CMNS 262 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Impression Management, Ethnography
14 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
Impressions of the researcher that pose an obstacle to access must be avoided or countered as far as possible, while those that facilitate it must be encouraged; within the limits set by ethical considerations. Such forms of dress can give off the message that the ethnographer seeks to maintain the position of an acceptable marginal member. The essential affinity between researcher and hosts, without any attempt on the part of the former to ape the style of the latter. There may be different categories of participants, and different social contexts, which demand the construction of different selves". In this, the ethnographer is no different in principle from social actors in general, whose social competence requires such sensitivity to shifting situations. In the early days of field negotiations it may be advantageous to find more ordinary" topics of conversation with a view to establishing one"s identity as a normal",
