Too close for comfort? The challenges and unexpected consequences of immersed ethnography

Weller, Sarah-Louise

Abstract

This chapter considers the nature of immersed ethnography and its importance to the study of organizations, and also provides some context for the fieldwork. This is followed by an analysis of some of the methodological challenges, emotion work, and identity struggles that arose during the immersed fieldwork. The chapter highlights some of the challenges and unexpected consequences that total immersion can bring, not only for the researcher but also for the research itself. It provides a backstage view, which is an open and honest account of the frequently untold challenges of being in the field. The emotions experienced as search and rescue volunteer were considerably more intense and unexpected, ranging across a spectrum of extreme highs and lows as well as a variety of feelings in between. The chapter offers some reflections and advice for inexperienced researchers who may be considering immersed ethnographic fieldwork.

Citation

Weller, S. (2022). Too close for comfort? The challenges and unexpected consequences of immersed ethnography. In J. Pandeli, N. Sutherland, & H. Gaggiotti (Eds.), Organizational Ethnography (34-49). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003021582-4

• Online Publication Date: Feb 18, 2022
• Publication Date: Feb 18, 2022
• Deposit Date: Apr 26, 2022
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 34-49
• Book Title: Organizational Ethnography
• ISBN: 9780367898670
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003021582-4
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9183987