From Experience to Text

Issues of Representation, Disclosure, and Understanding in Ethnographic Social Work Research

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12902252
AutoresMaria Nordstedt (0000-0002-3117-1713, Linnaeus University, autor de correspondencia), Kristina Gustafsson (0000-0001-9897-9891, Linnaeus University)
Año2022
Volumen16
Número3
Páginas274-289
Fecha de publicación2022-01-05
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEthics and Social Welfare (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1749-6535 • E-ISSN: 1749-6543
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17496535.2021.2021265
OpenAlexW4205133418
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas20

This paper starts with the ethical dilemma that appears when researchers end data collection, start to analyse the material, and construct the narrative of the thesis. This is the moment when the research subject might become objectified. Although this is a well-recognised dilemma, the aim of this paper is to investigate this in relation to ethnographic studies in social work in order to further develop some aspects of this ‘old’ dilemma. Three prominent texts on the topics of representation, disclosure, and understanding are used in an analysis of two ethnographic observations in different social work settings. A conclusion is that the main challenge for the ethnographic researcher in social work is the fact that they often write concurrently about people in unequal positions. Hierarchies and power relations have to be part of the question about how to write without objectifying. This fact places the researcher in a position of ambiguity because they act on both sides, including both those who are in privileged positions and those who are considered vulnerable groups. Hence, the ethical dilemma not only includes the relation between the researcher and the research subject, but also inter-party relations between research subjects in different power positions

Epistemology · Ethnography · Political science · Representation (politics · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics · Anthropology · Engineering · Law · Philosophy · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Social Science and Policy Research · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work