ERIC ED372073: The Power of Accounts: Ethnographic Research in a Professional Educational Setting.

17 Pages·1994·0.43 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
TM 021 481
ED 372 073
Coffey, Amanda
AUTHOR
The Power of Accounts: Ethnographic Research in a
TITLE
Professional Educational Setting.
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Accountants; Accounting; Authors; College Graduates;
DESCRIPTORS
Context Effect; Data Collection; Data Interpretation;
*Eduational Research; *Ethnography; Experience;
Field Studies; Foreign Countries; Interviews;
Organizational Climate; Personal Autonomy; *Power
Structure; Professional Autonomy; *Professional
Education; *Research Methodology
England; Researcher Role; Research Subject
IDENTIFIERS
Relationship; *Textual Analysis
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the dynamic ngcurs of the power
relationship within social research, concentratirig on the production
and reproduction of a text of the field and focusing )n the processes
of recording, writing, and reading. It draws on ethnogrlphic research
conducted in a United Kingdom office of an international firm of
chartered accountants and focuses on the learning experiences of a
cohort of recent university graduates in their first year of working
for the firm. Fieldwork.over the course of a year consisted of
observation and interviews. The firm, as the researcher's field,
became composed of what the researcher chose to record and how she
chose to record it. The powerful research setting could make the
researcher feel victimized and powerless through criticism and
exclusivity of the study population, yet the researcher retained
power as the writer reporting that environment. Such power is not
fixed or permanent and is subject to reduction by the research
population at a later stage. This study of the powerless in a
powerful -rganization demonstrates that textual representations
transform social actions and events into narrative, which in turn
shapes and gives consequence to the details of observed life. By
placing observations into recognizable textual formats, the
ethnographer can make the social work readable. (Contains 56
references.) (SLD)
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ment do not neCesaarily represent official
The Power of Accounts:
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
OEM position or policy
Ethnographic Research in a Professional Educational Setting
Amanda Coffey
Introduction
social
This paper explores the dynamic nature of the power relationship within
concentrates on the production and reproduction of a text of the
research It
placed on the processes of recording,
A primary focus is therefo:.
field.
Richardson,
writing and reading (Sanjek 1990, Jackson 1990, Atkinson 1990,
authorial status of
1990, Wolcott 1990, Atkinson, 1992, Wolf 1992) and on the
The paper
the ethnographer (Barthes 1982, Geertz 1988, Hastrup 1992).
'powerful'
demonstrates that even where the researcher is entering into a
simplistic one.
research setting, the notion that they are powerless is rather a
best, ambiguous.
Power and authority in the context of social research are, at
research
Discourses of power and authority are complex aspects of the
constitute the
experience. That either the researcher or the researched
powerful is questionable. I argue that it is possible for both to negotiate space
within the research enterprise.
Studying Up and Writing Down
opposed to 'studying
The tendency of social researchers to 'study down' as
Bell 1978), and
up' was brought to our attention in the 1970s (Nader 1974,
The argument
has continued to remain a source of debate within sociology.
under-privileged
that social research favours the underdog and 'gives voice' to
and valid at the
and powerless groups in society, was an argument pertinent
research
There has been a diversification of research subjects and
time.
In particular
settings chosen for sociological investigation since the 1970s.
(see Atkinson 1983,
there is now a strong literature on the professions
elite members
Dingwall and Lewis 1983, Atkinson and Delamont 1985) and on
settings (for example;
and their power over knowledge within organizational
has contributed to
Freidson 1986, Bryman 1988). The 'sociology of education'
well
The education of professional groups is now reasonably
this trend.
Bankowski and
documented, particularly that of the liberal professions (e.g.
1981, Paterson
Mungham 1976, Haas and Shaffir 1977, Lacey 1977, Atkinson
professional groups have
1983). The education of business and commercial
critical sociological scrutiny (Parry 1988,
been the subject of more recent
policy and school
Greed 1991, Roslender 1992, Coffey 1993). Educational
of recent attention from- social
processes have also been the
focus
and elite within
researchers, keen to interpret the views of the influential
different educational arenas.
settings invoIves
Researching powerful groups and powerful organizational
with the researched. As we
the researcher entering into a power relationship
of power within the research environment can
are all too aware, the balance
Cassell (1988) argues, for
influence all facets of the research process.
probIematic when social
example, that access to undertake research can be
Buchanan, Boddy and
researchers wish to study those in positions of power.
research proposal is
McCalman (1988) suggest that the language of the
in
problematized when trying to conduct research with professional groups or
2.
