Doing Anthropological Research by Natalie Konopinski

Author:Natalie Konopinski [Konopinski, Natalie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415697552
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2013-07-17T00:00:00+00:00

David Lan’s reasons for taking this structured approach may well relate to the unusual nature of his informants – ancestral spirits possessing mediums – and the very unclear ‘agencies’ that involves. His was an attempt to stabilize and bring order to a complex social/cultural situation where it was not at all clear which or whose voice was speaking. Although Lan’s was a fairly unique research situation (but not hugely, for anthropology), and a fairly unusual approach (only partially successful), this example highlights an important point about interviews: not only can they be difficult to control, it can also be diffi-cult to be clear about the nature of the material being elicited. This returns us to Turner’s point about separating participants’ interpretations from those of the anthropologist, and again emphasizes the importance of taking into account ‘significant contexts’. Interviews rarely provide ‘thick description’, and working out the ‘significant contexts’ of an interview – the matters being discussed, the manner of conversation, the manner of the informant/s and the interviewer, and the assumptions embedded in his or her questions/research agenda – is vital to the interpretation of the material being generated. This returns us to a) the importance of combining research methods; and b) the importance of reflexivity about the methods and techniques you use, and the cultural, social and political assumptions embedded within your research project. As a fieldworker you should reflect upon who you are choosing to interview and why, where and how you choose to do this, and what you tell an informant about the kind of information you are looking for. This is not only about refining your techniques in the field, although that is very important; it is also about the status of the knowledge that is generated.

Box 5.1

Participatory and multimodal research methods

The strengths of ethnographic research lie in the fact that it is socially embedded and interactive rather than detached and extractive. Since different people interact, learn and express themselves in different ways, to ensure that a variety of people have a voice in your research you may need to facilitate this using a variety of participatory methods. Whereas some people will gladly tell you their autobiographies or respond eloquently to your direct questions, most will not. You may, however, learn a lot by walking with them through a village or across a landscape; constructing a model with them to depict a remembered or anticipated scenario; playing a group audio-visual activity with them (such as putting together a video or photography show) that may lead to an informal focus group discussion; or getting them to show you their pictures or possessions. ‘Participatory’ means involving others collaboratively in generating knowledge. ‘Multimodal’ means using a variety of methods and sensory channels to do this. Inspired in part by anthropology’s mix of methods and by the idea of non-extractive, collaborative learning, from the 1970s development planners developed a raft of methods for facilitating participatory learning and planning, under such labels as ‘Rapid Rural Appraisal’ and ‘Participatory Action Research’. Since

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