Critical ethnography is conducted to uncover areas of oppression with a desire to listen to the voices of the oppressed in an effort to empower. This method can highlight strengths to build upon to help overcome aspects of society that participants consider unjust. It is appealing for social workers because the motives are to bring helpful change to participants’ lives. I reflect on the role of the researcher when doing such research internationally, such as wrestling through positionality, power, representing participants well, and checking biases through trusted local relationships.
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HowellJ. (2004) ‘Turning Out Good Ethnography, or Talking Out of Turn? Gender, Violence, and Confidentiality in Southeastern Mexico’, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography33: 323–52.
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ManningJ. (2018) ‘Becoming a Decolonial Feminist Ethnographer: Addressing the Complexities of Positionality and Representation’, Management Learning49(3): 311–26.
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