within a Canadian Francophone minority community. It addresses how the researcher made key decisions shaping who the study population would be, and in collaboration with the participants then decided how and where data generation would occur.

An Unfinished Critical Ethnographic Journey: Collaborative Reframing and Repositioning of Relationships in the Field

“…As I have indicated in previous writing Giampapa & Lamoureux, 2011), understanding the field as co-constructed with participants and as changeable across time and space (Huot, 2018) can re-align researcher and participant identities and roles as a result of shifting relations of power. England (1994) indicates that «the field» is constantly changing and that researchers may find that they have to maneuver around unexpected circumstances…This, in turn, ignites the need for a broader, less rigid conception of the «appropriate» method that allows the researcher the flexibility to be more open to the challenges of fieldwork (p. 81).…”

Critical Ethnography and Research Relationships: Some Ethical Dilemmas

“…Greater partnership with the authorities might lead to more inclusive forms of community development that empowered those at the margins by using the positives of identity and culture as the building blocks for development and social justice (asset‐based community development). On his return to the Somali community Frank resolved to be more proactive in sharing thoughts with the community on the potential of such stratagems in forms of co‐production, making the research process more participatory and democratic (Huot 2019).…”