The impostor syndrome: language barriers in organizational ethnography

Rosales, Virginia

doi:10.1108/joe-01-2021-0003

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(145 reference statements)

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“…We show four ways in which the researcher’s emotions can be used as resources for embodied reflexivity: (i) deepening field engagement through a focus on collective experiences, (ii) using the researcher’s agency to refocus data collection and enhance creativity, (iii) merging inward and outward focus to reframe the research project, and (iv) visualizing emotions throughout the research process to avoid mind-body dualisms. The paper joins recent discussions on qualitative methods and reflexivity in the face of obstacles (Capurro, 2021; Hare, 2020) and answers calls to make researchers’ field presence visible in qualitative research and organizational ethnography (Anteby, 2013; Cunliffe & Karunanayake, 2013; Hordge-Freeman, 2018; Langley & Klag, 2019; Rosales, 2021; Wajsberg, 2020; Warden, 2013). The paper contributes to the reflexivity literature by suggesting ways in which emotions, as embodied experiences, can inform qualitative research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 63%

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Harnessing Emotions for Embodied Reflexivity in Organizational Ethnography

Rosales,

Babri

2023

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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Qualitative researchers experience a myriad of emotions during fieldwork. Yet, a reluctance to display and openly discuss emotions in relation to research practice means little insight on how these can inform the research process exists. In this paper, we explore the researcher’s emotions in an organizational ethnography of an emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identify three emotional triggers (uncertain field access, disrupted research practices, and researcher exposure) and discuss the researcher’s embodied experiences and reflexive responses. We present four ways in which the researcher’s emotions can be used as a resource for embodied reflexivity: (i) deepening field engagement through a focus on collective experiences, (ii) using the researcher’s agency to refocus data collection and enhance creativity, (iii) merging inward and outward focus to reframe the research project, and (iv) visualizing emotions throughout the research process to avoid mind-body dualisms. This paper joins recent discussions on qualitative methods and reflexivity and answers calls for making the researcher’s field presence visible in qualitative research. We contribute by delineating ways in which emotions, as a resource for embodied reflexivity, can inform qualitative research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Consequently, little we know about the emotions and related methodological challenges experienced by the researcher (Dickson-Swift et al, 2007; Hedican, 2006). In particular, the challenges associated with doing organizational ethnography remain largely unaddressed (Rosales, 2021; Vincett, 2018; Warden, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing Emotions for Embodied Reflexivity in Organizational Ethnography

Rosales,

Babri

2023

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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“…Details of implementation on field Participant Observation: Researchers actively participate in the organisation's daily activities, often spending extended periods on-site to observe and interact with members of the organization (Rosales, 2021) The Research Scholar visited Odisha's massive deposited iron ore mines on the field visit of 23-days between 6th January 2023 to 5th April 2023. Observed four massively deposited iron ore mines in Odisha, India.…”

Section: Guidelinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers actively participate in the organization’s daily activities, often spending extended periods on-site to observe and interact with members of the organisation (Rosales, 2021).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unearthing narratives: an ethnographic lens on the organizational tapestry of massive iron ore mining operations

Khatua,

Dash,

Mishra

2024

JOE

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PurposeOres and minerals are extracted from the earth’s crust depending on the type of deposit. Iron ore mines come under massive deposit patterns and have their own mine development and life cycles. This study aims to depict the development and life cycle of large open-pit iron ore mines and the intertwined organizational design of the departments/sections operated within the industry.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected on the site by participant observation, in-depth interviews of the field staff and executives, and field notes. Secondary data were collected from the literature review to compare and cite similar or previous studies on each mining activity. Finally, interactions were conducted with academic experts and top field executives to validate the findings. An organizational ethnography methodology was employed to study and analyse four large-scale iron ore mines of India’s largest iron-producing state, Odisha, from January to April 2023.FindingsSix stages were observed for development and life cycle, and the operations have been depicted in a schematic diagram for ease of understanding. The intertwined functioning of organizational set-up is also discovered.Originality/valueThe paper will benefit entrepreneurs, mining and geology students, new recruits, and professionals in allied services linked to large iron ore mines. It offers valuable insights for knowledge enhancement, operational manual preparation and further research endeavours.

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“…In this vignette, the student acknowledges that she had been a nurse in that hospital, so she knew nursing and she knew the building. This earlier experience of being an “insider” suggests some nativeness; yet, she had been away for 10 years, pursuing academic studies and contemplating becoming an academic, perhaps now judged an “outsider.” We further contribute to the insider/outsider debate by nuancing the student ethnographer's experience (Rosales, 2021) in these fluid (Bruskin, 2019), social (Lake et al ., 2023) and fluctuating (Gosovic, 2018) identities. Here the student reveals how she is working the hyphens (Cunliffe and Karunanayake, 2013) and attempting to negotiate these supposed either-or roles, such as insider-outsider, overt-covert, nurse-academic and even home-field (Günel et al.…”

Section: What's a “Proper” Ethnography?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“That's not a proper ethnography”: a hybrid “propportune” ethnography to study nurses' perceptions of organisational culture in a British hospital

Sambrook,

Hillier,

Doloriert

2023

JOE

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PurposeThis paper revolves around the central question: is it possible to do “proper ethnography” without complete participant observation? The authors draw upon a student's experiences of negotiating National Health Service (NHS) ethical approval requirements and access into the student's research field, a British NHS hospital and having to adapt data collection methods for the student's doctoral research. The authors examine some of the positional (insider/outsider, native gone academic), methodological (long-term/interrupted, overt/covert) and contextual challenges that threatened the student's ethnographic study.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on reflexive vignettes written during the student's doctorate, capturing significant moments and issues within the student's research.FindingsThe authors highlight the temporal, practical, ethical and emotional challenges faced in attempting an ethnography of nursing culture within a highly regulated research environment. Having revealed the student's experience of researching this specific culture and finding ways to overcome these challenges, the authors conclude that the contemporary ethnographer needs to be increasingly flexible, opportunistic and somewhat covert.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors argue that it is possible to do “proper” and “good” ethnography without complete participant observation – it is not the method, the observation, that is the essence of ethnography, but whether the researcher achieves real understanding through thick descriptions of the culture that explain “what is really going on here”.Practical implicationsThe authors hope to assist doctoral students engage in “good” ethnographic research within (potentially) risk-averse host organisations, such as the NHS, whilst being located in neo-liberal performative academic organisations (Foster, 2017; McCann et al., 2020). The authors wish to contribute to the journal to ensure good ethnography is accessible and achievable to (particularly) doctoral researchers who have to navigate complex challenges exacerbated by pressures in both the host and home cultures. The authors wish to see doctoral researchers survive and thrive in producing good organisational ethnographies to ensure such research is published (Watson 2012), cognisant of the pressures and targets to publish in top-ranked journals (Jones et al. 2020).Originality/valueHaving identified key challenges, the authors demonstrate how these can be addressed to ensure ethnography remains accessible to and achievable for, doctoral researchers, particularly in healthcare organisations. The authors conclude that understanding can be attained in what they propose as a hybrid form of “propportune” ethnography that blends the aim of the essence of “proper” anthropological approaches with the “opportunism” of contemporary data collection solutions.

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The impostor syndrome: language barriers in organizational ethnography

Cited by 4 publications

References 44 publications

Harnessing Emotions for Embodied Reflexivity in Organizational Ethnography

Harnessing Emotions for Embodied Reflexivity in Organizational Ethnography

Unearthing narratives: an ethnographic lens on the organizational tapestry of massive iron ore mining operations

“That's not a proper ethnography”: a hybrid “propportune” ethnography to study nurses' perceptions of organisational culture in a British hospital

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