Passing and moving: negotiating fieldwork roles in football fandom research
Journal of Organizational Ethnography
ISSN: 2046-6749
Article publication date: 25 May 2018
Issue publication date: 16 July 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Gaining access to the research field has received much academic attention; however, the literature focusing on the changing and/or multiple roles that researchers adopt during fieldwork has at times been oversimplified. The purpose of this paper is to outline the multiple stages of the fieldwork journey, a more reflexive approach to fieldwork and the research process can be attained.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were generated from a four-year ethnographic study of the match-day experiences of the fans of Everton Football Club. In total, over 100 hours were spent doing fieldwork observations with an additional 25 semi-structured interviews forming the data set.
Findings
This paper argues that researchers should be more critical of their position in the field of their research, and should seek to identify this more clearly in their scholarship. This in turn would enable for more discussions of how each stage of the fieldwork journey affected the scope and overall findings of the research.
Originality/value
This paper provides an alternative framework for ethnographic researchers to better recognise and acknowledge reflexivity throughout the research process. This is done by outlining the various stages of fieldwork engagement more clearly to better understand how researchers change and adapt to the research environment.
Keywords
Citation
Richards, J. (2019), "Passing and moving: negotiating fieldwork roles in football fandom research", Journal of Organizational Ethnography, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 146-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOE-03-2017-0014
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited