THE NOBLE FIELD-WORKERS: ON POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS OF A METHOD

Abstract

This article is an auto-reflexive analysis of the potential side-effects of the overuse of the field method, and the absence of a critical attitude towards it in ethnological research, especially in context of past and current Macedonian ethnology. Improper registration and processing of materials, their treatment as private ownership by certain individuals, their “filtering” in a sense of choosing only those field data that support the proposed hypothesis, and field work that is being conducted only in well-known social environment for the researcher, are potential obstacles for a productive use of this method. The text also promotes a deeper look into the theoretical instruments that are available for analysis of the field material.