Ethnography and reflexivity: Notes on the construction of objectivity in ethnographic research

Abstract

This paper deals with a sensitive and controversial topic – objectivity in ethnographic research. More specifically, I would like to look at how reflexive procedures can increase the objectivity of the knowledge produced by ethnographies. The essay is organized in five parts. I will start by giving a preliminary, summary definition of the two key concepts which are at the centre of my analysis – objectivity and reflexivity. I will then give a brief description of the epistemological framework in which my conceptions of objectivity and reflexivity are located. Thirdly, I move on to consider the epistemic status of ethnographic research, and will emphasize that ethnographies are not just “theory–laden”, as many writers have stated, but also “praxis” or “procedure laden”. In other words, I will stress that it is not only theories which are inevitably incorporated in research, influencing what observations can be made; much the same can also be said of the concrete research practices which are supposed to embody the theoretical perspective. Fourthly, I will discuss why it is so useful to employ reflexive practices, and then immediately afterwards will illustrate the ways in which reflexive descriptions can contribute to greater objectivity of ethnographic accounts. In conclusion, I will discuss a number of objections which have been raised against reflexivity.