Abstract
This essay gives an account of two ethnographic research projects in which the author has been engaged over the years, with a focus on issues of interpretation. Through tangible descriptions of the unfolding of these research projects – each study in itself and the interconnections between them – the processes by which certain issues and modes of understanding emerge as worthy of attention are addressed. Particular attention is drawn to the quality of wandering that characterizes ethnographic research – wandering that is sometimes purposeful, at other times aimless; sometimes smooth, at other times jerky. Ethnographic research – like life itself – unfolds, quite often without preplanning; even if preplanned, there are always unintended consequences. Making sense of this unfolding most often takes place after the fact. In this regard, what can be called the “methodological autobiography” that lies at the heart of this essay, like the act of research, shares this same characteristic of working backwards and hence, in itself, serves to demonstrate the act and art of interpretation.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Carroll, L. (2010) [1865]. Alice in wonderland and through the looking glass. London: Bibliosis.
Golden, D. (1997). Belonging through time: Israelis, immigrants and the task of nation-building. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University College London.
Golden, D. (2001). “Now, like real Israelis, let’s stand up and sing”: Teaching the national language to Russian newcomers in Israel. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 32(1), 52–79.
Golden, D. (2004). Hugging the teacher: Reading bodily practice in an Israeli kindergarten. Teachers and Teaching, 10(4), 395–407.
Hirschauer, S. (2006). Putting things into words. Ethnographic description and the silence of the social. Human Studies, 29(3), 413–441.
Lewis, A. (1985). Phantom ethnicity: ‘Oriental Jews’ in Israeli society. In A. Weingrod (Ed.), Studies in Israeli ethnicity: After the ingathering (pp. 133–157). New York: Gordon and Breach.
Ortner, B. S. (1973). On key symbols. American Anthropologist, 75(5), 1338–1346.
Schmidt, R. (2008). Gaining insight from incomparability: Exploratory comparison in studies of social practices. Comparative Sociology, 7(3), 338–361.
Whyte, W. F. (1973[1955]). Streetcorner society: on the social structure of an Italian slum. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Willis, P. (1975). The expressive style of a motor-bike culture. In T. Polhemus (Ed.), The body as a medium of expression. London: Allen Lane.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Golden, D. (2015). 3.6 Working Backwards: A Methodological Autobiography. In: Smeyers, P., Bridges, D., Burbules, N., Griffiths, M. (eds) International Handbook of Interpretation in Educational Research. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9282-0_29
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9282-0_29
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9281-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9282-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)