Inside Out: Narrative Autoethnography as a Path Toward Rapport

Abstract

This article addresses the connection of rapport and autoethnography. Focusing on her own ethnographic work, the author explores how including her own stories in her ethnographies complexifies the narratives told about the field and increases rapport between her and her participants. The author addresses the benefits and ethical implications of this method, using descriptions and examples not only from her work but from work others have done. The author's hope is to show not only how an autoethnographic method allows her to be more empathic toward those engaged in her study but also how sharing her stories with her field participants fosters their openness as well.

Rethinking Kink: Sadomasochism as Serious Leisure

“…(The shortest interview was 4 hours and the longest was 11.) Interview conversation flowed reciprocally, and as has been noted elsewhere (Berger 2001) I found that my own disclosure and self-reflection often enhanced the interview relationship. I transcribed the interviews and coded the transcripts and my field notes using qualitative software (Atlas.ti).…”

Narrative autoethnography and the promotion of spiritual well‐being in teacher research and practice

“…In autoethnographic work the writer creates a narrative that places the self within a social context by using introspection as a tool to turn the focus onto her/his own emotional experience. Such a narrative when shared between the researcher and the participants can create a new meaning in a social context and lead to mutual understanding and rapport (Berger, 2001).…”

“…The biggest battle of all in writing this paper was overcoming ethical issues about how much to reveal and what lines not to cross (Berger, 2001). I edited the paper time and time again.…”

“…My feelings of uncertainty about the content of the narrative do not mean that I am less of a social scientist (Berger, 2001). I view myself, my relationships and my research through the lens of a social scientist.…”

Subjectivity and the “Native” Ethnographer: Researcher Eligibility in an Ethnographic Study of Urban Indian Women in Hindu Arranged Marriages

“…As I do so, I enact what has come to be known in anthropology as the radical empiricist stance, which stresses the ethnographer"s interactions with those he or she lives with and studies, while urging us to clarify ways in which our knowledge is grounded in our practical, personal, and participatory experience in the field as much as our detached observations. (Jackson, 1989, p. 3) As I do so, I hope to show that in writing ethnography, we are often engaged in writing our own identities (see Berger, 2001). …”