Author Description

Ethnographies Revisited Provides First-hand Accounts Of How Leading Qualitative Researchers Crafted Key Theoretical Concepts Found In Their Major Book-length Ethnographies. Great Ethnographic Research Lies Not In The Rigid Execution Of Prescribed Methodological Procedures, But On The Unrelenting Cultivation Of Theoretical Ideas. These Contributors Focus Squarely On This Neglected Topic, Providing Reflexive Accounts Of How Research Decisions Were Made In Light Of Emerging Theoretical Questions. The Continuous Generation Of Creative Concepts Is Arguably The Most Important Skill In Developing Powerful Results In Field Research, Since The Originality Of The Ideas Produced Is How The Study Is Ultimately Judged. Yet, This Topic Is Often Taken For Granted, Treated Rigidly And Artificially, Or Is Entirely Absent From Existing Qualitative Research Manuals. In Contrast, This Volume Offers Candid Insights Of How Leading Ethnographers Generated Their Initial Questions, Chose Their Research Sites, Made Theoretical And Methodological Adjustments, And Oriented Their Research To Maximize The Conceptual Payoff, Leading To Such Successful Research Contributions. This Provides A Fresh Approach To The Topic Of Qualitative Research, By Linking Practical Decisions In The Field To The Dynamic Features Of Theory In The Making, Told Through The First-hand Experiences Of Some Of The Best Ethnographers In Our Field.--back Cover. Introduction: Exercises In Reflexivity: Situating Theory In Practice / Antony Puddephatt, William Shaffir And Steven Kleinknecht -- Learning How To Speak Of Sadness / David A. Karp -- Recollecting Good And Bad Days / Kathy Charmaz -- Colorful Writing: Conducting And Living With A Tattoo Ethnography / Clinton R. Sanders -- Improvising On Sensitizing Concepts / Robert R. Faulkner -- On Developing And Using Concepts In An Icelandic Field-research Setting / Will C. Van Den Hoonaard -- Behind The Conceptual Scene Of Student Life And Exams / Daniel Albas And Cheryl Albas -- How Murray Manor Became An Ethnography / Jaber F. Gubrium -- Habitus As Topic And Tool: Reflections On Becoming A Prizefighter / Loïc Wacquant -- Researching Alcoholics And Alcoholism In American Society / Norman K. Denzin -- The Development Of Leisure Theory In Three Nature-challenge Hobbies / Robert A. Stebbins -- Telling Tales About How Concepts Develop: Stories From Ethnographic Encounters With The Moog Synthesizer / Trevor Pinch -- The Ethnography Behind Defenders Of The Faith / Samuel Heilman -- On Piecing The Puzzle: Researching Hassidic Jews / William Shaffir -- Using A Gestalt Perspective To Analyze Children's Worlds / Patricia A. Adler And Peter Adler -- Hookers, Rounders And Desk Clerks: Encountering The Reality Of The Hotel Community / Robert Prus -- Making Theories From Water; Or, Finding Stratification In Competitive Swimming / Daniel F. Chambliss -- Solving The Mysteries Of Shelter Work For The Battered Woman / Donileen R. Loseke -- The Path Taken: Opportunity, Flexibility, And Reflexivity In The Field / Jennifer L. Dunn -- Walking The Talk: Doing Gravity's Shadow / Harry Collins -- Writing Theory In(to) Last Writes / Laurel Richardson -- Conceptualizing A Profession In Process: The New Pediatrics Revisited / Dorothy Pawluch -- The History, Myth, And Science Of Masada: The Making Of An Historical Ethnography / Nachman Ben-yehuda. Edited By Antony J. Puddephatt, William Shaffir And Steven W. Kleinknecht. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.