Tracking the Reflexivity of the (Dis)Engaged Citizen

Abstract

The relationship between governments and citizens in many contemporary democracies is haunted by uncertainty, and sociologists face the task of listening effectively to citizens' own reflections on this uncertain relationship. This article reflects on the qualitative methodology of a recently completed U.K. project that used a combination of diary and multiple interviews/focus groups to track over a fieldwork period of up to a year citizens' reflections on their relationship to a public world and the contribution to this of their media consumption. In particular, the article considers how the project's multiple methods enabled multiple angles on the inevitable artificiality and performative dimension of the diary process, resulting in rich data on people's complex reflections on the uncertain position of the contemporary citizen.