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Researching From Afar

Distance, Ethnography, and Testing the Edge

Willamette University

In this article, the author discusses some of the methodological implications of conducting long-distance ethnographic research. The author suggests that while distance is not without its advantages (such as helping the researcher maintain novelty and/or feign ignorance when appropriate), it also poses serious challenges (e.g., cutting the researcher off from his or her support network and/or imposing an "unnaturally" restrictive timetable). In this light, distance might best be seen as a potential tool in the researcher's toolkit. The article concludes by situating long-distance ethnography in the tradition of voluntary risk taking or "edgework."

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 30, No. 6, 704-725 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/089124101129024321


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