Methodological Impression Management in Ethnographic Research

This article theorizes the fieldwork experiences that I gained while studying outlaw biker subculture. Drawing on Bourdieu’s practice theory and Goffman’s dramaturgical interactionism, I argue that ethnography in practice is pre-disposed by the ethnographer’s primary habitus, which shapes symbolic interaction. To substantiate this claim, I disclose my own upbringing in a troubled working-class family and my personal ties with outlaw bikers, both prior to and beyond my research. This article then illustrates how my habitus helped me to compensate for the vagueness of ethnography in theory with regard to three recurrent issues of fieldwork, which are the practices of (1) approaching/entering the field, (2) negotiating participation, and (3) managing (un)fortunate circumstances. After reflecting on my cleft habitus as the buddy and/or researcher in ethnographic practice, this article concludes with the metaphor of gameness. This concept, which is borrowed from early prize fighting, is used to outline and label the ideal-type of the ethnographer who is well-suited for the immersion into deviant, criminalized, or otherwise culturally elitist fields.

Section: Extra-methodological Researcher Dispositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Incomplete or Vague Guidelines: Extra-methodologically Informentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnographic Gameness: Theorizing Extra-methodological Fieldwork Practices in a Study of Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs

Schmid

2020

“…Third, symbolic meanings are often contested, and ethnographers may observe participants expressing resistance to the rituals. Simultaneously, participants watch researchers to gauge their reactions to rituals, requiring ethnographers to be especially careful about how they construct and maintain their presentation of ethnographic self (Gengler and Ezzell 2018). In a study of ritualized practices in health care, Waring and Bishop (2010) found that workplace rituals were “an end in themselves” and not treated as sacred by participants in the setting.…”

Section: Literature and Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Everyday Ritual and Ethnographic Practice: Two Cases Showing the Importance of Embodiment and Reflexivity

Cain

Scrivner

2021

Moments of ritual reveal symbolic meanings, reinforce boundaries of the social group, and tie actors to one another. Because rituals are so important to social life, ethnographers must be attuned to both institutionalized and everyday rituals of their sites. However, methodological literature rarely discusses how everyday rituals should be treated during data collection, analysis, or presentation. We use data from two ethnographic sites—a yoga studio and training for health care volunteers—to illustrate the challenges of observing others during rituals and making sense of our own experiences of rituals, especially given varying levels of participation and resistance to rituals. We argue that greater reflexivity, especially of embodied experiences, is needed when studying everyday rituals and provide methodological recommendations for improving ethnographic study.

“…It is only after I concluded my employment and distanced myself from the organization that I was able to gain some perspective and consider my own “ethical reflexivity” (Reed-Danahay 2002). Immersed in H-West, I also struggled with what Gengler and Ezzell (2018) call “methodological impression management” in terms of balancing ethical obligations with the “analytic rigor” of my findings (809).…”

Section: Reflections and Concluding Thoughtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We Make Our Own Rules Here”: Democratic Communities, Corporate Logics, and “No Excuses” Practices in a Charter School Management Organization

Stahl¹

2019

Recently, there has been growing debate over the managerial and leadership practices of expanding charter school networks, often referred to as Charter School Management Organizations (CMOs). CMOs—which typically serve low–socioeconomic status students of color—are deeply tied to education reform efforts in the United States. Many CMOs consistently promote the belief that education can and should borrow heavily from the “best practices” of corporate culture and many have unlimited resources to enact their vision of educational success, closely aligned with what has been called “no excuses” schooling. Research on the daily practices of leaders working in a CMO remains limited; we know very little of how corporate ideologies are enacted in schooling. Drawing on ethnographic vignettes, I explore the daily life in one school within a CMO network considering to what extent corporate practices de-democratize education, produce neoliberal subjectivities, and shape experiences with learning for disadvantaged populations.