A researcher at EMERJ: negotiations of a field research at an institutionalized context

Abstract

This article describes the participant observation of classes performed at the Rio de Janeiro's Judiciary School. During the year of 2009, I have performed direct observations of several preparatory courses – for the regional Judicature entrance examination – which was taken as an opportunity to reflect on the place and role of the researcher and about the social dynamics that makes him a member of the studied group. I also describe how my position as a Brazilian PhD candidate in France was mobilized for my empirical research. Finally, several situations revealing how students and professors inserted me in their classes’ dynamics are analyzed. The objective of this article is to discuss the limits and possibilities of participant observation, through the social construction of the researcher as a subject of his own research.

Keywords

• pesquisa empírica
• implicação
• interacionismo simbólico