2
formal organizational settings. The terms 'research' and 'interview' can carry
questions
difficult
questionnaires;
of lengthy
connotations
-
negative
Similarly
combining 'the obscure and boring with the intimate and threatening'.
commercial and professionai
the term 'publish' can imply the disclosure of
secrets to the popular press.
setting can, then,
The balance of the power relationship within the research
These may include:
affect the research and the discourses of the research.
language used during the
gaining access to research site and subjects; the
and overall progress of the
project and to describe the findings; the conduct
and publication. Bulmer
research; subsequent opportunities for dissemination
of these issues may be compounded for the
(1989) suggests that all
and
observation
upon
dependent
particularly
who
is
ethnographer,
interaction and continued
'unstructured' interviewing, conversations, social
developing field relations.
is crucial in the practical
This balance of power in the research environment
Further, the discourse of
accomplishment of the social research project.
practicalities of the research project - to how it is
power can reach beyond the
Carrying out social research in elite settings,
presented and re-presented.
of the narratives, stories and
and with elite groups is also about the nature
research. The representations of 'realities'
accounts which emerge from the
discourses. The creation of 'text' and the reading
are in themselves powerful
interpretation and influence. This
of text based on social research is open to
and concentrates on how the
of
'field'
paper begins at that juncture,
refers not only to our
ethnographic fieldwork is constructed. Construction
the 'field' is also
of text
observances. In the writing, reading and re-writing
researcher has power over
constructed. Even in elite research settings, the
constituted by the ethnographers own
the creation of the text, the field being
construct a 'text' of the field (Atkinson 1992)
gaze. The researcher's ability to
claims we advance through our
has consequences for the knowledge
of that
It also has consequences for the 'reading'
ethnographic 'stories'.
knowledge by researchers and the researched.
project
The research setting and the research
conducted in a United Kingdom
This paper draws on ethnographic research
The focus of the
office of an international firm of chartered accountants.
of a cohort of recent university
research project was the learning experiences
firm.
first year of working at the accountancy
graduates, during their
learning within an organizational
Concerned with the context of situational
and simultaneous working
setting, the study followed the training programme
first joined the accountancy firm,
experience of the graduates from when they
methodological approach of the study drew
until their end of year review. The
The sociological investigation used
perspective.
upon an interactionistic
particularly those of observation
mainly ethnographic methods of inquiry,
Fieldnotes
ethnographic interviewing.
(participant and non-participant) and
employed to record and collate the data
(cf.
were the primary method
1992, Parry 1992).
Harnrnersley and Atkinson 1983, Delamont
fieldnotes
Firstly substantik
Fieldnotes were kept in three main ways.
general nature
consisted of descriptive accounts, both of a
were made. These
interactions and settings. Secondly I
and of specific events, actions, people,
entered the field and continued
This began before
kept a field diary.
I
diary was an account of my own
throughout the length of the project. The
the methods I was engaged in.
place within the field and also reflected on
3
.r.1
vt,
3
felt about the research and
The diary provided an ongoing narrative of how I
reflected the 'reflexive' nature of the research process. Thirdly, I constructed
analytical memoranda (Burgess 1984). These were made separate from the
substantive fieldnotes and demonstrated my on-going attempts to play with
and make sense of the data. They recorded emergent themes, concepts and
recorded, selected and used
categories and noted choices I made in how i
the data. Fieldnotes were kept and analysed over the course of the field
project.
I conducted initial interviews with key social actors within the organization -
other graduates, office tutors, managers and partners - before beginning
observation. The observational fieldwork began on the day a new cohort of
In the
graduates joined the firm as full- time graduate accountant trainees.
