Compare a Barbershop Experience

Once you’ve completed your fieldwork, you’ll need to analyze and reflect on the research process in your final paper. Your final paper should address the following questions: ▪ Where did you conduct participant observation? (Who did you interview, if relevant.) ▪ What do your findings indicate about the type of group or event you were researching? Make an argument and support it by using specific evidence from your fieldwork— i.e. describe things that happened during participant observation and summarize (if you conducted an interview, use some quotes). ▪ How did your findings from this project connect to ideas we have discussed over the course of the semester? Use anthropological concepts we’ve discussed to help analyze your data and support your argument. ▪ Reflexivity is important! In what ways might your identity (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, etc.) and any prior relationships you may have had with any of the participants have affected how your fieldwork went? In what ways might your identity have shaped your interpretations of your data? ▪ In completing this project, what did you learn about the process of conducting qualitative fieldwork and research? What were some of the high points and/or challenges? What do you think is the value of this methodological perspective now that you’ve employed it yourself (e.g. what did you learn from actively observing or participating that you might not have learned from other methods of data collection such as a survey)? ▪ If you conducted an interview for extra credit, make sure to include that experience in your final analysis: what information did you learn during your interview; how did this information relate to, or contrast with, the data that you gathered through participant observation; what were some of the benefits and/or challenges of conducting your interview? Your final paper should be between 1200-1500 words, written in clear and concise language, and should conform to standard writing conventions (introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion). What we are looking for in your final paper: ▪ You provide a clear argument about the kind of group, event, or activity you were researching. ▪ Your argument is supported by detailed evidence from your fieldwork (and interview, if applicable). ▪ Your paper draws clear and appropriate connections between your data and ideas we have discussed in class, demonstrating both an understanding of those ideas and the ability to analyze your data in depth. ▪ Your paper includes a thoughtful reflection on methodology. ▪ Your writing is clear, logical, and meets the parameters set for length and substance.