Becoming ‘sound’: a process of building rapport as a researcher in an alternative education provision

This paper reflexively explores the primary researcher’s experiences when building rapport during an ethnography within an alternative education provision. Moving beyond the well-documented importance of rapport in ethnographic research, this article outlines the process of building rapport, which developed through the early stages of the research and was maintained throughout. Currently, no such process has been explicitly highlighted. This process required overcoming some common ethnographic challenges such as gaining access, deciding how much time should we spend in the provision, establishing trust, deciding to participate or not to participate, developing relationships (finding a common ground) and recognising when rapport was effectively developed. This article outlines a beginner ethnographer’s account of building rapport with an often-characterised challenging sample. It identifies a process and reflections which may benefit those planning ethnographic research.