Modern Science as a Social Problem

Restivo, Sal

doi:10.1525/sp.1988.35.3.03a00020

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…The entrenchment of hierarchies in evaluating methods is in part a result of professional norms and political and economic motivations that both influence which types of questions are considered most important to society and constrain possible answers to those questions (Woodhouse et al, 2002). Unfortunately, so-called disinterested research that does not disrupt the status quo often supports and reproduces modern social problems, from weapons proliferation to environmental degradation (Monahan, 2008; Restivo, 1988). Building upon this problematization of the possibility of non-biased research, the following sections draw upon empirical examples to respond more directly to the criticism of ethnographic methods as compromised by observer effects.…”

Section: Methodological Insights From Science Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of ‘observer effects’: lessons from the field

Monahan

Fisher

2010

Qualitative Research

208

146

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This paper responds to the criticism that "observer effects" in ethnographic research necessarily bias and therefore invalidate research findings. Instead of aspiring to distance and detachment, some of the greatest strengths of ethnographic research lie in cultivating close ties with others and collaboratively shaping discourses and practices in the field. Informants' performances -however staged for or influenced by the observer -often reveal profound truths about social and/or cultural phenomena. To make this case, first we mobilize methodological insights from the field of science studies to illustrate the contingency and partiality of all knowledge and to challenge the notion that ethnography is less objective than other research methods. Second, we draw upon our ethnographic projects to illustrate the rich data that can be obtained from "staged performances" by informants. Finally, by detailing a few examples of questionable behavior on the part of informants, we challenge the fallacy that the presence of ethnographers will cause informants to self-censor.

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Section: Methodological Insights From Science Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of ‘observer effects’: lessons from the field

Monahan

Fisher

2010

Qualitative Research

208

146

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“…This is a mechanism of asserting legitimacy as committed researchers who are sincerely interested in finding out answers to questions, not simply seeking to produce exposés. We are certainly dedicated to invested and engaged research that brings about progressive social change, and following the tenets of science and technology studies (STS) and surveillance studies, we do not believe that research is a neutral or impartial activity (Ball and Haggerty 2005; Barnes and MacKenzie 1979; Haggerty 2009; Haraway 1991; Monahan 2011; Restivo 1988). Indeed, we have argued that researchers should be pursuing more interested, reflexive projects oriented toward solving social problems (Monahan 2008; Monahan and Fisher 2010).…”

Section: Strategies For Obtaining Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for Obtaining Access to Secretive or Guarded Organizations

Monahan

Fisher

2014

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

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Establishing contacts and gaining permission to conduct ethnographic or qualitative research can be time-consuming and stressful processes. Gaining access can be especially challenging when representatives of prospective research sites see their work as being sensitive and would prefer to avoid outside scrutiny altogether. One result of this dynamic is that many organizations that exert a profound influence in governing populations and regulating individuals’ access to basic needs are relatively invisible to the public and shielded from meaningful public accountability. Therefore, it is vital to effectively study secretive or guarded organizations and fill out the empirical record, which in turn could create the conditions for greater public awareness and debate. To that end, this paper draws on our collective research experience and the scholarship of others to present nine strategies that we have found to be especially effective for securing access to secretive organizations.

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“…. As Sal Restivo [1988] notes in his description of science as a social problem, we want to approach science as a set of linked interdependencies inseparable from 'personal troubles, public issues, and social change agendas' . .…”

Section: Ecologies Of Knowledge Boundary Objects Classifications Amentioning

confidence: 99%