With the eyes of others

An ethnography of an academic office

Bibliographic Data

ID12894591
AuthorsDamian Ruth (0000-0001-8831-2743, Massey University, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume11
Issue3
Pages359-370
Publication date2015-11-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnography & Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1745-7823 • E-ISSN: 1745-7831
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17457823.2015.1107851
OpenAlexW2315059409
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited30

The author raises questions about ethnographic methodology through exploring the implications of using observations produced by his colleagues about his office as data for his research. This process blurred the boundaries between researcher, method and the object and subject of research. It meets some criteria for ethnography and not others, and does not evidence clear definitional boundaries for any sub-genre such as autoethnography or collaborative authoethnography. Besides raising definitional challenges and the blurring of roles in research, the study also illustrates how the methodology revealed tensions over collegial trust, boundaries and privacy. The author's colleagues exposed aspects of the author's identity that were opaque and even invisible to the author. The author accordingly raises questions about the locus of ethical concern. Thus, issues of roles, definition, trust, boundaries, privacy and method were entwined

Aesthetics · Autoethnography · Epistemology · Ethnography · Identity (music · Library science · Media studies · Object (grammar · Social science · Sociology · Subject (documents · Anthropology · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics