Reflexive Ethnography

by Charlott Davies

Reflexive Ethnography is a unique guide to ethnographic research for students of anthropology and related disciplines. It provides practical and comprehensive guidance to ethnographic research methods, but also encourages students to develop a critical understanding of the philosophical basis of ethnographic authority. Davies examines why reflexivity, at both personal and broader cultural levels, should be integrated into ethnographic research and discusses how this can be accomplished for a variety of research methods. This revised and updated second edition Postmodernist relativism can lead to an over-emphasis on reflexivity that denies the possibility of social research. Reflexive Ethnography utilises postmodernist insights – incorporation of different standpoints, exposure of the intellectual tyranny of meta-narratives – but proposes that reflexive ethnographic research be undertaken from a realist perspective. Reflexive Ethnography will help students to use and understand ethnographic research practices that fully incorporate reflexivity without abandoning claims to develop valid knowledge of social reality.

Genres: Anthropology

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 11, 2007

Reviews

[Silvana Luísa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely a guide for me taking the first steps into social research.
As an anthropology student, this book helped me grasp my position as a researcher and for that, I recommend it to everyone who practices ethnography.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for uni, it was interesting and helpful !

[Kei · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my most favourite books during my study in ethnography. It is very easily understood, and it also emphasises various other disciplinaries, such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, and discourse studies. As reflexivity is an important tool that – especially – qualitative researchers need to have, this book is definitely worth to read.