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Tales from the Drop Zone: roles, risks and dramaturgical dilemmas

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 03:31 authored by James Hardie-BickJames Hardie-Bick, Susie ScottSusie Scott
This paper critically revisits conventional understandings of ethnographic fieldwork roles, arguing that representations of the covert insider as heroic and adventurous are often idealistic and unrealistic. Drawing on one of the authors’ experiences of being both a covert and overt researcher in an ethnographic study of skydiving, we identify some of the dramaturgical dilemmas that can unexpectedly affect relations with participants throughout the research process. Our overall aim is to highlight how issues of trust, betrayal, exposure and vulnerability, together with the practical considerations of field research, combine to shape the researcher’s interactional strategies of identity work.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Qualitative Research

ISSN

1468-7941

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Issue

2

Volume

17

Page range

246-259

Department affiliated with

  • Sociology and Criminology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-10-13

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2017-03-22

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-10-13

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