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Paper short abstract:

This ethnographic paper discusses how collaborative research methods in anthropology may be used when working with scientists, politicians or bureaucrats. I will underline some difficulties and other particularities, highlighting the pros and cons of working with such populations.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is based on six years of fieldwork (I will provide the minimum information about the project to protect the anonymity of my research participants). I had various opportunities to try collaborative methods with my research participants until the collaboration fell apart. I accidentally touched upon a topic they wanted to misrepresent for their micro-political games.

Most anthropologists work with disenfranchised people, people without a voice, or other populations in which multimodal, collaborative methods allow the people to represent themselves and contribute to the analysis, decreasing the power of the anthropologist over them. However, not many anthropologists have discussed the use of collaborative methods with people who hold positions of power or even have PhDs in anthropology or other social sciences.

Thus, in this paper, based on ethnographic examples, I discuss how colleagues can apply collaborative research methods in anthropology when working with scientists, politicians or bureaucrats. I will underline the difficulties the researcher may meet, as well as other particularities, highlighting the pros and cons of working with such populations. Finally, I will finish this paper with some suggestions that may help an anthropological project not to be used for personal interests and micro-political games that the research participants may try to introduce.