United Kingdom, chartered accountancy training takes three years to
complete from the time a 'student' joins an accountancy firm. During the three
They are engaged in periodic
years the student takes on a double role.
professional examinations (which are
courses and must study for a series of
At the same time
held over the course of the three year training contract).
students are working employees of the accountancy firm, carrying out a wide
auditing work and taking on growing organizational
range of
(mainly)
year with
By concentrating on the students'
the
first
responsibilities.
accountancy firm, both training courses and work experience could be
observed and explored.
The observational fieldwork was carried out in clearly defined time-periods,
Both during the
agreed at the outset by myself and the accountancy firm.
observational fieldwork and in between those time periods, the graduate
interviewed.
accountants and others involved in tneir training programme were
The overall aim of the project was to build up a sociological picture of how a
and responded to professional
group of graduates received, evaluated
education and training within a formal organizational setting. The project is
occupational
and
on
sociological
literature
within
located
therefore
organizational socialization (Becker et al. 1961, Becker et al. 1968, Olesen
and Whittaker 1968, Bucher and Stelling 1977, Dingwall 1977, Lacey 1977,
Bloom 1979, Atkinson 1981, Atkinson 1983, Dean 1983, Bunton 1985,
Hockey 1986, Melia 1987, Fielding 1988, Parry 1988, Power 1991).
Fieldwork and the process of re-entering the field
refer to the
In my fieldnotes and in the later writings about the project
I
'Western Ridge'. The fieldwork took
accountancy firm by the pseudonym
interview
place over the course of a year, and included both observational and
of
methods at different points in the cycle of the field research. As a means
social
developing the key theme of this paper, the discourses of power within
I oyiginally
research, attention is drawn to a particular stage in the fieldwork.
in participant
spent two complete months with the accountancy firm, engaging
graduate
and non-participant observation of the research environment and the
After that period of intensive fieldwork
accountants' experiences of
it.
I
In the subsequent months I kept in regular
partially withdrew from the field.
also for more formal
contact with the graduates, rry)eting them 'socially' and
It had always been agreed between myself and
pre-arranged interviews.
I should return to the field site for a second phase of
'Western Ridge' that
observational fieldwork.
period of
1 re-entered the field almost seven months since the last intensive
had maintained regular and prolonged
While
observational fieldwork.
I
4
4
undertake further
contact with the graduates,
re-entering the
to
field
observational study afforded me the opportunity to view how the graduates
had adapted to life with the accountancy firm, and to engage in a series of
informal 'catch up' conversations with both the graduates and other key social
actors involved in the training process.
Buchanan, Boddy and McCalman (1988:65) argue that 'getting back to
They go on to
continue research is not necessarily simple or automatic'.
discuss the potential need to re-negotiate access and renew field relations.
As 'going-back' had always been a part of my initial arrangement with the firm,
the actual process of re-entering was relatively unproblematic. What was far
more problematic was the ways in which re-entering the field made me aware
of the socially constructed nature of the 'field' of my 'fieldwork'. Between the
two periods of observational fieldwork I had been engaged in reading and re-
reading my field notes, analysing and writing about the data I had gathered.
Going back, having read about and written about the field, was strange and to
in my field diary on
some extent disorientating. This is reflected in the entry
the day I returned to the fieldsite.
suddenly realised today how much the ethnographer 're-
I
invents' and socially constructs that which they knowingly call
Sitting back in the once familiar seat at the back of
'the field'.
the training room I was struck by the fact that there was no
'lived' with Western Ridge for all those weeks I
field... When I
selected the
served as a sieve for all the possible data.
I
incidents to record, the conversations to note or copy down
verbatim. As the fieldwork progressed I worked with a number of
different themes and ideas. These were undoubtedly different
from what the graduates, the tutor, the accountancy partners
Another
significant.
or
important
considered
probably
ethnographer would also have probably gathered very different
I've now spent several months writing about 'Western
data.
Ridge'. Writing about one's fieldwork is rather like writing a
novel. Western Ridge is almost 'my firm'. To the extent that I
Similarly, the
have constructed it from my data, it's fictional.
graduates - Bob, Tom, Susan and so on are characters in the
I have only captured what I chose to
'novel' not real people.
capture. Similarly the tutor, Rachel in my story, is not quite the
same as the 'real' person.
observation
Returning to tI;e accountancy firm and re-engaging in intensive
had constructed or
was accompanied by a realization on my part
that
I
had been observing and writing about.
