Organisational ethnography as a project of unease

Abstract

Purpose

The article examines situations of unease during ethnographic fieldwork with migration control agents in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. It shows how these “tests” are both methodologically challenging and analytically valuable, and how they need to be addressed properly. The article concludes a special issue on “passing the test in organisational ethnography”.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on ethnographic research with migration control agents, carried out by both authors in Denmark and Sweden (Annika) and Germany (Tobias). However, rather than presenting the main results from this research, the article focuses on the tests encountered during the research.

Findings

The article has two main findings. First, it provides an open typology of tests. Second, it proposes four ways in which ethnographers could address these tests: acknowledging them methodologically, working through them personally and collectively, unpacking them analytically and preparing others in teaching and peer-feedback.

Research limitations/implications

The article encourages ethnographers to engage reflexively with fieldwork challenges, and provides a framework for doing so.

Originality/value

The article presents contributes to the current debate on organisational ethnography with recommendations of how to engage with tests in ethnographic fieldwork.

Citation

Lindberg, A. and Eule, T.G. (2020), "Organisational ethnography as a project of unease", Journal of Organizational Ethnography, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 237-247. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOE-12-2019-0043