Examining “Elite” Power Dynamics in Informant–Research Relations and Its Impact on Ethnographic Data Construction: A Case Study From Pharmaceutical Health Communication

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

JanaDeclercq¹ 

关键词: power relations;    elite settings;    ethnography;    linguistic ethnography;    interactional sociolinguistics;   

DOI  :  10.1177/1609406917704137

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

This article explores how power dynamics between informants and field researchers shape ethnographic data construction, drawing on fieldwork at a pharmaceutical company. Pharmaceutical companies are considered elite settings, and often assumed to be powerful in relation to the researcher and dominating the data construction. However, such a view conceptualizes power in terms of fixed categories, in which there is a superior and subordinate position. We reconsider the impact of elite informants in the light of a constructivist, interactionist view on power, in which power is dynamic and not necessarily entailing domination. We answer the following research questions: (1) How can we observe power dynamics, as conceptualized in a constructionist and interaction orientation, in ethnographic research? and (2) How can we reflect on what these power dynamics mean for data construction, based on our experiences in elite settings? To do so, we make use of discursive and interactional analytic methods and propose t...

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC