‘I thought… I saw… I heard…’: the ethical and moral tensions of auto/biographically opportunistic research in public spaces

Hayes, Tracy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6330-6520 (2020) ‘I thought… I saw… I heard…’: the ethical and moral tensions of auto/biographically opportunistic research in public spaces. In: Parsons, Julie and Chappell, Anne, (eds.) The Palgrave handbook of auto/biography. Palgrave Macmillan, London, UK, pp. 285-303.

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Abstract

There are ethical and moral tensions inherent in studies that utilise auto/biographically opportunistic methods. The researcher may live/work alongside participants, walking the same streets, developing personal connections with the social settings, groups and individuals being studied. To do this ethically demands explicit and reflexive self-observation, sensitivity and awareness of the relational nature of research. I discuss these tensions in relation to findings from my qualitative study into young people’s relationship with nature, using a short story that blends data from informal interviews with naturalistic observations in public spaces. Drawing from creative and auto/ethnographical research methods, and applying the concept of the sociological imagination to explore the complexities of this approach, I argue it is a valid and appropriate way to research the role of space, place and nature in auto/biographical accounts whilst remaining cognisant of our own values, beliefs and emotions.

Item Type:	Book Section
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN:	9783030319731
Departments:	Institute of Health > Social Work, Children and Families
Depositing User:	Christian Stretton
Date Deposited:	21 Feb 2020 10:47
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2024 11:00
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/5367

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