Making mistakes in ethnography

Bibliographic Data

ID2402883
AuthorsNiels Boysen Feddersen (0000-0002-3670-9981, Department for Teacher Education and Outdoor Studies, The Norwegian School of Sport Science, Oslo, Norway, corresponding author)
Year2025
Publication date2025-02-04
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1466-1381 • E-ISSN: 1741-2714
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14661381251319166
OpenAlexW4407129981
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited22

Starting from the question: "How do mistakes arise in ethnography and how do they influence research trajectories?" this article makes a methodological and practical contribution to the literature on ethnography. I draw on three ethnographic studies spanning 2014 to 2020 carried out in sport organisations. Here, I consider mistakes as charged revelatory moments to unpack three interwoven aspects of mistakes: (a) wishful thinking, (b) the influence of social relationships, and (c) reflexivity. I make the case that mistakes will likely arise from extended participant observation periods. These mistakes can activate attention for similar mistakes in the future and thus limit attention to other unforeseen challenges. Further, I argue that no amount of planning, reading, preparation, and reflexivity can make researchers immune to mistakes when venturing into complex real-world settings and researching with people. Instead, they can lead to a deeper appreciation of the research context

Epistemology · Ethnography · Sociology · Anthropology · Data Analysis and Archiving · Gender Studies · Philosophy · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Social Science and Policy Research

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Open DOIOpen Access