Critical ethnography: extending attention to bias and reinforcement of dominant power relations

Abstract

Researchers can better address bias and reinforcement of power relations through reflexivity. Bias can be reduced by making explicit values that may privilege particular decisions and observations throughout the research process. Researchers can also reduce bias via relationality or giving participants equal power in decision making and taking action towards social justice. When researchers engage in reciprocity they encourage participants to contribute to all stages of the research process and therein equalise power relations.

Transnationalism and Hypertension Self-Management Among Haitian Immigrants

“…Reflexivity is a major component of critical ethnographic studies. Through reflexivity, the researcher is able to evaluate how his or her personal experiences and interactions with study participants influence the processes of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and representation (Vandenberg & Hall, 2011). The primary investigator in this study considered her historical, social, and political context and position as they influenced her reflections, and the meanings she ascribed to the participants’ accounts.…”

“I Didn’t Want to be a Burden”: Improving Interactions between Refugees and Nonprofit Service Providers

“…Power and perceptions of coercion must be considered when working with human subjects. This is especially true when working with vulnerable and/or marginalized populations and in instances where the researcher may have more power than those being studied (Frankfort-Nachmias, Nachmias, & DeWaard, 2008;Vandenberg & Hall, 2011). Refugees, new arrivals specifically, may be vulnerable; and, it was therefore important to ensure that these individuals understood the purpose of the research (Frankfort-Nachmias, Nachmias, & DeWaard, 2008).…”

3.5-O6Asylum seekers and primary care in Malta: a critical exploration of healthcare encounters

“…Power structures can be reinforced throughout the research process, including the compilation of interview guides (Vandenberg & Hall, 2011) and in view of this, I…”