A call for renewal in tourism ethnographic research: the researcher as both the subject and object of knowledge

Kevin O'Gorman, Andrew MacLaren, Derek Bryce

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    24 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Our critique of tourism ethnographic research argues that too much existing published work tends to cite preceding studies as methodological precedents without stating how particular approaches were operationalised. Moreover, findings are often presented as individual cases with limited utility in terms of theory building or wider understanding of contextual phenomena. We argue that closer attention, first to current developments within anthropology, which seek to overcome researcher naivety and second, greater philosophical reflexivity, would elevate both the rigour with which such work is undertaken and the seriousness with which it is received in the wider academy. We call for a double-reflexivity in ethnographic research in tourism that accepts both the specific situational nature of individual studies and the wider discursive frames within which they are embedded. We call for constant reflection on, and acknowledgment of, this duality in ethnographic research where, after all, the researcher is so intimately embedded in empirical and subjective terms.
    Original languageEnglish
    Number of pages14
    JournalCurrent Issues in Tourism
    Early online date12 Sept 2012
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 12 Sept 2012

    Keywords

    • cultural tourism
    • philosophy
    • subjectivity
    • reflexivity
    • ethnography

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