Introduction

This book is a unique collection in that it brings different methodological perspectives to the study of contemporary fatherhood and fathering. Although there is a growing body of fatherhood research, it is argued that fathers, especially those who are viewed as vulnerable, such as poor fathers and fathers with a migrant background, are hard to reach in qualitative studies (Hemmerman, 2010; Shiriani and Henwood, 2010). As a family researcher, I have experienced gender as well as class bias in previous studies as more mothers than fathers have volunteered, and to a large extent, the research participants have been middle-class parents. This encourages reflection on how to design studies for exploring the everyday lives of fathers. In this chapter, I present an ethnographic approach as a potential way of gaining knowledge about disadvantaged fathers, including poor fathers, fathers with insecure employment and fathers from minority ethnic groups. My starting point was to find places where fathers are located, yet also available for a female researcher. The research project was situated in a district of Gothenburg, the second biggest city in Sweden. The fathers in the study are thus embedded in a Swedish welfare state context. However, being a dad can have different meanings even within the same country. In research about poverty and inequality, there is increasing interest in the neighbourhood as an influential factor for individual life circumstances (Wacquant, 2008; Österberg, 2013; Rostila et al, 2013). Neighbourhood effects can be studied using quantitative data, for example, to investigate and compare unemployment rates, income, health, educational level and so on. The aim of the study described in this chapter is to gain knowledge of what it is like to be a father in a neighbourhood that is known for its high concentration of social problems. The research design is characterised by an inductive approach and research questions formulated along the way.

By using an ethnographic design including observations, field notes and various forms of interviews with fathers and professional actors, this chapter discusses ethnographic methods in the study of fatherhood. The main focus of the chapter is on methodological aspects of the study, but I also present some results. The ethnographic method is familiar from family research in the UK and the US, especially in studies relating to marginalised and vulnerable groups.