Description:
SummaryEthnography can be a deeply challenging form of research in which the researcher has to navigate the boundaries of acceptable observation and avoid the pitfalls of intrusion. In the last twenty years, legalistic and contractual ethical codes have gained prominence and influence in social research. Despite the welcome focus on ethical issues, ethical codes rarely prompt the researcher to share the research outcomes with the research participants or prompt the researcher to actively consider using the research to shape and change policy frameworks to have positive impacts for those at the margins. Through a fictionalized account of the struggles of an ethnographic researcher, the article highlights such tensions by exploring their reflexive analysis of relationships with research participants located at the margins.