Research Conundrums and Reflections

Ethnographic research takes place within real-world contexts which are, by nature, dynamic and evolving. Ethnographic data are conveyed in such a way that the reader feels themselves to be in the midst of the events being described. This chapter describes real-world challenges that arose in a study that was conducted in Hong Kong Self Administrative Region in 2020. Data included children's drawings and audio-recordings of conversations around tables as children worked on their drawings in small groups. However, the focus in this chapter is on the need to be responsive to changes to the ecological system within which research is conducted and over which the researcher has no control. The study was designed to explore 3-, 4- and 5-year-old kindergarten children's perceptions of the social unrest that characterised Hong Kong from mid-2019 until early in 2020. As the study commenced, contemporaneous events occurring at many levels of society impacted both directly and indirectly on the study design. An important decision had to be made. Did a dramatically reduced sample size justify proceeding with the research, or should it be abandoned? Before describing the considerations that were taken into account, I will use broad brushstrokes to situate the study within the context which gave rise to this research. I would also like to acknowledge my co-researcher Professor Nirmala Rao and our research assistants for their contributions to this project.