The Palgrave Handbook of Social Fieldwork

Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Methodological Issues in Social Research: Experience from the Twenty-First Century
1.1 Primer
1.2 Fieldwork in Challenging Social Settings
1.3 Field, Relations, and Emotion
1.4 Bio-ethics, Fieldwork Practices and Ground Reality
1.5 Gendered Fieldwork and Gender Relations in Social Research
1.6 Theoretical and Epistemic Challenges in the Field
1.7 Nativity, Participants Selection and Challenges in Archival Research
1.8 Conclusion
References
Part I: Fieldwork in Challenging Social Settings
Chapter 2: Research in a Moving Field: Doing In-aqua Research in Blue Space Settings
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Literature Review
Blue Space, Health and Wellbeing
Geo-narratives
Getting into the Water: Go-alongs in Blue Space
2.3 Methods: Technologies and Ethics
2.4 Empirical: Recent In-aqua Research
Blue Space Fieldwork: Key Observations
Swim-alongs in Ireland
2.5 Discussion and Summary
References
Chapter 3: Researching Garo Death Rites
3.1 Introduction
3.2 First Encounters
3.3 Between Town and Village
3.4 Getting Organised
3.5 Getting Established
3.6 Sustaining Relationships
3.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Navigating the Tyrannies of Fieldwork: A Nigerian Experience
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Conceptual Clarification
4.3 The Sweet-bitter Pill
4.4 Contending with the Realities of Culture
4.5 When Religion Does (not) Matter
4.6 The Pitfall for Unsuspecting Researchers: Reliabilities of Information
4.7 Victims of Wrong Perceptions and High Expectations
4.8 Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Trial by Fire: Reflections on Fieldwork in Nagaland, Northeast India
5.1 The Events
5.2 Reflections
References
Part II: Field, Relations, and Emotion
Chapter 6: Feeling Unsettled in the Field: Emotions and the Field Researcher
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Preparing for Fieldwork
6.3 Deciding on Multi-Sited Fieldwork
6.4 Field Encounters: Initial Disappointments
6.5 Field Emotions: Unsettled and Rattled
6.6 Encountering Suspicion: Responding with Epistemology
6.7 Conclusion: Field as Continuous Structure of Experience, Emotions and Learning
Bibliography
Chapter 7: Developing Relationships over Many Years: Under Investigated but Important Types of Interview-Based Research
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Interviewing
7.3 Khamsone (Attapeu Province, Southern Laos)
7.4 Khamphouy Sisavatdy
7.5 Bou Thang
7.6 Chao Pangkeo Nakhone Champassak
7.7 Kazue Sameshima
7.8 Conclusion: Reflections on Long-term Relationship-based Interviews
References
Chapter 8: Sick in the Field: Illness and Interbeing Encounters in Anthropological Fieldwork
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Methodological Implications of Illness in Anthropological Research
8.3 “Mala Mujer” and Toxic Encounters
8.4 Stomach Bugs and “Co-miseration” in the Field
8.5 Conclusion/Discussion
References
Part III: Bio-ethics, Fieldwork Practices, and Ground Reality
Chapter 9: At the Organ Bazaar of Bangladesh: In Search of Kidney Sellers
9.1 The Setting
9.2 Fieldwork on Hidden Populations
9.3 In Search of Kidney Sellers
Going Nowhere
The Turning Point
A Novel Approach
A New Lead
The Final Cut
9.4 Conclusion: Reflections
References
Chapter 10: “Can we talk about surrogacy?” Legal Precariousness and Qualitative Research in the Biomedical Context
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Methodological Background: From Mixed Method to the Qualitative Framework
10.3 Addressing Precarity and Risk in the Field
10.4 Rethinking Approaches to the Study: Bias and Interdisciplinarity
10.5 Securing Ethical Clearance and Understanding ‘Informed Consent’ in My Work
10.6 Outline of the Fieldwork
10.7 Tools Used
10.8 Data Analysis
10.9 Regional Diversity
10.10 Conclusion
References
Chapter 11: Qualitative ‘Fieldwork’ in Health Geographic Research: Self-reports from Bangladesh
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Research Planning and Experiences
