Ethnography and the transactional study of occupation

Studying occupation from a transactional perspective calls for a focus on the relationships that constitute the situation of occupation. In this chapter we discuss the fit of ethnographic processes and the transactional perspective. We propose that the ethnographic study of occupation reveals its transactional nature by exposing influences, relationships, and occupations that make up a study situation. We argue that ethnographers and participants play an active role in data collection and that their transactions generate a co-created ethnographic product grounded in the relationship. Moreover, the scope of ethnography goes beyond the interpersonal elements of a relational situation to examine other factors such as place, objects, environmental features, traditions, history, politics, and economics. The relationships joining these elements, occupations, and humans are significant components of a study situation addressed by ethnographies. The chapter is grounded in our research experiences on occupation with ethnographic methods. Examples from our research illustrate the transactional nature of studying occupation through ethnography.

Duke Scholars

Author Antoine Bailliard Orthopaedic Surgery, Occupational Therapy