Field
studies in foreign cultures : A cautionary note on methodological
difficulties
D.Y.-f. Ho |
The
present paper argued for the necessity of a thorough consideration
of certain methodological issues as a precondition for sound field
research in foreign cultures. A detailed case study illustrated how
a failure in dealing with these issues can lead to difficulties in
both the observation and interpretation of events. Observational
reports in foreign studies are to be viewed as accounts of the interaction
between members of different cultures-as it is perceived and related
by the foreign investigator. Accordingly, a study of how members
of different cultures interact is propaedeutic to these research
undertakings. Several aspects of this interactional process were
discussed: (a) The difficulties in communication, (b) the perceptions
of the investigator as a function of ethnocentric bias and social
distance from the indigenous people; and (c) the disturbance of the
very phenomenon under investigation resulting from the observation
itself.
|