This
created 'the field' which
I
I had considerable power over what I
recorded,
demonstrated to me that
found myself caught, at the
At the same time
analysed and wrote.
I
in my
itself and my construction
of
)oundaries between the field
it
observations and writing. Going back, I was confronted by the 'real' firm and
I had spent
'field'
the 'real' people, and found that they did not quite match the
of events, characters and settings had, to
so long writing about. My version
found myself
was now observing.
extent, drifted from what
some
I
I
the
observing the graduates and thinking to myself that they were different to
It was almost as though
characters I had been analysing and writing about.
and distinct
Western Ridge and the characters within it, had taken on separate
entities from the 'real' firm and the 'real' people.
5
The notion of constructing an ethnographic text, and in doing so 'creating
and peopling a world' is of reference here. Krieger (1979) draws comparisons
Krieger suggests that both
between the sociologist and the novelist.
sociologists and novelists need to construct and develop a plausible reality
complete with living, 'real' characters. The graduate accountants which I had
written fieldnotes about and stored information about in my head had become
characters in the plausible reality of 'Western Ridge'. The combination of my
fieldnotes and 'head-notes' (Ottenberg 1990) had enabled me to 'people' the
world of the accountancy firm. As an author it had seemed natural to 'allow'
characters to develop as the story progressed.
Tom provides an example of this process of peopling a social world. Tom
was an graduate at Western Ridge who, from early on, came over as
arrogant, not only to me but also to other graduates and staff I talked to.
His
character developed as an arrogant, but smart 'player' in my story, often witty
Unconsciously, or subconsciously, these
but also difficult to work with.
elements of the character became stronger and more pronounced as the
of my ethnographic text
Other characters,
progressed.
construction
I
observed, developed in similar ways. For instance Richard had been noted by
his colleagues and seniors as someone who tried extremely hard in his work,
but who found much of that work difficult. From the beginning of his training
contract he had demanded a considerable amount of time from tutors and
In my writings his inability to understand and his label as an
fellow students.
A further
office 'pain' had become the central tenets of his 'character'.
example is the character I called Elizabeth. Elizabeth stood out as a student
who did not really fit in with her fellow trainees. Her colleagues described her
to me in terms like 'a nice girl', 'not ruthless enough', 'not a go-getter'. She
found it extremely difficult to make her mark in classes and found the audit
She also fared badly in her first examinations with Western
work difficult.
In the text she comes over as feminine, 'girlie', ineffectual and not cut
Ridge.
out for the business world. Again certain characteristics and features of her
had been emphasized and built upon.
My initial difficulty with re-entering the field was, therefore, reconciling the
with the
had constructed (and the characters which peopled
it)
'field'
I
I had not set out to
While
accountancy firm as a 'real-life' organization.
purposely distort what I had observed, I had became acutely aware of n ly role,
not only as observer, but also as selective filter, notetaker, reader and author.
I had used my fieldnotes and my power as author to create characters and a
social world which gave the story interest and meaning. Returning to the field
setting raised my consciousness of the meanings and understandings the
meanings
those
and
Further,
imposes
field'.
'the
researcher
on
understandings give the field a life of its own, making it almost a being or
entity in itself.
Fieldnotes and the Production of the Field
The realization that the field is a social and a textual creation of the researcher
of the highly situated
is 'ethnographic observer and writer' is demonstrative
It is also illustrative of the
1988).
r ature of ethnographic description (Geertz
adthorial presence within the ethnographic processes of notetaking, writing,
As Atkinson (1990, 1992) reminds us, 'the field' is not
re ading and telling.
something 'out there' that can (or should?) be recorded completely, accurately
the ways in which we
or neutrally. Rather fields of fieldwork are constituted in
remember, record and retell. Hastrup (1992) argues, therefore, that the reality
6
6
involving the ethnographer not only as
of the field is of a peculiar nature,
observer but also as actor, author and teller.
fieldnotes (Jackson 1990) helps to
The construction and 'creation' of
As Wolf (1992) argues fieldnotes
produce the researcher's 'field' of fieldwork.
