To be an ethnographer is to be in two places at the same time. The researcher needs to assume two different roles when undertaking a study of a different culture, that of researcher and that of actor. The method undertaken be it covert, overt, participant or non-participant will determine how much of an actor’s role is required. The role of actor can take a long time to build, as new relationships need to be formed within groups and with individuals, which is why, studies are generally conducted over years not months. The concept of verstehen is an important aspect of the ethnographers’ role as an observer. They must use observational understanding to interpret the meanings and actions of others. The researcher has to place himself in the shoes of the observed and not only understand the meaning of a certain action but also the meaning behind the action. This can only be achieved once the researcher has learnt the culture, language and different ways of interaction within a certain group. It is through learning the culture of a certain group that the researcher has the chance to gain the trust of the group, this process can take a long time depending on the group been studied. (Haralambos, Holborn, 2000)
In Barleys study The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes from a Mud-Hut, (1983) Gerald Durells study of the Dowayo people in Africa involved learning a whole new language and way of life, he achieved this by submerging himself into their culture and becoming one of them but at the same time retained that certain degree of detachment in order to understand and interpret their culture.
In Youngs study An Inside Job: Policing and police culture in Britain. Malcolm Young had already worked for 15 years in the police force and his study was about the police. He was in a prime position through his work to be able to question his own perception of the experiences that he encountered. This gave him a valuable insight into his field of study. He referred to the insider/anthropologist as something of a Jekyll and Hyde experience. “The observing participant is consequently torn between self and scientism”. (Young 1991: 10)
In Whytes study Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum, William Whyte began his research into the social structure of the Italian slums in a place called Cornerville in 1937, he found the best way of doing this was to observe people in action. His original idea was to commute to Cornerville, though he later realised that if he was to build any kind of relationship with the people or be accepted by them he needed to be living amongst them. He himself came from an upper middle class background and had been living at Harvard University, he now found himself lodging in a room with an Italian family.
“I began as a non participating observer. As I became accepted into the community, I found myself becoming almost a non-observing participant” (Whyte 1955: 321) He had established a relationship of trust with the group he was studying and they accepted him as part of their group he realised he had to balance familiarility with detachment. ”If the researcher is living for an extended period in the community he is studying, his personal life is inextricably mixed with his research” (Whyte 1955: 279)
Whyte found that he learned more from the people by listening rather than interviewing. “If people accept you, you can just hang around, and you’ll learn the answers in the long run without even having to ask the questions” (Whyte 1955: 303) The researcher has to be careful not to ask leading or threatening questions because in certain situations it can do a lot of harm as Whyte found out when he posed a simple question to one of the group whilst discussing some unlawful activity he was involved in. Whyte asked whether or not the police had been paid off not intending the question to be threatening, but later found out that you do not discuss police matters with a stranger. He wasn’t aware of the criminal code of silence.
He found when amongst the group he was studying when he tried to use their terminology the group were surprised because he wasn’t supposed to talk like that, they accepted that he was different and they wanted him to be that way as long as he took a friendly interest in them, therefore he abandoned his efforts at complete immersion. He had to learn that in order to be accepted by the people in the district he did not have to do everything that they did for instance if they were to break the law it didn’t mean that he had to because his own standing in the community would have been lessened and he would have been reduced to their position and this would have risked his research project.
After spending 6 years in Cornerville, Whyte found out that the only way to understand the group was to observe the changes through time. Ethnographic studies of society and different cultures can take many years to carry out and a large proportion of that time is spent beforehand planning hypothesis before the research even begins, the researcher must allow for a certain degree of modification to these hypothesis as the research progresses. Another important aspect of ethnographic studies is that it is important to remain objective even more so when like Young he has to overcome any of his pre-existing prejudices against the criminal classes. Researchers going native have to be aware of the consequences of becoming too immersed in their surroundings.
Bibliography
Barley, N. (1983) The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes from a Mud-Hut, London: British Museum Publications
Fielding, N. (2001) ‘Ethnography’, in Gilbert, N. (2nd Ed.) Researching Social Life, London: Sage
Hammersley, M. (1990) Reading Ethnographic Research: A Critical Guide, New York: Longman
Haralambos, M. Holborn,M. (2000) Sociology Themes and Perspectives (5th Ed) London: HarperCollins
Whyte, W.F. (1955) Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum, Chicago: Chicago University Press
Young, M. (1992) An Inside Job: Policing and Police Culture in Britain, Oxford: Clarendon Press
