Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
In this paper I will reflect on six different challenges that I had to face as a Colombian lawyer who conducted eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork with poor workers in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Suba in Bogotá. Specifically, I will reflect on the topics of accessing a new field, bei...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Universidad del Rosario
2019-07-01
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Series: | Revista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos |
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Online Access: | https://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/sociojuridicos/article/view/7627 |
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author | Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla |
author_facet | Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla |
author_sort | Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla |
collection | DOAJ |
description | In this paper I will reflect on six different challenges that I had to face as a Colombian lawyer who conducted eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork with poor workers in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Suba in Bogotá. Specifically, I will reflect on the topics of accessing a new field, being an outsider, dealing with personal characteristics that influence data collection (such as gender and age), working under psychologically and physically overwhelming circumstances, dealing with the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about vulnerable populations, and doing interdisciplinary work. In doing so, I will engage and build on the literature published by scholars from different disciplines who explore in different ways the difficulties they encountered while conducting fieldwork with vulnerable populations. Ultimately, my goal is also to encourage lawyers who work addressing social problems and pursue an academic career, to take the time and risk to conduct the rewarding adventure of fieldwork. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:13:15Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-8c8aad06e6424ca5b6aeae511eef9a68 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0124-0579 2145-4531 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:13:15Z |
publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
publisher | Universidad del Rosario |
record_format | Article |
series | Revista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos |
spelling | doaj.art-8c8aad06e6424ca5b6aeae511eef9a682022-12-21T23:29:40ZengUniversidad del RosarioRevista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos0124-05792145-45312019-07-0121210.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/sociojuridicos/a.7627Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poorLaura Cecilia Porras Santanilla0Universidad del RosarioIn this paper I will reflect on six different challenges that I had to face as a Colombian lawyer who conducted eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork with poor workers in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Suba in Bogotá. Specifically, I will reflect on the topics of accessing a new field, being an outsider, dealing with personal characteristics that influence data collection (such as gender and age), working under psychologically and physically overwhelming circumstances, dealing with the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about vulnerable populations, and doing interdisciplinary work. In doing so, I will engage and build on the literature published by scholars from different disciplines who explore in different ways the difficulties they encountered while conducting fieldwork with vulnerable populations. Ultimately, my goal is also to encourage lawyers who work addressing social problems and pursue an academic career, to take the time and risk to conduct the rewarding adventure of fieldwork.https://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/sociojuridicos/article/view/7627ethnographic fieldworkpoor workerslabor lawqualitative methods. |
spellingShingle | Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor Revista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos ethnographic fieldwork poor workers labor law qualitative methods. |
title | Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor |
title_full | Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor |
title_fullStr | Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor |
title_full_unstemmed | Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor |
title_short | Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor |
title_sort | ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor |
topic | ethnographic fieldwork poor workers labor law qualitative methods. |
url | https://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/sociojuridicos/article/view/7627 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT lauraceciliaporrassantanilla ethicalandmethodologicalchallengesforalawyerfacingfieldworkamidsttheworkingpoor |