11.3 Problems Faced During Fieldwork
11.4 Diversified Participants
11.5 Finding and Selecting Suitable Participants
11.6 Earning Interviewees’ Trust
11.7 Emotional Involvement
11.8 Experiences in Data Collection
11.9 Limitations of the Study
11.10 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 12: Adolescent Drug Use in Connecticut Private High Schools: Zero Tolerance, Contextual Peer Influence, and Deterrence Effectiveness
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Literature Review
Adolescent Drug Abuse
Exclusionary Discipline
Zero-Tolerance Policy
Competing Theories on Zero Tolerance
12.3 Results
Subsection A: Methods
Data Sample
Measure: Rates of Drug Use
Measure: Peer Influence
Measure: Perceived Punishment of Policy
Subsection B: Results
Major Trends 1
Major Trends 2
12.4 Discussion
12.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 13: Dilemmas and Challenges in Qualitative Fieldwork with Climate-Vulnerable Communities
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Context: Researching with Climate-Vulnerable People and Communities
13.3 Dilemmas and Challenges in Qualitative Fieldwork
Psychological and Emotional Burden on the Researcher
Dilemmas Associated with Establishing Our Identity as a Researcher
Dilemmas Associated with Potential Risks to Research Collaborators and Respondents
13.4 Concluding Remarks
References
Part IV: Gendered Fieldwork and Gender in Social Research
Chapter 14: Risks and Challenges in Fieldwork on Gender-Based Violence: Gendered Identity, Social Taboo and Culture
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Fieldwork Risk and Challenges in GBV Research: World Perspective
14.3 Methodological Challenges of Fieldwork on Gender-Based Violence
Social Taboo and GBV: Challenges in Snowballing Process and Interviews
Challenge: Gender-Based Violence as the Study Topic
Challenge: Finding GBV Victims
Longer Time Needed to Complete the Fieldwork
The Gender Identity of the Interviewer/Researcher and Challenges
14.4 Risk and Challenges of the Researcher at the Individual Level
The Personal Safety of the Female Researcher and Chaperon
Humiliation and Being Underrated as a Female Researcher
Trust Building and Culture: Gender, Education, Occupation and Position of the Researcher
Opening Up and Exposure To-Mental and Physical Risk
14.5 How to Cope with the Risk and Challenges in GBV Research Fieldwork
Taking Time to Find the Perfect Key Informants
Being Prepared with a Second Topic to Avoid Unwanted Circumstances
Patience as a Solution for Successful Interviews in a Challenging Environment
Planning for a Flexible Time Frame and Additional Budget
Trust Building and Female Investigators
Researcher’s Safety: Chaperon, Safe Accommodation and Working Station
Training to Protect the Unwanted Circumstances
14.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 15: Rethinking Ethnographic Research as ‘Gendered and En-casted Labour’: Reflections from a Non-metropolitan City of West Bengal, India
15.1 Introduction: The Promise of Feminist Ethnography and Oral History
15.2 The Indian Context
15.3 The Savarna Feminist Researching the Dalit Women
15.4 Partition-Induced Refugee-Hood, Gender and Caste in Asansol, West Bengal: A Brief Overview
15.5 Woman to Woman?: The Savarna Researcher and the Dalit-Bahujan Respondents
References
Chapter 16: Capturing the Uncaptured: Photovoice as a Method for Women’s Empowerment in Domestic Violence
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Overview of the Project
16.3 Empowering Aspects for Abused Women
16.4 Capturing the Uncaptured
16.5 Unprovoked and Deliberately Severe Physical Abuse
16.6 Entrapped at Home
16.7 Prolonged Violence and Entrapment
16.8 The Reality of Being a “Survivor”
16.9 Conclusion
References
Chapter 17: Fieldwork with Opposite Gender: Exploring the Agency of Left-Behind Women of Migrant Households in Rural Bangladesh
17.1 Introduction
Experiences of Female Ethnographers
Experiences of Male Ethnographers
Importance of Both Gender
Experiences Written in Textbooks
17.2 Research Setting and Research Methodology
