Empathy and Emotion in Ethnographic Research : Reflections on the Research of the Perception of Death
Abstract
The ethnographic research differs from other types of research by being a literally embodied experience. The essential part of the ethnographic research is observation and participation, including listening and asking questions about the lives of people, their experiences and the meanings they give to their experiences and lives.
Establishing relationships in the field can often result in an ethical challenge, related to the relationship and personal boundaries and the problem of binding after the ethnographer leaves the terrain. If the subject of research requires thorough / deep sensitivity, the ethnographer finds himself on a thin edge.
The researcher can be emotionally influenced by what he does, by the place where he moves and by the answers he receives. In this article I submit my own methodological reflection on my research into the perception of death in contemporary Mexico City.
I focus on the ways in which emotions and empathy can influence the relationship between the researcher and the informant. An important part of the article is the reflection on the overwhelming emotions and the ways that must be observed to cope with the psychic pressure.