The
giving a 'frozen' description of actuality.
are in themselves text,
collect in
recording and writing about the data we
processes of remembering,
position of power. Rather than simply
the field, places the ethnographer in a
ethnographer takes on the role as author,
being a neutral teller of reality, the
of what they observe (Geertz
constructing and creating a story or an account
the subsequent telling of the field, thus,
1988, Hastrup 1992). Fieldnotes and
author constructs conversations,
depend upon how the social researcher as
descriptive form. As my experience
actions and events into a narrative and
to me, fieldnotes are not simply
with the accountancy firm demonstrated
and
the many and varied observable
factual notes, or the recording of 'all
1992:17). Rather fieldnotes are in
memorable sayings and doings' (Atkinson
developed and created by a authorial
themselves socially constructed text,
their own unique place in the
The author at the same time has
figure.
account their own meanings.
proceedings, bringing to the creation of the
analysed and interpreted by
Fieldnotes then, are not 'raw' data. They are
Fieldnotes come encoded with the
and read.
the author as they are written
(1992)
and interpretations. As Hastrup
authors conscience, understandings
the reality of
conscience and presence is part of
argues, the ethnographer's
solves, analyses, remembers,
As author, the ethnographer sifts,
the field.
impossible to eliminate their own
writes and in doing so would
find
it
field.
they observe and record in the
consciousness from the activities
I became
site of the accountancy firm
Through going back into the 'field'
making fieldnotes, and how in doing so
conscious of the process of taking and
of the
and producing textual representations
I was involved in constructing
Further the processes of writing,
firm.
social reality of the accountancy
in the reconstruction of a particular
reading and rewriting were pertinent
the accountancy firm Western Ridge.
version or versions of a social world -
and
constituted by what I chose to record
Western Ridge as a 'field' was
'reality' of
read and rewrote about. The
how I chose to record it; what I wrote,
ethnographer (Hastrup 1992).
the field was circumstantial to my presence as
form in what I had written and what may
The field only existed in its particular
constructed (Geertz
Fieldnotes then, as ethnographic texts are
be read.
themselves textual products.
The data of ethnographic work are
1988).
practical activity and a literary activity.
Fieldwork then, it follows, is about a
ethnographic gaze, but also by our
The field is constituted not only by our
write
and our interpretation of what we
construction of a text of what is 'gazed'
site
the research
As my experience of re-entering
1992).
(Atkinson
and
representation of the field, fieldnotes
demonstrated to me, the textual
of that
the cultural and social boundaries
other readings and writings, define
place we 'call the field'.
creating of fieldnotes (Jackson 1990)
is initially through the taking and
It
ethnographer
vocabulary. The power of the
that we constitute the field and its
attention to how,
and of subsequent texts, draws our
as author of fieldnotes,
of
has power over a certain type
within a fieldsetting, the ethnographe,
be, involved in researching a
While the social researcher may
discourse.
has
of people, the ethnographer
perceived powerful organization or group
This is demonstrative of
collected, interpreted and written.
power over what is
of sociologist and novelist.
by Krieger's (1984) comparison
0.1
7
Ethnography, Suspense and the Making of an Ending
The move toward an ethnographic approach which is reflexive, interpretive
and literary (Bretell 1993) is one to which many contemporary ethnographers
have moved (e.g. Marcus and Cushman 1982, Krieger 1984, Clifford and
Marcus 1986). The recognition or notion that the ethnographer is a creator as
well as a writer is a powerful one. The creation of a text of the field suggests
that as well as author, writer and reader, the ethnographer is also a a
As a narrator of the social world they have observed and taken
storyteller.
'r9adable', and
note of, the ethnographer is respcnsible for the creation of a
arguably interesting text or story.
The social scientist as ethnographer is not unlike the novelist. Both desire
'readable'. As Krieger
to give a view of a social world which is interesting and
(1984) argues, social scientists often turn to the realm of the novelist;
The
invention, illusion, inner vision, a focus on the unique and peculiar.
