Ethnography report
PLEASE MAKE THE FOLLOWING CORRECTIONS TO MY WORK.
Philopsophy explain your position as a researcher interpretive paradigm what it means
Methodology – this is the ethnography part
Methods how did you collect the data observation what type? Interviewas pre COVID post COVID? Linked to qualitative authors
Ethics need expanding discuss each confidentiality anonymity, data protection, right to withdraw then how in this study you are going to protect your participants eg pseudonyms, consent forms PIF etc
The critical analysis is not critical and not good enough as you have not tied the authors you have set up in your review of literature (not Silverman or qualitative authors but the sociological authors) It is descriptive.
I cannot keep marking it so please take this on board look at the marksheet and make sure all the appendices are also included
All the consent forms blacked out
The filled in participant information form
5 mins of the interview transcribed and coded
All the observations coded
Marking Criteria
Qualitative Research
Assignment 2: Ethnographic Task
Introduction/Rationale
You provide a rationale that identifies why this research is important and what authors suggest research in this area is needed. (you may use evidence from policies NCPE, governing bodies, and a range of literature )
Aims and objectives
3 Research questions
Literature Review
You have outlined the main literature that will form an academic framework for the study. (Consider the academic themes that come out of the readings on this focus). You can only use the authors you introduce here in your analysis
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Philosophy
Position yourself and the research in an interpretive( + )paradigm
Methodology
You discuss the methodology-(an ethnographic (+) approach)
Methods
,
You outline the choice of setting that fits your focus. You provide a critical and logical reflection of your research design (justify your research decisions -how you entered the field, what type of observer were you, justify research methods used field observations, interviews) in every subtitle be critical eg USE QUALITATIVE AUTHORS
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Ethics discuss and justify how you are going to protect your participants and yourselves and outline the importance of a moral ethical code of conduct.
Confidentiality, anonymous, pseudonyms, consent forms, withdraw at any time, participant information forms etc
Discuss how you will protect personal information.
(Make constant links to the appropriate qualitative literature
. )
You demonstrate how the choice of participant(s) and focus of the interview has developed out of the field observations. remember this is how you develop your themes – Identify key informants that you observed and followed up for deeper information.
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Tools of Analysis
Critically justify your tools for analysis (explain semiotics, thematic analysis & coding then demonatrate how you use these in your study).
Critical Analysis
Critically analyse your findings using links with the sociological literature.( For example if you saw that lots of Asian girls sat out of swimming lessons disaffected girls & ethnicity could be dominant emergent themes you would then look at the feminist/ethnicity literature set up in the literature review and make some links = praxis -critical analysis to make sense of what you have seen)
You could rite up this section in emergent themes
Reference Page
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Presentation
Your paper evidences an appropriate standard of referencing presentation, syntax and grammar.
Appendices
1, You show evidence of accuracy and attention to detail in your interview transcripts (at least 5 mins worth in appendix) coded and show emergent themes.
2. All observation sheets on observation sheets & coded
You have included UOB provided on Breo
3. consent, forms
4. participation information sheet,
5. Your Gatekeeper letter,
and really important
6, email response / evidence from the setting that you attended (headed email or letter). NOT BLANKED OUT
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Excellent Good Sound Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Summative Comment:
Targets for personal development:
Recommended Grade 1st Marker Signed:.. Date
Moderator: Signed:
Date Running Head: HOW THE CORONA VIRUS HAS AFFECTED FANS OF PREMIER LEAGUE IN ENGLAND
How the Corona Virus has Affected Fans of Premier League in England
TAMUNOKURO JOSHUA BEN-KALIO
UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORSHIRE
1812735
ETHNOGRAPHY REPORT
How the Corona Virus has Affected Fans of Premier League in England
Introduction
The pandemic that has hit the world in the last months as stopped lot of activities, including football around the globe which will be the focus of this ethnographic research. The financial and cultural economic impact has been felt around England. This is because all European Leagues were halted indefinitely and some concluded. The Sports Television such as Sky Sports definitely has incurred heavy losses through losing the subscriptions that were mainly for the football fans, whereby this has impacted the financial aspect of the game through all concerned parties. That is in addition to stadium revenues that have been forfeited amounting to millions and the social hangover that is being felt by the fans whose lives revolved around football and stadiums visits almost every week to watch their favorite team play. Understanding the importance of football in England, it is important to note the unaccounted and unseen outcome of the global football stoppage and how it has affected different families around different areas in England such as London a town in England.
