Since the tim e w hen m em bers o f the Chicago School advocated positions ranging from complete observer to com plete participant a variety o f roles have been proposed to explain the relationship o f the researcher to the research site (Adler and Adler, 1987; Lofland and Lofland, 1995). The Chicago School generally discouraged over involvement (‘going native’) due to the potential influence o f the researcher on the phenomena being studied. H ow ever this attem pt to remain marginal within the research site has received som e criticism . For example, ethnomethodologists, through the concept o f indexicality, suggested that a valid sense o f contextualised meanings could only be attained through participation in settings to the fullest extent. They criticised the Chicago School participant observers for em phasising detachment and objectivity as, they argued, that this approach assum ed that the subject or knower could be separated from the object or know n by m ethodologically scientific procedures. Such an approach was view ed as stem m ing from positivist thought which the Chicago School were seen as subtly incorporating into what they claimed to be a subjectivist m ethodology in order to gain acceptance by the social scientific community (Adler and Adler, 1987). Ethnom ethodologists, in contrast, argued for the abandonment o f theoretical fram ew orks in order to enter the subject’s world. Going native was not a problem, it w as the solution to a problem. However according to Adler and Adler the goal o f ethnom ethodology, in terms o f the research role advocated, is extremely difficult to attain and even the most committed may find it impossible not to reflect theoretically on the research situation. They advocated the idea o f the ‘m em bership ro le’ w hich acknow ledges that just as any other group member engages in a variety o f different roles so too can researchers. The complete membership role, one extrem e o f their continuum, may refer to researchers studying
settings o f which they are already m embers and thus provides particular opportunities to understand the m eaning o f the situation, de Laine (2000:97) has also argued that,
A m ultiplicity o f roles goes to make up the social self; the researcher may be mother, student, nurse or therapist. The individual perform s multiple roles in the field, to be held in abeyance in some situations, or com bined with others in differing circumstances.
Adler and A dler’s contention was that the difference between their complete membership role and the com plete participant o f the Chicago School lay in the attitude to ‘going native’. U nlike com plete participants, the com plete membership role implies that the m em ber and researcher roles held by an individual can help each other and can be drawn on equally.
Alvesson (2003) also argued for w hat is term ed ‘self-ethnography’, although the related term ‘insider ethnography’ m ay be preferable as it appears to communicate a clearer representation o f the locus o f the research, i.e. a site in which the researcher is already located, whereas A lvesson’s term m ay be seen as referring to a ‘confessional style’ ethnography as described by Van M aanen, (1988). The advantages o f already being an ‘observing participant’ in the situation, as Alvesson maintained, include that the insider is likely to be better positioned in term s o f access and ability to provide a deeper understanding than is common. Those studies in which the researcher comes from ‘outside’ may suffer
... the problem o f ‘not getting close en o u g h ’, o f adopting an approach
which is too superficial and which m erely provides a veneer o f plausibility fo r an analysis to which the researcher is obviously
com m itted (Fielding, 1993:158).
Compared to more conventional ethnographies it is also an economic means o f undertaking a research study. The greater opportunity for extended study and greater ability to identify a num ber o f focussed situations that illuminate a particular theme
comes w ith the ‘insider’ role. A lvesson saw this approach as being particularly appropriate for university settings and highlighted some such studies, including Fairclough’s (1993) use o f his own application for prom otion to consider marketization; W atson’s (1996) study o f interaction with students, and his own study o f ‘multiple cultural configurations’ (Alvesson, 1993). Although advocating the advantages o f this approach, A lvesson also warned o f the dangers o f narcissism, the unethical portrayal o f others, through, for example, covert observations, and the omission o f ‘taboo’ aspects o f the culture. A lvesson also noted how undertaking this form o f research may be easier in som e situations and at certain points in a career. Within the university setting som e o f the characteristics o f a role that would favour the approach include, having affiliations w ith m ore than one discipline, being a ‘new com er’ and having access to a range o f organisational sites. It is also clear that a strong concern to conform to organisational norm s and lack o f willingness to be self- reflective would militate against taking such an approach.
Although having a special significance for ‘insider’ studies reflexivity has been recognised as an important aspect o f qualitative research generally owing to the researcher being ‘... historically and locally situated within the very processes being studied’ (Denzin 2001:3). D enzin further claim ed that interpretive research ‘...begins and ends with the biography and the self o f the researcher’ (p.32). This is an important issue as it highlights the preconceptions that the researcher brings to the focus o f their study and thus the necessity o f stating beforehand their own interpretation o f the phenom ena. In a critical ethnographic study such as this, where the researcher is an insider, reflexivity has been o f crucial importance.