Summary
Contents
What should the researcher tell, or not tell the informant? Is fieldwork inherently an activity that requires covert behaviour by the researcher and subject alike? Are honesty and openness at odds with effectiveness in the field? In examining these questions, the author raises the ethical and practical issues of revelation and concealment in the field and attempts to arrive at a more useful set of norms for fieldwork behaviour.
The Myth of Cosmetic Identity
The Myth of Cosmetic Identity
Researcher Versus Spy
To understand the informed-unsympathetic research role, it is important to differentiate covert researcher from the more romantic notion of spy. The opposite of full disclosure has been described as “deep cover” covert research (Fine, 1980, p. 124-25; cf. Whyte, 1979, p. 58; see also Erickson, ...