engleski

Emotions in field diaries and their value in reflexive ethnography with homeless people

As anthropologists, we are reminded that long– term immersion through fieldwork is generally a total embodied experience where apart from our intellectual and physical resources we draw upon our emotional resources. This paper reflects on the use of field diaries as a tool to enhance the place of emotions in fieldwork. These journals are introspective first–person accounts of the research process, often including emotional, personal, and self–conscious accounts of lived experience (Ellis & Bochner 2000). Field diaries allow researchers to obtain a reflexive distance from the experiences they document and create a safe ‘unloading zone’ for the emotionality that emerges (Bloor et al. 2008 ; Connolly & Reilly 2007). In these field diary narratives, we record how we feel about the research process: the challenges we face and how we cope as well as our relationships and personal dilemmas with research participants and others in the field. Apart from acknowledgment and management of emotions, we also track ongoing areas of concern and changes, identify vulnerabilities and monitor the emotional impact of this research. This analysis is part of a larger comparative research project based on collaborative team fieldwork that aims to understand the everyday lives of people experiencing homelessness and social exclusion (CSRP). By critically reflecting on our emotions as researchers it is hoped that we will gain a better understanding of the vulnerabilities and emotions of those we research as well the research processes that will, in turn, facilitate more empathetic and ethically sensitive research.

emotions, diaries, fieldwork, reflexivity, homelessness,

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