Fincham, Ben, Scourfield, Jonathan bryn ![]() |
Abstract
The article discusses the effects on the researcher of reading disturbing secondary data (defined here as evidence gathered by someone other than the researcher). The case study is a qualitative sociological autopsy of suicide, and the secondary data—written documents and photographs—are all from case files in a British coroner's office. Following ethnographic detail about the research setting and research process, there is discussion of the diverse secondary data sources in these files, particularly in relation to the impact on the researcher. Some general observations are made about emotion in the research process and potential strategies for responding to emotion. The authors locate their responses to reading about suicides within the broader context of the social processing of death and distress, and also consider whether emotional reactions to data have any analytical purchase.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Date Type: | Publication |
Status: | Published |
Schools: | Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) |
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | documents research methods death and dying case records emotion |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
ISSN: | 1049-7323 |
Last Modified: | 19 Oct 2022 08:52 |
URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/19316 |
Citation Data
Cited 27 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data
Actions (repository staff only)
![]() |
Edit Item |