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Emotion Work in Ethnography

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Book cover Emotions and Reflexivity in Health & Social Care Field Research

Abstract

The tensions and emotion work inherent in longitudinal ethnographic work are discussed in this chapter, using empirical evidence from the author's  Ph.D. The sustained involvement with research participants, characteristic of this approach, is not only advantageous in terms of data collection and insider viewpoint, but also challenging because of the extended duration of the research relationship. The study's themes, concerning the experiences of infertile couples starting fertility treatments, are of a highly emotional and intimate nature raising questions of privacy and threatening negative feelings in both researcher and participants. These issues, and that of reactivity, are discussed in terms of researcher experiences in the field, and she examines how reflexivity contributes to methodological and practical effect in this setting. The author suggests strategies for researchers working with similarly emotional topics.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Although in itself this argument presupposes that cultural groups are themselves open or closed and therefore to be understood differently by insiders and outsiders.

  2. 2.

    All participants have been given pseudonyms.

  3. 3.

    As it happens the following year Victoria, David and I met unexpectedly at a social event through a mutual friend. I think all of us enjoyed meeting up again in a different context, and but it did alter the dynamics of the event for me and I suspect that for them it must have been like being at a party with your accountant or priest. When we were chatting I was careful not to allude to the past (or indicate to anyone else our relationship) but Victoria did take five minutes (‘as an aside’) to tell me her latest news. They had found a suitable egg donor, which is a different outcome to their story than I had expected.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Ginny Mounce

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  1. Ginny Mounce
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom

    Helen T. Allan

  2. University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom

    Anne Arber

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Mounce, G. (2018). Emotion Work in Ethnography. In: Allan, H., Arber, A. (eds) Emotions and Reflexivity in Health & Social Care Field Research. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65503-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65503-1_8

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65502-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65503-1

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