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"Chameleonization" in the Folds of Culture: A Comparative Analysis of Cross-Cultural Qualitative Fieldwork.
- Source :
-
International Journal of Qualitative Methods . 1/1/2023, p1-14. 14p. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- This paper argues against a prevailing culture-free tendency in cross-cultural qualitative research that has been normalized by conventional qualitative research methodology to propose "chameleonization," a culturally sensitive research process. First, I delineate the paradoxes encountered in comparative research of Sino-U.S. university partnerships by comparing five fieldwork elements: research ethics, access to fields, informed consent, informants' recruitment, and interview environment and process. The comparison reveals that the seemingly "golden" rule of Western-centered qualitative research and procedure were both disturbing and paralyzing in non-Western fields. Subsequently, this work deciphers these paradoxes with Hofstede's cultural dimension theory as a main analytical framework, supplemented by theories from cultural theorists in the two cultures. These paradoxes can be resolved through a chameleonization process through which researchers attune to a postmodern crossculturalness by navigating the "folds of culture," as characterized by their cross-cultural qualitative fields. Tentative strategies for applying chameleonization to activate, solidify, and extend a "folding-unfolding-refolding" process are then proposed, followed by a discussion on the approach's potential limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *CROSS-cultural studies
*COMPARATIVE studies
*FIELD research
*PARADOX
*EUROCENTRISM
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16094069
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- International Journal of Qualitative Methods
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 175315530
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231195159