Whereby the claim to fandom technically relies on any type of spectatorship and extended social activities that are as a result of the spectatorship experience. In this report, the argument will be mainly based on how the Premier League is part of the life of these families and at the same time a rhythm to life in its material and social dimensions. Whereby what is actually viewed as a leisure activity is much more that than it meets the eye and that is why the Cessation of the Premier League is a serious matter beyond the aspect of leisure.
Literature Review
This argument is brought forward under a well-structured cultural imperialism thesis, that perceives the Premier League Fandom as a simple extension of the culture production in England and the world at large, which portrays the disconnection and interference of the cultural production and consumption process, which is agreed upon by other authors like Akindes (2011), Busse & Gary (2011) & Akpam (2019). Whereby Akpams points out on the fact that European televisual football such as the Premier league fandom outside England can be compared to a normal leisure activity whereby fandom outside England lack any rootedness to the cultural histories and geographies of Premier league, whereby to fans outside England the Premier League is just a hobby while the families in England the Premier League is a way of life, which is a central facet to the identity of the English people, whereby without the premier league then there would a form of dislocation of their place in the social world and their sense of themselves (Busse & Gary, 2011).
Therefore it is important to recognize the families and communities of the Premier League Fandom in London, that hold the premier league with high regards and always at the center of their hearts. The focus was particularly targeted towards an ordinary families or people who work hard every day to survive, where basically such communities or families have been identified to be the most families that have been affecetd by the pandemic. With the general assumption that their main is how they will make it or what will they be doing in the next coming few months if the pandemic continues. Thereby making the premier league one of their major concerns, yet most of them live stream the matches online in fan clubs. Whereby just as any other cultural imperialism that a practice might bring to the people, in the middle of a pandemic one of their worries, is how they will watch their teams play. This is very important as it is connected to the main issue that needs to be explored using data from an ethnography study which looks at how the pandemic has affecetd the fans of the Premier League in England. Whereby the Premier League can be compared to more than a leisure activity and rather a way of life for such communities, and how the disconnected has affecetd this way of life, therefore making the outline of the theoretical and social contexts of the study.
Research Design
Social and Theoretical Contexts
According to Silverman (2016), The stretching of the term ethnography has emptied it of its original meaning. Ethnography was born as a technique based upon direct observation (p. 104). This is because what distinguishes ethnography from other methodologies is the more active role of observation, (Silverman, 2016, P. 105). Whereby from observation, it is very clear that the premier league is the result of the geographically and culturally connected societies in the UK. Which is a good thing as in the field work there were numerous enthusiast of the Premier League in London, even before the Premier League was in place, whereby the English Football league (EFL) was the competition league in place. Whereby in addition to that the televised premier league took over the UK and around the world which increased the enthusiasm and fan base, whereby one could support their team form anywhere in the world. Therefore the argument is that the abrupt stoppage of the premier league is one path that can gauge the place of the premier League of the social life in England. The premier league therefore has become part of the UKs culture that has infiltrated into, defined and redefined in the social experience of the fandom, which expresses the conviviality of social life and its aesthetic and utilitarian extensions.
Which shows that it is artistically and substantively a pattern of social life which is sustained largely by the family and community structures which is the characteristics of each household in the UK. Very family member as a team they support or the whole family supports one team, whereby the age of the supporter does not matter as the enthusiasm of support of the team is visible form their determination. Whereby it ranges from family meetings, to the work place, to the bars, on the transit think of any place, the main manifestation of this conviviality is talking about the premier league and the experiences each person had of the premier league. May be their team lost, maybe their team won, maybe their improved or bought anew player, maybe their team got back to their premier league after 10 years of waiting. Therefore it is clear that the Premier League is important and symbolic in the lives of people in UK as the premier league has provided them with an equipment to operate and re-engineer their daily lives. The football interest and its massive media commercial interest is what has made the Premier the most popular cultural equipment in the country and around the world (Porat, 2010).
