Fast reply as I'm a guest in a friend's house... Patric, you could
start by reading 'researching paganisms' and moving from that into
reflexive research about the location of the researcher.. then move
onto various discussions of auto-ethnography, including (in addition
to chapters in Denzin and Lincoln, etc.) various books by e.g. myself
(Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic) anothers including Robert Wallis and
Susan Greenwood.
In short, using your own experience as a case study is quite
acceptable as long as the research is rigorous, the epistemology and
methodology is discussed with respect to recent issues and analyses
within methodology and theory of research (e.g. crisis of
representation etc.), - and as long as you are using approaches that
enable reflexive personal accounts. I teach this stuff, so get back
to me if you need to...
Jenny
>So right now I'm working on conducting a case study. With myself as
>the subject. For the most part this is just to give myself practice
>with some data analysis methods (I'm working out of textbooks alone,
>so I have to play around a bit), but I'm curious whether such an
>"autobiographical case study" could be considered to have any
>academic merit as real research.
>
>Just because it would be awfully convenient if I could actually use
>the product of the exercise for something.... :P
>
>
>- 'L
--
Dr J. Blain [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]
Programme Leader, MA Social Science Research Methods
Applied Social Science, Faculty of Development and Society, Sheffield
Hallam University
Collegiate Crescent Campus, Sheffield, UK S10 2BP
0114 225 4413 07919 556371
http://www.sacredsites.org.uk
home address: 18 Lemont Road, Sheffield S17 4HA
0114 262 1342 07919 556371
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