Who is “I”?: Subjectivity and Ethnography in HCI
Tejaswini Joshi, Heidi Biggs, Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell
Abstract
HCI research applies ethnographic methods to understand and represent practices that involve the use of interactive systems. A subdomain of this work is interpretivist ethnography, which positions the researcher's perspectival view [37] as central to ethnographic research and its epistemic contribution. Given this we ask: How might ethnographic researchers in HCI surface the meaning-making role of their subjectivities in research? We reflect on our prior ethnographic fieldwork on small-scale sustainable farms in Indianapolis, Indiana to bring the ethnographic “I” into focus by articulating our reflections as “impressionist tales'' [64:101-124]. We ground this pursuit in sociologist Andrea Doucet's concept of “gossamer walls” to surface researcher's three reflexive relationships 1) with herself; 2) with participants; and 3) with her epistemic communities [34]. We build on and contribute to postmodern ethnography in HCI to clarify the epistemic virtues and methodological best practices of a more unapologetically subjective ethnographic practice in HCI.