Methodology
According to Silverman (2016), an interpretive design involves Understanding the world as it is from subjective experiences of individuals. They use meaning (versus measurement) oriented methodologies, such as interviewing or participant observation, that rely on a subjective relationship between the researcher and subjects (P.109) Therefore study is part of an ethnography that dates back to a few months after the pandemic affected every activity globally that is including the indefinite stoppage of the premier league and football activities around Europe. Whereby the focus is mainly on personal lived experiences, with the premier league lacking in fans of the premier league who have been fans for over ten years. Which creates over 3 months formal ethnographic experience from the few focus groups. The ethnographic methods that were employed in this study are perfectly chosen to touch on the personal experiences. The conventional contingent and conversational methods of ethnography are combined with autobiographical and reflexive insights of the focus groups (Creswell, 2009). Whereby it creates data that extends out as it intersects narratives of lived experiences, of formal and informal engagement with Premier League Fandom community in England. For this particular study the focus was on six fans, who represented different families that are staunch supporters of a team in the premier league.
These families have their daily lives and these revolve around hotspots of their social experience that is the butchery, the court yard, the bar, the park and coffee shop. The member of these family at least visit these places of every week and it basically where they mostly transact their social experience. Whereby the corona virus pandemic has had a direct impact of their daily lives and the premier league fandom whereby they no longer are able to watch their teams in actions, maybe through online streaming platforms which is a latest development and it cannot be compared to the original experience of going to the Stadia and the human interaction.
Ethics
The basic principles that the research followed was doing good, not doing harm and protecting the autonomy, safety, wellbeing and dignity of all the focus groups. Orb et al. 2001 Qualitative researchers focus their research on exploring, examining, and describing people and their natural environments. Embedded in qualitative research are the concepts of relationships and power between researchers and participants. The desire to participate in a research study depends upon a participants willingness to share his or her experience. (P.93)The research was undertaken under objectivity and any ethnocentricity was avoided, the participants understand every aspect of the research and there was no deception. As mentioned before safety measures were taken to protect the health of the participants as per the Covid 19 prevention guidelines.
Tools of Analysis
The interviews were undertaken in a period of time, and at the end of the day the analysis of the data was important. The thematic analysis (Silverman, 2016. P.347) was mainly focusing on the how the lives of the participant changed know that there was the cessation of the premier league. This was the main idea that was the focus and the alternatives that have been put in place. The study mainly utilized in-depth unstructured interviews which were complemented by everyday living experienced of the researchers. Whereby the corona virus imperatives put in place did not switch off the all the social engines, therefore the data obtained observed and put first the health of the focus group. Whereby the research questions were mainly directed or geared towards an exploration of the gap that has been created by the cessation of the Premier league football fandom and even now that the premier league season has ended. The hotspot of social engine identified before were some of the places we interacted with and in some extent visited the families, whereby the premier league fandom has been a social capital.
Critical Analysis
Social Capital Accumulation
Social Capital Accumulation in the Premier league is the main finding that was used to code the interviews presented below using the thematic analysis. In each interview one can identify how the Social Capita has been affected during the cessation of the Premier league. The Interviews have been presented in bold, which was collected through personal conversation (bold fonts below).
Richard is a well know member of the Rosen park community, which is a gated community. He use dot run one of the bars in the neighborhood which is a family business that has been passed from generation to generation. Richard and his family have been Liverpool diehard fans for the longest time, the bar that Richard runs has been a meeting point for the locals to watch premier league matches especially when they are too busy or could not make it on the away matches. Whereby most of the times it has been the place for small talk which most of the time is about the Premier league. He is one the people who are mostly connected to the premier league and there was the opportunity to engage in a personal conversation with him on 27th June 2020. This is what Richards had to say about the Premier League Football:
I started following the premier when I was around 8 years, when father took to my first Liverpool game. Right there and then I became a Liverpool fan up to date. This was in 1997 and to this point I have tried to follow and support my team in every way I could, I had to be there physically or in spirit. Since we I took over the bar, the family business, my activities of supporting my team has reduced and that enthusiasm was promoted to the bar. We installed a huge screen for me and my mates who were busy to watch the football live. It has now become a place that serves our Rosen berg community.
