ABSTRACT
In this chapter I draw upon an auto/biographically informed ethnographic doctorial study into the early emotional experiences of fathers in a neonatal unit to reflect on some of the realities and practicalities of conducting ethnography in a field which the researcher is both familiar with and known in. In considering some of the key challenges and complexities of undertaking ethnographic fieldwork in a familiar field I explore the effects of this familiarity upon how respondents and researcher relationships interacted as new research-oriented relationships struggled to take precedence.
