Leaving the Field: Methodological Insights from Ethnographic Exits

Leaving the field gathers various accounts of ethnographers leaving their field sites. In doing so, the book offers original insights into an often-overlooked aspect of the research process; the ethnographic exit. The chapters variously consider situations in which the researcher must extricate themselves from field relations, deal with unexpected or imperfect ends to projects, or manage situations in which ‘the field’ becomes hard to leave. Whilst the chapters are firmly focussed on ethnographic exits, they also provide more general methodological insights into the conduct of fieldwork and the writing of ethnography, as well as questioning established notions of ‘the field’ as a bounded setting the researcher straightforwardly visits and then leaves. The book highlights the importance of recognising ethnographic exits as an essential part of the research process.

Table of Contents:
Leaving the field: an editors’ introduction Sara Delamont and Robin James Smith Part I Entanglements and im/perfect exits 1 Finishing fieldwork in less than perfect circumstances: lessons learned in ‘labyrinth’ exiting Alexandra Allan and Sarah Cole 2 Exeunt omnes!! The case for bad exits in ethnography Sally Campbell Galman 3 Reflections on care and attachment in the ‘departure lounge’ of ethnography Alex McInch and Harry C.R. Bowles 4 Unfinished business: a reflection on leaving the field Gareth M. Thomas 5 Materia erotica: making love among glass-blowers Erin O’Connor Part II Troubling the field 6 Those who never leave us Jessica Nina Lester and Allison Daniel Anders 7 Déjà vu et jamais vu: what happens when the field expands in ways that mean there is no exit? Dawn Mannay 8 Student voices ‘echo’ from the ethnographic field Janean Robinson, Barry Down and John Smyth 9 Public space and visible poverty: research fields without exit Andrew P. Carlin 10 ‘The martial will never leave your bones’: embodying the field of the Kung Fu family George Jennings Part III Intermissions and returns 11 Between open and closed: recursive exits and returns to the fuzzy field of a community library across a decade of austerity Alice Corble 12 On the importance of intermissions in ethnographic fieldwork: lessons from leaving New York Joe Williams 13 Can you remember? Leaving and returning to the field in longitudinal research with people living with dementia Andrew Clark and Sarah Campbell 14 A constant apprenticeship in martial arts: the messy longitudinal dynamics of never leaving the field David Calvey Part IV Returns, responsibilities and representations after ‘leaving’ 15 A cautionary tale about ‘respondent validation’: the dissonant meeting of ‘field self’ and ‘author self’ Daniel Burrows 16 Commenting on legal practice: research relationships and the impact of criticism Daniel Newman 17 Emotional honesty and reflections on problematic positionalities when conducting research in another country Ashley Rogers

About the Author :
Robin James Smith is Reader in Sociology at Cardiff University Sara Delamont is Emerita Reader in the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University

Review :
CHOICE: Recommended