Methods in Contemporary Ethnology II

Methods are an essential and inevitable part of all research processes, intertwined with collecting, producing and analysing research materials.The chosen methodologies define the structure and outcomes of the project.Instead of holding on to familiar and commonly used methods, researchers must -or at least should -take the time to consider their methodological choices and evaluate different approaches to or variations of a particular method that would help them achieve better results.New theoretical discussions and technological advances are constantly providing ethnologists with more options, and even classic fields of study like ethnography have spurred new research approaches, such as autoethnography, digital ethnography, visual ethnography and sensory ethnography.The chosen method must relate to the questions one wants to answer.If not chosen carefully, the perspectives adopted and questions being posed can render research material useless or the results of the research pointless and complicate the entire research process (Jnsson and Nilsson 2017, 8).Conversely, any research material can become an invaluable source when approached with relevant questions and methods.In the end, the question is about what kind of knowledge we can produce with each method.Despite the essential role of methods in research, much of the methodological work and reflections remain outside the discussion presented in research articles due to limited space.The failed experiments and the uncertainties involved with undoubtedly all research projects are seldom reported, even though they would be pedagogically quite useful especially for early-career researchers.Ethnologists have also been accused of glossing over their methods or mystifying the analytical process, presenting it simply as the "ethnological gaze" (Jouhki and Steel 2014, 14; Lfgren 2014, 121).To better understand different methodological options and make informed choices, more conversations are needed in which researchers share their ideas and experiences.The conversations may occur, for instance, in face-to-face meetings, workshops and conferences -in interaction with constantly revised methodological lit

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