Toward Reflexive Ethnography (Religion and the Social Order)

Fieldwork involving "participant observation" has become a primary met hod for studying religious movements and other non-mainstream religiou's groups. Ethnography is a primary narrative form for reporting fieldw ork findings. Toward Reflexive Ethnography explores how fieldwork deci sions are actually made, often diverging from traditional methodologic al canons, and how researchers make decisions, often not discussed, ab out what material to include in their ethnographic reports. This volum e reports the story behind the story that appears in published reports . The researchers provide surprising accounts. Taken together, the con tributions leave no doubt that traditional positivistic research canon's are in disarray, but it is equally clear that there is little consen sus on alternative guidelines for conducting research or reporting fin dings. The chapters in the volume collectively support the need to re- examine the assumptions underlying current methodological procedures a nd narrative construction.