Chapter 11: Getting Beyond The Script: Negotiating the Complexity of Urban Settings as Research Sites

How difficult can it be to donate a bed? After completing 18 months of ethnographic study at a residential shelter for young adults aged 18-24, it was time for Amina Jones to leave the “field” and focus on completing the written results of the project. Yet, leaving the field was difficult because of Jones’ connections to the staff, neighborhood centers, and local schools that were beyond the scope of her study. When Jones announced her plan to relocate to another state, shelter staff asked if she had any home goods to donate. Jones offered to donate several items including a bed. At the time, three former shelter residents were transitioning to unfurnished apartments. Coordinating the pick-up of the bed was both a logistical and interpersonal challenge for Jones. For instance, the organization used its 15-passenger van to transport clients to the shelter and also to do late-night outreach to youth living on streets. It was difficult to establish a pick-up time that did not conflict with this schedule. Due to high staff turnover, there was only one outreach coordinator and he would need assistance to move the bed. The director of the organization called to inform Jones that two residents volunteered to come with the coordinator to help remove the bed from her apartment. With some hesitancy, Jones pointed out that both volunteers had participated in her study and asked if the client/staff code of conduct that prohibited home visits should be extended to include her. In this moment, as in many others, the absence of borders in Jones’ role as a community member, volunteer, and researcher became obvious.