Reflexive embodied ethnography with applied sensibilities: methodological reflections on involved qualitative research

Abstract

In this article, I illustrate reflexive embodied ethnography with applied sensibilities as an approach for performing, interpreting, and applying qualitative research. I argue that we enter the field as embodied beings hoping to find significant insights with the potential to connect with other persons’ lived experiences, which in my work involves searching for answers to health conditions. Reflexive embodied ethnography: a) recognizes that each field experience potentially changes how we come to perceive, understand, and act in the world; b) receptively approaches our own and others’ responses to experiences that transcend language; and c) enhances our awareness that we also re-constitute worlds with our words. Applied ethnographic sensibilities include: a) reconstructing our social world through storied reflections grounded in our bodies; and b) revealing meanings that move us towards social action through examining discourse and ‘extra’ discourse-in-use.