Research Ethics and Data Analysis
17.3 Glimpses of the Experiences of Ethnographic Fieldwork in Bangladesh
17.4 Challenges and Coping Strategies in the Field
17.5 Female Agency and Male Researcher
Exploring Agency
17.6 Conclusion
References
Part V: Theoretical and Epistemic Challenges in the Field
Chapter 18: Between an Activist and Academic: Contested (Re)positioning of Ethnographers in Refugee Research
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Academic and Activist: Conceptual Contestation
18.3 Methodology Applied: Beyond Orthodox Ethnographic Rituals
18.4 Epistemological and Methodological Challenges in the Field
18.5 Moral Challenges in Dealing with Refugees
18.6 Ethical Discomfort in Dealing with the Host Society
18.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 19: Moving Research Methods to the Field: Challenges and Lessons Learnt Across African Contexts
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Methodology and Data
19.3 Fieldwork Preparation
19.4 Institutional Preparation and Stakeholder Engagement
19.5 Technical Preparations
19.6 Operational and Logistical Preparation
19.7 Moving Research to the Field: Process, Challenges, and Adjustments
19.8 Inception Phase in the Field
19.9 Data Collection Phase
19.10 Challenges in Managing Expectations
19.11 Challenges with Logistical Constraints and Adjustments in the Field
19.12 Challenges Due to Changes in Respondent’s Environment
19.13 Challenges and Adjustments in Managing Field Staff
19.14 Management Post-fieldwork: Challenge and Adjustments
19.15 Challenges and Adjustments Vary by the Type of Fieldwork Implemented
References
Chapter 20: Entry, Access, Bans and Returns: Reflections on Positionality in Field Research on Central Asia’s Ethnic Minorities
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Central Asia: An Evolving and Diverse Context
20.3 My Research: Understanding Communities at a Cusp
20.4 Positionality, Self-representation and Reflexivity in Field Research
20.5 Reflexivity in Post-Soviet Studies Scholarship
20.6 Case Studies
Case 1: The Tajiks of Uzbekistan (Entry, Access and Exit)
Case 2: Uzbekistan and Uzbeks abroad (Entry, Access, Ban and Return)
Case 3: Central Asia’s Koryo Saram (Entry, Access and Detours and Discoveries)
20.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 21: Doing Ethnography on Sexuality Among Young Men in Dhaka, Bangladesh: How Has Reflexivity Helped?
21.1 Introduction
21.2 Defining Reflexivity: Being Critical of Positionality and Subjectivity
21.3 Reflexivity in Ethnography on Sexual Practice: Key Challenges
21.4 Introducing the Study: Location, Actors and Methodology
The Study Location
The Actors
The Research Design
21.5 Reflexivity in Action: How I Neturalize the Challenges to Study Sexual Practice
Adopting Anthropological Techniques: Becoming Conscious of My Subjectivity
‘Home’ Dilemma, ‘Amsterdam’ Factor and a Complete Participant in Sexuality Research
Watching ‘Live Sex,’ Participating in Private Clubs and Becoming a Complete Observer
21.6 Way Forward
References
Part VI: Nativity, Participant Selection, and Challenges in Archival Research
Chapter 22: A Native Anthropologist’s Positionality of Being an Insider/Outsider: A Reflective Account of Doing Ethnographic Research in Nepal
22.1 Introduction
22.2 Inside/Outside Debate in Nepali Anthropology
22.3 Positionality: How It Is Co-constructed in My Field?
22.4 Conclusions
References
Chapter 23: Recruitment of Participants from Vulnerable Groups for Social Research: Challenges and Solutions
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Ethical Considerations
23.3 Recruiting Participants: Challenges
23.4 Recruiting Participants: Solutions
23.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 24: Navigating Archival Readings of Rural Technology
24.1 Archiving the Plough
II
III
24.2 Bullock Cart Illustrations and Rural Futures
II
24.3 Conclusion
References
Chapter 25: Conclusion: Challenges of Social Research—A Way Forward
25.1 Challenges of Social Research
25.2 ‘Coping’ with Fieldwork Challenges
25.3 Concluding Remarks
References
Index