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Paper short abstract:

Starting from reflexions on the use of financial remuneration in my own research in this presentation I argue for an open discussion about if and how we are spending money during fieldwork on research-related expenses and the broader implications of (not) having money in the field.

Paper long abstract:

Conducting ethnographic research on sex work in Berlin came with many methodological, ethical and also personal challenges. And while I gladly engage in discussions about all of these challenges, it is usually one particular issue that catches the attention of an anthropological audience: I offered my interlocutors a small amount of money for participating in the research.

This explicit use of money in fieldwork still seems to be taboo for ethnographers and contradict certain ideas of what constitutes a good relationship between them and their interlocutors. However, on a closer look money often does play a role in establishing or maintaining connections in the field, although in a less direct matter (e.g. when we invite informants for lunch or coffee, contribute to urgent expenses etc.). All of these financial involvements need to be - and are - discussed in the context of research ethics, but reflexions on money in the field often seem to leave out some important questions: Where does this money come from? What kind of expenses in ethnographic research are covered by scholarships, grants or our institutions? And what happens when we cannot afford to spend money in the field? Especially in times of growing precarity among (early career) academics we need to address those questions and their (potential) impacts on our ability to carry out fieldwork.