ABSTRACT
ETHNOGRAPHY AND THE SELF One might argue that the adoption of research method is simply a matter of fitness for purpose. However, Gouldner has observed that the perception of sociologists comes from two sources: (1) empirical studies and theorizing; and (2) 'personal realities' (Gusfield, 1990, p. 104). The former are usually acknowledged, the latter hidden. Yet they can be the most important, both for the choice and direction of research, and for the researcher. One often does research in part to discover more about oneself. This is not to say that it is self-indulgent, but that it is chiefly through the self that one comes to understand the world. In turn, the discoveries one makes reflect back upon the self, which then feed back into research, and so on.
