Introducing “navigating failure in ethnography”: a forum about failure in ethnographic research

Abstract

PurposeThe authors introduce a recurrent section for the Journal of Organizational Ethnography which scrutinizes the various manifestations and roles of failure in ethnographic research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors peruse a wide body of literature which tackles the role of failure in ethnographic research and draw on the experiences to argue for a more sustained and in-depth conversation on the topic.Findings“Failure” regularly occurs in ethnographic research, yet remains under-examined. Increased discussion on the topic will enrich debates on methodology and fieldwork in particular.Originality/valueWhile various scholars have commented on the role of “failure” in ethnographic research, an in-depth and sustained examination of the topic is lacking.

Short essay: The risks of choosing practice theory for ethnographic research: experiences of epistemological and methodological failures

“…Achieving this was no doubt made feasible by the emergence of a relational "pot of gold" during my PhD journey: a team of family, friends, and academic colleagues, including two very patient, experienced, and supportive academic supervisors. Verbuyst and Galazka suggest that laying bare our failings could enable other researchers to "mine" some methodological "gold" too (Verbuyst and Galazka, 2023) for their own ethnographical pursuits, or failure in them, and I hope my offering here contributes to that aim. Finally, it occurs to me that I have mined my own methodological gold in writing this piece as well.…”

“…Verbuyst and Galazka (2023) counsel us not “to wallow in their regrets and disappointments” for the sake of it. Did I experience epistemological oppression with the capacity to make me feel regret and disappointment?…”

“…Reading Verbuyst and Galazka’s (2023) call to arms to write about navigating failure in ethnographical research reminded me of a participant in my study, Ram, describing a formal, mandatory procedure he goes through: the surgical safety checklist introduced by the World Health Organisation. At three points, before, during, and on completion of an operation, the surgical team use a physical checklist prescribed by the hospital to record (non-)compliance.…”

What is action ethnography? Reconsidering our intentions for impact in ethnographic practice

“…Knowledge produced from research findings may not be what participants want to hear or learn, and projects may not progress as they intended (Verbuyst and Galazka, 2023). The list of failures that may happen throughout an ethnographic study is admittedly long, as Verbuyst and Galazka (2023) bring to light, but for action ethnography, which hinges on making an impact and contribution to the organisational lives of those with whom they have engaged, failures can be disheartening and disappointing. For example, an expelled member once verbally condemned my research with Channel Monitor when I was part of a group involved in investigating his breach in the Code of Conduct.…”

“That's not a proper ethnography”: a hybrid “propportune” ethnography to study nurses' perceptions of organisational culture in a British hospital

“…In our study, the student was privileged to be a JOE 13,1 funded researcher and privileged to be allowed access to the NHS organisation but was also somewhat oppressed as a qualitative management student in a positivist neo-liberal university business school and impeded from engaging in participant observation of nurses. Such personal identity tensions and role dualities within the powerful NHS research site precluded the possibility of a "proper ethnography" However, this did not constitute ethnographic failure (Verbuyst and Galazka, 2023).…”