Methodology in social studies of biosecurity

For today’s post, I want to talk about one question shortly explained until now, and this is how our methodological approach to the issue of biosecurity is:

Generally, for the major of our papers we rely in two key concepts: study case and thick description, in this order.

Study case is a technic for recollect data that starts under de conception that around one research goal or question all kind of tool for the collection’ data is appropriate. Hence, we usually collect diverse documents about our particular issue (biosecurity, biosurveillance, ebola, epidemics in general…) like European regulations, state regulations, hospital and laboratory protocols, news of press. Nevertheless, study case does not use documents: it is also supported by interviews (transcribed), ethnographic notes, and other kind of material related with the concrete topic as can be images, videos or graphics.

Once we have this material, which frequently is facilitated by some informants or a key person, we proceed to analyse it among the entire group, first studying it deeply individually, reading and extracting notes, fragments and some related material. Then, discussing about it in group, extracting new ideas, concepts, and linking it with some theoretical concepts, older analysis, a relevant and current event perhaps, or classifying it in different ideas that we consider they have the potential to be developed.

I have to point out about the need of work with written material in any case (documents, transcriptions, ethnographical noted, etc.). Unlike some socioconstructionist of discursive traditions, all of these empiric materials is treated as a technology-as-mediator as I already wrote in this post. In this sense, we use within an exercise of mediation between other entities that endure in the space and time. Mediation, within the Actor-Network Theory, is a complex and multi-meaning concept that can be understood as translation, composition, reversibility of the blackboxing process and delegation (for more information about it, you can consult this paper, in Spanish).

The second key concept was thick description. Thick description is a concept quite used in anthropology and some critical social theories that is attributed to Geertz. We use it as a second step after we have done the study case. Thick description consists in a report or narration whereby we want to reach several levels of research, as description and explanation. One of the main features of this concept is his microscope level. This means that in order to study a global o general issue as power, change or conflict, we have to recontextualize them in the perception of details and emphasizing the little acts of the interaction: the best question are constituted from many and concrete little interactions. These little interactions are extracted from the analysis carried out in the study case.

In order to get more severity and strength to our research, thick description is frequently attached with a traditional explanation given by Latour and briefed in his concept of saturated description. For him, to saturate the description consists in folding the description: the more saturated is the description of the studied issue, the better will be the outcome of it. Latour uses the Latin etymology of the word explanation (the prefix ex- and the base plicare) that means literally unfold or deployment, a description ultimately.

The outcome of both of this concepts study case and thick description, is what we use for our work in papers, conferences and book chapters, and is a very useful way of group work. Currently, we are begin to use the multimodal analysis in order to analyse images and other kind of graphics.

References:

Geertz, C. (2003). La interpretación de las culturas. Barcelona: Gedisa.

Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality. A social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Comunication. New York: Routledge.

Latour, B. (1998). De la mediación técnica: filosofía, sociología, genealogía. En Domènech, M. y Tirado, F. (eds.), Sociología Simétrica. Ensayos sobre ciencia, tecnología y sociedad. Barcelona: Gedisa.

Yin, R. K. (1994). Case Study Research. Design and Methods. London: SAGE, 1994.

PhotoCredit: Flickr, user Javier Vázquez