Politically Sensitive Encounters: Ethnography, Access, and the Benefits of “Hanging Out”

Abstract

Negotiating politically sensitive research environments requires both a careful consideration of the methods involved and a great deal of personal resolve. In drawing upon two distinct yet comparable fieldwork experiences, this paper champions the benefits of ethnographic methods in seeking to gain positionality and research legitimacy among those identified as future research participants. The authors explore and discuss their use of the ethnographic concept of “hanging out” in politically sensitive environments when seeking to negotiate access to potentially hard to reach participants living in challenging research environments. Through an illustrative examination of their experiences in researching commemorative rituals in Palestine and mental health in a Northern Irish prison, both authors reflect upon their use of “hanging out” when seeking to break down barriers and gain acceptance among their target research participants. Their involvement in a range of activities, not directly related to the overall aims of the research project, highlights a need for qualitative researchers to adopt a flexible research design, one that embraces serendipitous or chance encounters, when seeking to gain access to hard to reach research participants or when issues of researcher legitimacy are particularly pronounced, such as is the case in politically sensitive research environments.

Globalised citizenship and the perceived legitimacy of immigration control: narratives and acts of resistance in immigration detention

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Informing Correctional Officer Discretion: A Co-Response Model and the Legal Vulnerabilities Inherent in Prison Work

“…I experienced the emotional ups and downs of the CTP experience, where I was both an active participant and a direct observer (Snow et al, 1986). I was "hanging out" both in a professional sense as a recruit and after classes and meals with my cohort in spaces affiliated (e.g., dorms and houses) and not affiliated (e.g., restaurants, shopping facilities) with the academy (Browne & McBride, 2015). My field notes included interpretations of lessons, interactions, emotions, and observations.…”

‘It's so fake’: Identity performances and cynicism within a people analytics team

“…To uncover forces and dynamics of everyday organisational experiences, the researchers' actions, affects, emotions and feelings were documented in a research diary. This allowed for a deeper understanding of how insights developed throughout the course of the research, especially by recording how and why research questions and focus areas have changed over time (Browne & McBride, 2015).…”