Krieger
'sociological imagination' may incorporate or take on board what
of reality, a
(1984) calls the 'fiction temptation'. As novelists provide a version
persuasive
model of the social world, so then do social scientists. While the
rhetorics and 'data' may be different, imagination and interpretation serve as
The example
tools of both. An example of this may clarify the argument.
collection of new
again draws upon my own re-entry into the field, and the
data during that period of fieldwork.
and conclude
The dilemma of how to finish a piece of academic work
critical attention.
ethnographic writing has not been the subject of much
to end
Wolcott (1990) errs on the side of caution, arguing it is not necessary
Delamont
ethnographic work by pushing a canoe out in the sunset.
fairy story and
(1992:183) makes the comparison between the fictional
qualitative research.
is 'they all
In fairy stories, the conventional sentence of closure
would be a
lived happily ever after', but life is not like that, and it
that
peculiar piece of qualitative research which 'ended with
stock conclusion.
firm, I was
At the time at which I re-entered the field site of the accountancy
That is, the student accountants had
prepared for a 'stock conclusion'.
preparing
reached the end of their first year of accountancy training and were
first embarked on the
when I
to begin their second year. My initial intention
of an elite and
project was to explore how university graduates 'became' part
'Training for success' had been an early
powerful business 'profession'.
of their first year with
working title I had played around with. Over the course
this transition easy or even
the firm, some of the graduates had not found
time I returned for the
possible. One graduate had already left the firm by the
that others had
second stage of observational fieldwork, and I was aware
studying aspects of their
experienced difficulties with both the work and the
firm and previous students
training contract. However, from meetings with the
I had been led to believe that it was
even began the fieldwork,
before
I
promotion at the end of
unusual for students to fail, and that for the most part
the first year was a matter of routine.
field that this 'routine'
It became increasingly clear when I re-entered the
The students
particular group of students.
was far from automatic for this
work experience. More importantly perhaps,
were far from happy with their
for some students as they
the accountancy firm were withholding promotion
of work. What I had foreseen as a 'neat'
were unhappy with their standard
8
8
of providing a
with students one year on, and a way
way of catching up
1990) had been challenged by the
'conservative closing statement' (Wolcott
circumstances. The return to the fieldsite
fundamental change in the students'
earlier
difficult circumstances and data, from my
gave me access to very
this
'managed' the collection and writing up of
visits. The process by which I
temptation' of the social scientist.
'new data' transposes the 'fictional
the
I had already written up much of
re-entered the field
By the time I
interviews.
protracted fieldwork and ethnographic
project, based on the earlier
incorporating the
add to and update chapters,
My original intention was to
professional
It became clear that the route to
students' jiews one year on.
students
into a rather bumpy one. As the
accountancy status was turning
that I
it was apparent to me as author
spoke to me of their disillusionment,
ending to the students'
dramatic and not altogether happy
was being 'given' a
chapters and
fieldnotes and to all of my
I went back to my earlier
story.
anxiety, worry, even scepticism in the
writings I had drafted. While I could see
in how
the tidal turn in their fortunes, and
students early training experiences,
it had been present earlier,
If
not evident.
the firm received their work was
Up until my re-entry
interviewing had not gleaned it.
then my observation and
learning the ropes,
of students trying to get on,
into the field the story was one
It was a story of discovery, of
with each other.
finding their feet, competing
really any sense
of hope. There was never
anxiousness but also largely one
going to make it.
that they were not (on the whole)
'automatic'
graduates would not receive the
The prospect that some of the
firm and
result may choose to leave the
end of year promotion, and as a
As I
'tale'.
different ending to my ethnographic
accountancy behind, gave a
methodological
ending I was faced with a
became clearer of this (unexpected)
It was not really a
narrator of the students' story.
and literary decision, as the
voice' to the
I was committed to 'giving
to tell the story.
case of deciding how
In constructing my
1990).
their story (Richardson
of telling
students,
and actions, and order them
I had tried to take events
'ethnographer's tale'
1988). What was
meaningful episodes (Polkinghorne
into thematic temporarily
from when I re-
but where to tell. Data collected
at issue was not the telling,
thesis needed
with the rest of the story. The
entered the field needed to fit in
But I also
fluidity and a sense of chronology.
