Starting with Experiencing: Towards an Intermediate Identity

Four basic guidelines initially determine the exit to the field, while practical criteria also define the scope and very possibilities of carrying out on-site research. The decision and the choice of the field result from a combination of factors dictated by a “scientific way of life”; there is both an empirical and an experiential dimension to such a decision, whose implementation, however, depends on several external factors. The researcher’s adjustment to the course of local events implies that it is not them who are in full control of their research. It is argued, through several examples, that in order to conduct ethnographic fieldwork the researcher accepts getting involved in a social experiment during which they use their own psyche as a main source of feedback. The key issue of an “intermediate identity” in the field is the direct product of deep psychological involvement for the researcher, inclusive of all the positives but also the associated challenges that come with it. This is an identity initially performed, like a social role or a part, that allows the researcher to manage the major challenge of participating while observing and balancing the contradictions and inner conflicts that usually arise during fieldwork stays. As a socially (consciously) performed role, an “intermediate identity” allows the researcher to manage their very own emotions and feelings along with their ethnographic data in the context of what they observe and participate in.