Doing PhD fieldwork
Bookings for the conference have now closed. Back to the Programme.Date: Thursday 20th July
Venue: Room A, Bernard Sunley Building
Time: 2.00-5.30
Title: Tales from the field: sharing experiences and challenges in doing fieldwork
Facilitators: Dr Sarah Buckler, Sunderland County Council and University of Durham , Dr Tom Hall, University of Cardiff
2.00 Introduction to the session: Sara Buckler
2.10 Challenges in doing fieldwork: Tom Hall
2.30 a) Autoethnography, commitment and the distinction between researcher and engaged member
1. Researching embodied space, Paula Lökman, Roehampton University
2. Opening a can of worms: (re)thinking the auto/biography of the question, Lynda Nicholson, Loughborough University
3.30 - 4.00 Coffee/tea
4.00 - 4.45 b) What happens when fieldwork presents the unexpected, when you are surprised by what you find
3. A research journey, Norhafezah Yusof, Nottingham Trent University
4. Tales from the field: sharing experiences and challenges in doing fieldwork, Diane Skinner, Warwick Business School
These two papers deal with what happens when fieldwork presents the unexpected: when the site turns out to be something different than you expected, or when your interlocutors talk back to you in a language you thought was only your own. The theme is surprise.
4.45-5.30c) How to deal with difference; belonging and being an outsider
5. Parental involvement in education in rural settings: An application of Bourdieu’s theory of practice into an under-explored area, Cristina Azaola, University of Bristol
6. Becoming an Insider in Field Research: A Reflective Account, Corinna Dickson, University of Bournemouth
These two papers are both about how to deal with difference. Neither paper points to an overcoming of difference, through assimilation, as the answer to this fieldwork dilemma. Instead the possibilities for belonging as an outsider are foregrounded. Difference has a place in the field, and provides a basis for reciprocity and for acceptance/friendship. The theme here is difference, and the distinction between understanding and being.
Each speaker has 5-10 minutes followed by a general discussion