The global pandemic has indirectly and directly agreed this hotspot of the Premier League. First of all there was no premier league activity that was on going until recently and after that the congregating in public places would not allow people visiting Richards Bar. This has affecetd Richard hugely because of the halting of the Premier League and the social restrictions that have been put in place as health guidelines:
Through the bar I have made lifelong mates who we have built a lot form our friendship. One of my best friends Pete is an Everton fan and we always taunt each when one our team loses because our teams are rivals, due to the closeness of the home grounds of both our teams. When both of our teams meet in derby usually is a great experience for me, Pete and our other mates. But at the moment that is not possible as people are at home and even though the premier league matches and other European football matches can be streamed through online fan base we miss the experience at the bar, for now we have to wear a face mask and keep social distant (Personal Conversation, 2nd July 2020).
Listening to Richards, one can easily understand his predicament. Whereby the experience of the everyday life in Rosen berg us mainly determined by a strong connection of the informal public sphere, whereby people in a congregation might always talk about the premier league. The premier league fandom therefore can be considered to be an ever present social encounter, whereby such a social encounter are convivial and characterized by jousting and verbal dueling, which are the representation of the a popular culture across England. This is very elaborate whereby individuals use the team sin premier league as their identities and project themselves to desired identities in other spheres of life.
Cultural and Economic Impact.
From the title of the article, “How the Corona Virus has affected Fans of the premium league in England,” we already identify the love for sports and sporting in the England society. This is the reason for the huge felt the cultural and economic impact in England. The social hangover being felt by the fans is a clear identification of the cultural impact of football in the England society. The spectatorship and the extended social activities as a result of spectatorship experience tells of the level of sports support in the society. The football culture in England has deep-rooted cultural histories, especially when talking of the premier league. It has risen to be an identity of England, which falls as their culture and forms social interaction among people regardless of age
Silverman (2016) brings up the fact that premier league is a result of the association between cultural and geographical connection rising to form a culture in the society. The premier league has risen to be artistically and part of the family and community, making it a core community culture. The fact that football supporters do not have age shows the level of cultural impact it has on society. The rising of the league to the level of in the society makes it’s symbolic. The term “understanding the world as it is from the subjective experience of the individual,” as said by Silverman, sparks a lot of thoughts in telling of the impact that football has in the society from even the beginning together of people sharing a common team. (Silverman, 2016)
This study was set out to describe the impact of the Corona virus Pandemic on the Fans of the Premier League in England. The recognition of the premier league as cultural practice was important and the impact of the cessation of the premier league was also identified. At this point one can attest that the premier league experience is a unification factor of in the UK. In the context of the main argument, that the cessation of the premier league negatively affected the social world in the UK. It has been justified by the ethnographic study that has been ongoing based on the Premier League Fandom in the UK.
References
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Akpam, S. (2019). Elite Local Leagues and Transnational Broadcast of European Football.Africas Elite Football. Structure, Politics, and Everyday Challenges, 34-44.
Busse, K., & Gray, J. (2011). Fan cultures and fan communities.The handbook of media audiences, 425-443.
Couldry, N. (2012).Media, society, world: Social theory and digital media practice. Polity.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Chapter 4: Five different approaches to inquiry.Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (69-110). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Orb, A., Eisenhauer, L., & Wynaden, D. (2001). Ethics in qualitative research.Journal of nursing scholarship,33(1), 93-96.
Porat, A. B. (2010). Football fandom: A bounded identification.Soccer & society,11(3), 277-290.
Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016).Qualitative research. Sage.
Waliaula, S. (2017). Performing Identity in the English Premier League Football Fandom in Eldoret, Kenya.
