Confessions of an ‘academic tourist': Reflections on accessibility, trust, and research ethics in the ‘Grandhotel Cosmopolis'

Abstract

Difficulties of reaching ‘hard to reach’ groups have resulted in problems of over-research of certain communities and places. Despite the often negative consequences of over-research, the ethical and methodological implications remain under-examined, particularly in the field of migration studies. In this chapter, several ethical issues are addressed regarding the positionality of the researcher within an over-researched place, the Grandhotel Cosmopolis in Augsburg, Germany. An alternative form of asylum accommodation that combines housing for asylum seekers, a hotel for tourists and café and event spaces, the project found itself a popular destination for journalists and researchers during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015. The chapter addresses how over-research influenced questions of accessibility, gatekeeping, and trust during fieldwork but also the researcher’s positionality in the field. The chapter introduces the notion of ‘academic tourism’ as a form of temporary and extractive research within over-researched places and presents emotional reflexivity and knowledge co-production as strategies to reduce its negative effects. The chapter contends that over-research is merely not only a methodological but also a foremost ethical question that demands increased awareness.