Open AccessConducting Field Work with Microfinance Programs’ Participants in a Non-Western Setting: A Reflexive Account
Author(s) -
Mohammad Shahjahan Chowdhury
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4778
Subject(s) - reflexivity , microfinance , negotiation , sociology , field (mathematics) , work (physics) , engineering ethics , pedagogy , public relations , political science , social science , engineering , mechanical engineering , mathematics , pure mathematics , law
While volumes of procedural guidelines are available on how to conduct fieldwork, in practice a researcher encounters various challenges and dilemmas in the field. This paper presents a holistic view of the puzzles this researcher encountered in gaining access, negotiating positionality, application of the pre-determined methodology, and ensuring ethics during his fieldwork with microfinance program participants in a non-Western setting. This paper contributes to the fieldwork literature by enhancing a researcher’s understanding of the unanticipated challenges.