“What Do You Think We Should Do?”

Abstract

This article uses three concepts as a framework by which to examine how the interrelational elements of ethnographic approaches to qualitative inquiry reflect dimensions of therapeutic engagement. Participant observation, reflexivity, and context are all widely and routinely included within research methods; however, they are less frequently attended to directly in their experiential capacity through the lens of the researcher, clinician turned investigator. A unique study design will be profiled to reflect the complicated juxtaposition between methods, questions, sample population, time, space, and identity. Studying occupational therapy students traveling abroad for a short-term immersion experience, this narrative study called on a necessary and attentive awareness of locality as the researcher traveled with the group. Conducting ethnographic research where the researcher's therapeutic skills aided and constrained relationships resulted in rich, guarded, and relevant insights that parallel the therapeutic use of self in occupational therapy practice.

Photo-Elicited Interviews: A Method to Create Open Communication for Mothers Raising Children With Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

“…These mothers took much of what they learnt regarding early childhood stimulation to heart and took pride in their children's development. They taught the first author the value of mothers as primary agents of change, anchoring her focus on them (Elliot, 2015). In 2017, she embarked on a qualitative descriptive study to understand the ways in which mothers facilitate the occupational engagement of their children with FASD in spite of challenges described earlier.…”

“…She explained her desire to learn from participants whom she considered to have expert knowledge in raising their children with FASD. This helped shift the balance in the research-subject dynamic which usually places the researcher in a position of power in relation to the participant (Elliot, 2015). Before embarking on this enquiry, the researcher had observed mothers using the digital cameras on cell-phones to capture memorable moments when participating in programmes.…”

In the shadow of occupation: Racism, shame and grief

“…This section of the paper pertains to research undertaken by the second author, a modified ethnographic study informed by narrative phenomenology and person-centred ethnography (Elliot, 2015a(Elliot, , 2015bElliot & Bonsall, in press;Hollan, 2001Hollan, , 2008Mattingly, 2010). The heading is inspired by the title of feminist scholar Carol Gilligan's (1982) influential text of the same name, though is not drawing parallels to the content that follows beyond an acknowledgement of the resonance of its themes pertaining to self, identity, and justice.…”

Building stories

“…Interpretations and theoretical or even philosophical investigations into lived experiences and the complexity of lived worlds are the cornerstone of social and health science scholarship. Gaining prominence in this literature is positionality (Elliot, 2015a) the identification of the presence of the researcher amidst the participants and the populations being studied. However, the development of identity as a dialogical process, emphasizing the importance of being seen by others (Ortiz, 2001), is not always transparently discussed in qualitative research.…”

“…The nine-month ethnography investigated the temporal influence of anticipation, participation and reflection and the spatial dimension that different geographies play in the construction of narratives. In other words, across time and space, with individuals and small groups, interviews were conducted, written and photographic accounts were collected, overseas realities were observed, and the overarching conversation happening between and across individual-collective-societal levels was documented (Elliot, 2015a(Elliot, , 2015b.…”