A relationship gone wrong? Research ethics, participation, and fieldwork realities
Jelke Boesten
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Abstract
This essay was first written for an ESRC/NGPA workshop on methodology (ICPS, University of Bradford, May 15 2008). I thank all participants, and especially Janet Bujra, for their contributions to these reflections. I am grateful to Frances Cleaver and Anna Toner, who first gave me the opportunity to work on their DfID funded project in 2005. The resulting Working Paper Series can be found on the University of Bradford| website.
I am also indebted to the ESRC/NGPA programme that financed the second research project under the guidance of Jenny Pearce. Janet Bujra has generously provided her thoughts on the ongoing project and its outcomes and Dennis Rodgers kindly offered his thoughts on the dilemmas presented here. In the field, Anna Toner was a great support. The charity Village-to-Village provided me with an 'alibi' for development activities such as seeking funding. Without the social and linguistic skills of Reuben Marisa, Mariam Kinabo, Maria Gilbert, Mbazi Elidaima, Sarah Omwenga, and Anneth Madiwa this research would not have been possible. Paulo Drinot kept my feet on the ground. I have greatest admiration for and debt to the people in the studied town, who gave me a glimpse of their daily struggles for survival. Considering the controversial contents of these reflections, both town and protagonists have been anonymised.