Emerald | Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal | Table of Contents

Untold stories of the field and beyond: narrating the chaos

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose – The Guest Editors’ intent with this special issue is to tell tales of the field and beyond, but all with the serious end of rendering visible the largely invisible. This paper aims to introduce the articles forming the special issue, as well as reviewing extant work that foregrounds the hidden stories and uncertainties of doing qualitative research. Design/methodology/approach – The authors advance their arguments through a literature review approach, reflecting on the “state of the field” with regard to doing research and offering new directions on reflexivity as an ethical consideration for conducting qualitative research. Findings – Far from consigning the mess entailed in doing qualitative research to the margins, there is much to be learned from, and considerable value in, a more thoughtful engagement with the dilemmas we face in the field and beyond, one that shows the worth of what we are highlighting to both enrich research practice itself and contribute to improving the quality of what we produce. Originality/value – This paper turns the spotlight onto the messiness and storywork aspects of conducting research, which are all too often hidden from view, to promote the kinds of dialogues necessary for scholars to share their fieldwork stories as research, rather than means to a publication end.

Awkward encounters and ethnography

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Juliette Koning, Can-Seng Ooi) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose – Researchers rarely present accounts of their awkward encounters in ethnographies. Awkwardness, however, does matter and affects the ethnographic accounts we write and our understanding of social situations. The purpose is to bring these hidden sides of organizational ethnography to the fore, to discuss the consequences of ignoring awkward encounters, and to improve our understanding of organizational realities. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents awkward ethnographic encounters in the field: encounters with evangelizing ethnic Chinese business people in Indonesia (Koning), and visiting an artist village in China (Ooi). Based on analysing their awkwardness, and in the context of a critical assessment of the reflexive turn in ethnography, the authors propose a more inclusive reflexivity. The paper ends with formulating several points supportive of reaching inclusive reflexivity. Findings – By investigating awkward encounters, the authors show that these experiences have been left out for political (publishing culture in academia, unwritten rules of ethnography), as well as personal (feelings of failure, unwelcome self-revelations) reasons, while there is much to discover from these encounters. Un-paralyzing reflexivity means to include the awkward, the emotional, and admit the non-rational aspects of our ethnographic experiences; such inclusive reflexivity is incredibly insightful. Research limitations/implications – Inclusive reflexivity not only allows room for the imperfectness of the researcher, but also enables a fuller and deeper representation of the groups and communities we aim to understand and, thus, will enhance the trustworthiness and quality of our ethnographic work. Originality/value – Awkwardness is rarely acknowledged, not to mention discussed, in organizational ethnography.

A researcher's tale: how doing conflict research shapes research about conflict

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Elisabeth Naima Mikkelsen) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to display and critically reflect upon how field experiences in the research process interacted with the author's subjectivity and shaped her construction of knowledge about organisational conflict. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on Weick's theoretical framework of sensemaking and the notion of reflexivity as a resource for dealing with research experiences, the paper presents empirical narratives that explore how research experiences of negotiating access to information and emic categories of conflict in the field, analysing events and morally deciding which stories from the field are conflict stories, and dealing with ethical dilemmas in the process of doing research about conflict constitute common factors that influenced the author's construction of knowledge about organisational conflict. Findings – The paper shows that the way we organise and make sense of research experiences shapes our process of theorising and the actual production of knowledge in a research field. Research limitations/implications – We should document and display the process of theorising in our research and thoroughly pursue what we experienced in the field, because this will create thoroughness to our research and add to, not devalue, the knowledge we produce. Originality/value – This paper highlights the process of theorising in organisational research. The empirical narratives presented in the paper contribute to the narrow display within the field of how we, as organisational researchers, mobilise our theorising and construct knowledge.

Stories from the lived and living fieldwork process

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Courtney E. Cole) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a more expansive recounting of the process of fieldwork, taking place over a number of years in diverse locations, in order to show how research design develops through the process of field research, as well as to highlight the complexity of fieldwork, especially issues of access, identity, and power. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the author's fieldwork experiences in Sierra Leone, working from and expanding upon fieldnotes from time in the field. Reflexive, autoethnographic personal narratives of fieldwork experiences are juxtaposed with theoretical writing about ethnographic observation and qualitative research. Findings – The expansive discussion of the process of fieldwork and the development of the research project through time demonstrates and explicates the complexity and temporal dimensions of qualitative field research. Issues of access, identities, and power/privilege are also crucial aspects of the fieldwork process. Research limitations/implications – This paper shows the importance of acknowledging and articulating the development of fieldwork and research design over time and in different places. It also discusses the complexity of fieldwork due to issues of access, identity, and power. Its claims are limited by its focus on one case, the author's fieldwork. Social implications – This piece will help members of society better understand the process of qualitative fieldwork. Given its format and writing style, this piece can be easily read and understood by interested members of the public. Originality/value – This paper provides narratives and commentary that provide a more complete picture of the practice of field research and the development of research design over the course of time and in diverse locations. This will be valuable to researchers, especially those preparing for field experiences for the first time or for their first time in a particular field, as well as students interested in learning about qualitative fieldwork practices.

It's hard to tell how research feels: using fiction to enhance academic research and writing

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Helen Kara) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the scope of fiction writing in academic research as a way of studying “messier” aspects of the process, such as emotion. Design/methodology/approach – The author reflects on her “lived experience” of conducting doctoral research, five years earlier and re-searched for the paper, by composing a fictional narrative that aims to capture some of the emotional and other complexities of the process. Findings – The author demonstrates that fictionalisation opens possibilities for a deeper probing of the emotional aspects of the research experience. Her conclusion is that this method can help researchers to think about the processes of writing, reflexivity, and emotion. It can also be useful to academic writers more widely, by showing how fiction writing techniques can convey some of the more complex aspects of their day-to-day activities. Practical implications – The paper can act as a model for extending academic writing skills in the area of fiction, by introducing characterisation, plot and dialogue. Originality/value – This paper offers an original account of the emotions of the doctoral writer, situated within current discourses on emotion, fiction writing and methodology. It will be of value to scholars of arts, humanities and social sciences.

From bricolage to thickness: making the most of the messiness of research narratives

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (François Lambotte, Dominique Meunier) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose – The research process is commonly viewed as a succession of linear, structured and planned practices that exclude informal and unplanned practices, engaging with the unexpected or the uncertain. The authors’ aim is to explore this aspect of researching in connection with the narratives of researchers as they oscillate between past and present, theory and empiricism. Design/methodology/approach – The authors first draw on the concept of “bricolage” to validate informal research practices as researchers seek to lend “thickness” to their research. To deal with the apparent “messiness” of research narratives, they apply the concepts of kairotic time and action nets. Kairotic times are key moments in research narratives when actions, under tension, interconnect to form action nets, which, in turn, generate meaning or knowledge. Findings – The authors analyse two research episodes. The first recounts how personal experiences and contingencies influence a researcher's choice of research objects and his associated theoretical reflections. The second highlights how some concrete difficulties in choosing a field and gaining access trigger a set of actions that force a researcher to review his initial choices and to reposition himself methodologically. Discussing the concept of kairotic time, the authors show the importance of context and timing and demonstrate how stories build around a gravitational point. From there, they discuss how the concept of action nets, breaking linearity, helps to envision research practice not as a sequence, but as networks of actions that produce scientific outcomes. Originality/value – This paper provides an operational method of using kairotic time and action nets to account for, and acknowledge, the messiness in research narratives.