Risky Research: Investigating the “Perils” of Ethnography

Our chapter is a collection of stories about risks we’ve faced as practicing ethnographers. We wanted to tell our risky stories because, conceptually, “risk” has a distinct relationship with qualitative methods, and ethnography in particular. All ethnography is inherently risky, at least to some degree. The contingent nature of fieldwork-our primary method of inquiry-places us in dynamic, unusual, or otherwise unfamiliar social settings where we are expected to interact with new people and new ideas and, ultimately, make sense of our surroundings. This process, at best, is ambiguous and situates ethnography as a less-than-predictable form of investigation. Experience, and a healthy dose of common sense, tells us this is risky work.