Luker explains in chapter 8 that being a member of the society you are researching introduces the problem of overlooking what the outside observer would find quite strange.
But Stebbins explains that' fitting in' means that the observer is prepared to write a scientific account of that social world. Failing to fit in results in a bad field study.
As an active YouTube user - How can I continue to 'fit in' with the YouTube society but at the same time maintain a distance that allows for proper ethnographic research?
Any suggestions? :(
I kinda think of this as being like an undercover agent or something. Your job is to infiltrate, collect data and then report it all while trying not to go native.
ReplyDeleteI think you need a handler! You know someone who is not directly involved in the undercover operation whom you can talk to about the collected data allowing for a third party objective (well not involved directly at least) perspective. I dunno, does that make sense?