Skip to main content

Between overt and covert research: concealment and disclosure in an ethnographic study of commercial hospitality.

Lugosi, P., 2006. Between overt and covert research: concealment and disclosure in an ethnographic study of commercial hospitality. Qualitative Inquiry, 12 (3), 541-561.

This is the latest version of this eprint.

Full text available as:

[img]
Preview
PDF (Word to PDF conversion (via antiword) conversion from application/msword to application/pdf)
Lugosi_Between_Overt_and_Covert_Research.pdf - Accepted Version

94kB

Official URL: http://qix.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/3/5...

DOI: 10.1177/1077800405282801

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which problems of concealment emerged in an ethnographic study of a suburban bar and considers how disclosure of the research aims, the recruitment of informants, and elicitation of information was negotiated throughout the fieldwork. The case study demonstrates how the social context and the relationships with specific informants determined overtness or covertness in the research. It is argued that the existing literature on covert research and covert methods provides an inappropriate frame of reference with which to understand concealment in fieldwork. The article illustrates why concealment is sometimes necessary, and often unavoidable, and concludes that the criticisms leveled against covert methods should not stop the fieldworker from engaging in research that involves covertness.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1077-8004
Uncontrolled Keywords:Covert research, covert methods, concealment, disclosure, ethics, hospitality Covert research Covert methods Ethics
Group:Bournemouth University Business School
ID Code:12326
Deposited By: Dr Peter Lugosi LEFT
Deposited On:29 Nov 2009 10:49
Last Modified:14 Mar 2022 13:27

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

More statistics for this item...
Repository Staff Only -