Researchers' introspection for multi-sited ethnographers: A xenoheteroglossic autoethnography

Abstract

While multi-sited ethnography has been gaining attention increasingly in consumer studies, the presence of geographically dispersed researchers from different cultural backgrounds poses methodological questions we are not fully equipped to handle. Relying on an extensive literature review and abductive reasoning originated by our investigation of desire and imagination in urban transformation, we propose xenoheteroglossic autoethnography (XHAE) as a form of ethnographically-driven introspection by researchers from multiple countries with diverse cultural backgrounds. Our method is discussed in terms of cultural entrée within and beyond the self, gathering and documenting data, analyzing and communicating data, and ensuring research trustworthiness. The current study helps position the technique beyond the epistemological and methodological disputes that have surrounded the use of introspection in consumer research, and researcher introspection in particular. We investigate how researcher introspection at the onset of and during multi-sited research projects can improve researchers' reflexivity and enhance multi-sited ethnography trustworthiness.