On Writing Notes in the Field: Interrogating positionality, emotion, participation and         ethics

Thompson, Jennifer

doi:10.7202/1025781ar

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Although the idea of flexible positionalities in navigating fieldwork challenges is not new in itself (see Thompson, ), the findings shed light on how these links operate under conditions of tension and suspicion from political turmoil. As identified, by using or at least being open to the idea of flexible positionalities, the researcher can find herself/himself in a better place for dealing with data collection challenges that occur from the fallout of political turmoil, and may even find the research examining new avenues that had previously seemed too difficult or unobtainable.…”

Section: Dealing With Disruption: Rethinking Methodologies and Utilismentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Work by Pascucci (), which utilised the researcher's reflexive accounts during fieldwork in Africa, acted as a guide and stressed the importance of this reflective approach in research. Fieldwork diaries, personal journals, and notes were regularly kept during the research, a process encouraged by others (Thompson, ), and these various texts were subsequently examined and analysed, allowing for key themes to emerge.…”

Section: Research Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When fieldwork falls apart: Navigating disruption from political turmoil in research

Chambers

2019

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For many researchers, conducting fieldwork can often form a significant component of data collection. With a rich history across many disciplines, fieldwork has received significant reflexive examination, notably around when it is conducted in dangerous areas or used for researching high-risk situations. Less attended to, however, are the equally disruptive but less dangerous situations that researchers can face, such as conducting fieldwork during political turmoil. The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of political turmoil on fieldwork, and reflectively examine both the consequences of this and possible ways of mitigation. Through examining fieldwork notes and journals, the findings identified that despite political turmoil's significant disruption on processes of data collection, the researcher utilised notions of flexible positionalities and developed adaptive methodologies to circumvent these challenges. The paper provides new insights for managing the impact of disruption on fieldwork from political turmoil and encourages the continuation of publications focusing on reflective fieldwork accounts.

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Section: Dealing With Disruption: Rethinking Methodologies and Utilismentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Research Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

When fieldwork falls apart: Navigating disruption from political turmoil in research

Chambers

2019

Area

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“…Field notes assisted me in documenting research activities. The field notes can describe interactions, reflections, reactions, and conversations (Thompson, 2014).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dance students at a two year college: making sense of their academic, cultural, and social world

López

2019

Research in Dance Education

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The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the lived experiences of community college dance students. Previous research was examined to provide a more holistic picture of dancers during their college years and while in the workforce. The literature reviewed indicated that the emergence of dance as a field of study was controversial. Its beginnings were marked by debates concerning (a) the very definition of dance as a body of motion and a body of knowledge that includes a history and a philosophy as asserted by Dimondstein (1985), (b) its legitimate place within the academy (the perception that university dance programs were vocational in nature with little academic value) as noted by Stinson (1990); and, more recently (c) the possibility of some resolution to make dance not only a performing art but an academic discipline in its own right (Savrami, 2012). The theoretical framework of social cognitive career theory was used but was modified to include only the tenets most frequently cited in the literature that directly influenced the career identity of dancers particularly in relation to their motivation to academically persist and graduate. The phenomenological analysis, in the tradition of Moustakas (1994) and Wertz (2005), produced an early thematic matrix of 18 codes that were reduced to six major themes: aspirations, academic commitment, emotional identification, anticipated outcome or career expectation, vicarious learning, and challenges. One of the major recommendations included conducting a longitudinal study focusing on how students navigate an unpredictable job market, including the discussion of issues of workforce preparation in the academic curriculum and major. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank God for guiding me through my long educational journey. This dissertation was the result of hard work and valuable assistance from others. I am very grateful to my committee chair, Dr. Rosa Cintrón, for being so committed to my success. I would also like to acknowledge my parents, family and friends for their support during the difficult times of this process. In addition, I would like to thank the chair of the dance department for assisting me in finding participants for my study. I would also like to recognize my participants for giving their time to participate in my study. To my fellow doctoral cohort, thank you for your assistance and guidance. Finally, I would like to thank my dissertation committee members for their efforts in helping me produce the final product of this study. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .

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“…Engaging in this academic writing did not serve my participants in any concrete way, nor did it engage them in dialogue beyond the scope of our semi-structured ethnographic interviews. In short, Thompson (2014) argued that the practice of fieldnotes in participatory research is complicated. She also questioned how the practice of writing private fieldnotes might not align with the theory of participatory arts-based methodologies.…”

Section: The Doctoral Project Builds From My Master's Thesis Explorinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I share this concern. Thompson (2014) wrote that heeding critiques of participation as a form of social control, my work incorporates ongoing tensions about the nature of participation. Therefore, it dawned on me that writing fieldnotes risks being one of the least participatory things a researcher can do.…”

Section: The Doctoral Project Builds From My Master's Thesis Explorinmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Keeping Public Visual Fieldnotes As Reflexive Ethnographic Practice

Burkholder

2017

mje

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These “Notes from the Field” describe one doctoral student’s public visual fieldnotes practice during her data collection for her dissertation. In the creation of a public digital space for participants and the public to engage with the fieldnotes through online comments and in-person conversations, this shifts the practice of keeping the researcher’s initial thoughts private and separate from the research participants. In an attempt to address a critique of her own Master’s work, and the potentially exclusionary practice of private fieldnotes writing in participatory research, the piece raises questions about positionality and ethical concerns in relation to a digital archive of public visual fieldnotes as reflexive ethnographic practice.

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On Writing Notes in the Field: Interrogating positionality, emotion, participation and ethics

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

When fieldwork falls apart: Navigating disruption from political turmoil in research

When fieldwork falls apart: Navigating disruption from political turmoil in research

Dance students at a two year college: making sense of their academic, cultural, and social world

On Keeping Public Visual Fieldnotes As Reflexive Ethnographic Practice

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