I needed to maintain
to flow.
students 'voice'
of circumstances and give the
needed to signpost the change
the dramatic
On top of that I was excited by
to understand those changes.
ending. The solution
of challenging the expected
events and by the possibility
fictional within the
reinforced the narrative and the
which I decided to adopt
of a complete
tale. My desire to maintain a sense
telling of the ethnographic
in the
to encorporate the changes
with the ne
and rounded 'story' combined
data to create the
reality, led me to use the new
graduates perceptions of
good ending.
essence of a good story - a
and story-
fundamental way, my earlier writing
I decided not to alter, in any
and in their
in the students' circumstances
I wrote up the changes
telling.
had gathered',
I outlined how the 'clouds
itself.
perceptions as a narrative in
things were not going 'as
to the students that
how the firm had indicated
l then used this
interpreting all of this.
expected' and how the students were
unexpected ending I
with a 'twist'. As it was an
narrative to form the 'ending
In the preceding
thesis as the last chapter.
placed it at the end of the
Where the
reference to the unexpected.
did not make direct
chapters
I
important to the students
which later re-emerged as
chapters related to issues
such. Phrases
circumstances, I suggested as
in interpreting their changing
changed later
'this view changed', 'circumstances
like 'this is further explored',
9
in the year'; and so on were woven into the text, thus creating a sense that
there was more to come, and that it may be different from the expected.
Krieger (1984:269) talks of the fictional temptation in ethnography, and
science field
suggests that 'we can expand our options for writing up social
research by using methods of fiction'. What I did was to scatter the thesis with
temptations of more, grab the readers' attention, give a feeling of suspense, of
the ending away until the last
an ending in store without actually giving
chapter. The thesis remains optimistic and hopeful, until the end, or almost
the end.
Creating a sense of suspense in order to prompt the reader to want to go
I am always struck by how
crime story.
on, is the stuff of the thriller, the
confronted I am when I get to the end of a novel and the ending is different
after' (or
from the one I was expecting. These stories which end 'happily ever
but be left a little
at least as expected) are the ones which one may enjoy
disappointed with. On the other hand, those sort of endings are safe and on
stuff good
the whole do work. The twist in the tale is not so safe, but is the
The success of the creation of suspense is, of
novels are often made cf.
telling. I was aware at the time that my
course, in the reading as well as in the
first
ethnographic story was to be read by an academic audience, in the
skipping
instance by two distinguished professors. One confessed to quickly
the thesis from cover
to the end to find out 'what happened'. The other read
to cover, not wanting to spoil the ending...
Authorship and 'Authority'
which we
Ethnography is about 'authorship'. The textual representations
into a readable text, 'a
create contain our power as author to turn 'a field'
form' (Richardson
narrative construction of a social word in a readable textual
just portraying a
However, this process of textual creativity is not
1990).
of the version.
version of the 'field' for the author (as ethnographer) is also part
I was producing.
The
My authorial presence was present in the texts
within
'knowledge' I was writing was bound up with my own social interactions
Hastrup (1992) describes this as the confrontatignal
the research site.
Jackson's paper on anthropologists'
knowledge of the ethnographer.
while
that
recognizing
pheromenon,
this
highlights
fieldnotes
(1990)
the
ethnographers create fieldnotes, fieldnotes also create and maintain
of the
anthropologist's own identity. While fieldnotes are 'data' and a record
inherent part of the
field, they are also the 'ethnographer'. Moreover, this is an
argued, while
ethnographic enterprise (Grazier 1993). As Wengle (1988) has
unobserved observer
the ethnographer desires to be the fly on the wall; an
also constitutes
able to come away with the 'real' story, the ethnographic text
'I was there' (Grazier 1993).
a cry for recognition of being there, or
,
existing because the
The field is not a naturally occurring category or site,
is also involved in
researcher as author produces it. The researcher as author
write ethnography requires the
Any effort
to
producing themselves.
anthropologist/sociologist to return repeatedly to the circumstances, events
transcribe tapes, pour
and moods of one's fieldwork. We re-read fieldnotes,
ourselves than our research (Sheehan,
over diaries that reveal more about
boundaries of the
1993:78). Re-reading my own text revealed to me that the
'confrontations' within
field were tied up with my own social transactions and
observer but also
I was actually engaged with the text, not only as
the field.
such my fieldnotes documented and told a 'reality'
as actor and as author. As
relationships and
of the field and also represented in textual format myself, my
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