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Approaching Informality: Rear-Mirror Methodology and Ethnographic Inquiry

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The Informal Economy in Global Perspective

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to advance a methodological framework for the study of open secrecy, the voluntary concealment of the nature of proceedings jointly performed by members of a social order with a vested interest in protecting the current state of affairs. It elaborates on the “rear-mirror methodology”, extending it to ethnographic inquiry. To cast aside the veil of collective secrecy, the chapter makes the case for a flexible approach to fieldwork, and recommends that researchers adopt the status of partial insider and the role of naïve newcomer; maintain rapport with, but also distance from, participants; and regard as meaningful the apparent incongruities between data generated through casual talk and data obtained via formal interviews.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Hong Kong, Department of Sociology, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

    Marius Wamsiedel

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  1. Marius Wamsiedel
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Correspondence to Marius Wamsiedel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin City University, School of Law and Government, Dublin, Ireland

    Abel Polese

  2. University of Sheffield, Management School, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Colin C. Williams

  3. Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Iași, Romania

    Ioana A. Horodnic

  4. Institute of Public Finance, Zagreb, Croatia

    Predrag Bejakovic

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Wamsiedel, M. (2017). Approaching Informality: Rear-Mirror Methodology and Ethnographic Inquiry. In: Polese, A., Williams, C., Horodnic, I., Bejakovic, P. (eds) The Informal Economy in Global Perspective. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40931-3_6

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