How to make an omelette

A sensory experiment in team ethnography

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2404014
AutoresAnna Harris (0000-0001-5006-2136, Maastricht University, autor de correspondencia), Andrea Wojcik (0000-0002-0602-5837, Maastricht University), Rachel Vaden Allison (Maastricht University)
Año2020
Volumen20
Número5
Páginas632-648
Fecha de publicación2020-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaQualitative Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1468-7941 • E-ISSN: 1741-3109
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1468794119890543
OpenAlexW2991729908
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas29

Sensory ethnographers deploy methods such as drawing, video and photography in order to examine the more ineffable and non-representational aspects of practices. Usually, these studies are conducted by individual researchers who deal only with their own material. What happens when a team of ethnographers explores questions of a sensory or non-representational nature? How do they share their findings not only with their audiences, but also with each other? Team ethnography is becoming increasingly common across the social sciences and humanities, yet to date there has been little attention paid to the important work of communicating findings within a group. To explore this further, we conducted a methodological 'proof of concept' study, observing and documenting people learning to make omelettes. We found that sensory methods have a role not only in studying practices but crucially, in also facilitating a form of immersion into the ethnographic practices and imaginations of others within the team. In the end, we suggest that experiments with sensory methods, such as through proof of concept methodological studies, are useful for thinking about how teams of social scientists work together, whether their research deals with sensory topics or not

Aesthetics · Art · Cognitive psychology · Epistemology · Ethnography · Sensory system · Sociology · Anthropology · Art Education and Development · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Psychology