"For purposes of this paper, culture consists of such symbolic vehicles of meaning, including beliefs, ritual practices, art forms, and ceremonies, as well as informal cultural practices such as language, gossip, stories, and rituals of daily life." -- Ann Swidler, "Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies"
"Inquiry is fatal to certainty." -- William Durant
Supposedly, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi was inscribed with the aphorism "Know Thyself," which is important advice for us all, but even more important for those of us who seek to "know" someone else. Isn't that a perfect definition for qualitative research, though? An attempt to "know" someone else or, at the very least, to know something about someone else.
The authors I read this week (Moxley, et al., Van Maanen, even Rhodes, to whom I'll return in a moment) seem to take this to heart. The chapters from Dr. Moxley, et al.'s longer work, for example, offered the reader loads of context about the study: number and educational level of instructors, technological tools, budgetary constraints and a dozen other pieces of information that helped the reader better understand the culture of the writing program the authors studied as well as the place of the researchers themselves within said culture. Likewise, Van Maanen's descriptions of his various kinds of ethnographic publications each offer a place for understanding the cultural situation at the heart of the study as well as the role the researcher plays inside the culture. Rhodes, too, acknowledges the importance (over importance, perhaps?) of context and culture (though he doesn't like the term when applied to the classroom) in ethnography.
So, the key (a key?) of qualitative research is not just thick description of the place/time/people it studies but also more than a passing acknowledgement of the role the researcher plays within and alongside those on whom the study focuses.
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