Chapter 9 How could you possibly know anything about that? Methodological congruence in the conduct of life history research

Abstract

This chapter draws on my experience of conducting a life history study of teachers of black and Asian origin. Its title is drawn from remarks made to me by a senior colleague on hearing that I had received ESRC funding for the study. They are interesting not only in respect of their apparent dismissal of one colleague's work by another, but also as they encompass assumptions about the fit between researcher and research topic. In this particular case the concern related to a life history study, though the sentiment might also be applied to any form of research, and perhaps especially ethnography that seeks to achieve a detailed interior perspective on an aspect of social life.

Citation

Pole, C. (2010), "Chapter 9 How could you possibly know anything about that? Methodological congruence in the conduct of life history research", Hillyard, S. (Ed.) New Frontiers in Ethnography (Studies in Qualitative Methodology, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 161-176. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1042-3192(2010)0000011012