After a year break I am redoing my fieldwork. The topic is about gender issues and identity in Japan (which are things I can relate to....).
I now am trying to find informants (human sources) to interview, which is not that easy. Some people are afraid that their English are not good enough to answer my questions. While other maybe think it is waste of time.
I actually thought that a university professor, my husband know, could help me by introducing his students, but no. He was concerned that some students would find my questions about gender insulting and end up complaining about him or suing the university (Well, to his defense it could happen...or maybe not).
I guess problems and obstacles are a part of doing fieldwork in general.
To gather data I am using different kind of methods. Besides observation, participant observation, informal conversation and interviews with tape recorder I am also doing interviews by mails. I was in the beginning worried if I could use the last method, since the interaction between me as an anthropologist/ethnographer and the informants are important too. In some cases I don't have a choice, since it is the only way I can conduct an interview with informants abroad or people who are more confident in their written English. However, I do believe that the method can be used and the data are relevance...
In the context of my fieldwork I am reading Dorinne Kondo's book "Crafting Selves". She is an anthropologist and the book describes her own fieldwork in Japan. According to her the "self" is not fixed and we do therefore not only have one identity. Instead she views the 'selves" as multiple, gendered and power as a significant factor, when it comes to crafting our identities.
I totally agree with her. It was also a pleasure to find somebody else, who have the same thoughts and experiences as me (even though we don't have same cultural background) about/in the Japanese society.
I now am trying to find informants (human sources) to interview, which is not that easy. Some people are afraid that their English are not good enough to answer my questions. While other maybe think it is waste of time.
I actually thought that a university professor, my husband know, could help me by introducing his students, but no. He was concerned that some students would find my questions about gender insulting and end up complaining about him or suing the university (Well, to his defense it could happen...or maybe not).
I guess problems and obstacles are a part of doing fieldwork in general.
To gather data I am using different kind of methods. Besides observation, participant observation, informal conversation and interviews with tape recorder I am also doing interviews by mails. I was in the beginning worried if I could use the last method, since the interaction between me as an anthropologist/ethnographer and the informants are important too. In some cases I don't have a choice, since it is the only way I can conduct an interview with informants abroad or people who are more confident in their written English. However, I do believe that the method can be used and the data are relevance...
In the context of my fieldwork I am reading Dorinne Kondo's book "Crafting Selves". She is an anthropologist and the book describes her own fieldwork in Japan. According to her the "self" is not fixed and we do therefore not only have one identity. Instead she views the 'selves" as multiple, gendered and power as a significant factor, when it comes to crafting our identities.
I totally agree with her. It was also a pleasure to find somebody else, who have the same thoughts and experiences as me (even though we don't have same cultural background) about/in the Japanese society.
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