ETHNOGRAPHY

The qualitative research methodology known as 'Ethnography' is built upon the

social science specialism known as 'Anthropology'.

Ethnography is a description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or

system, and the ethnographicresearcher examines the group's:

behaviour

customs

way of life

The researcher also studies the:

meanings of behaviour

meanings of language

interactions of the culture-sharing group.

Key Points

To put it briefly, ethnography is the study of cultural groups in a natural

setting, over a prolonged period of time.

Common data collection methods are observation and interviews.

An ethnographic research study is one that studies people in their natural

environment.

It is a descriptive account of social life and culture within a defined social system,
and is often thought of as 'a portrait of a people'.

In effect, it is concerned with a holistic view of a culture - including its shared

meanings, patterns and experiences.

ETHNOGRAPHY - MAIN CHARACTERISTICS

The main characteristics of ethnography are:

The study of a culture

The focus of investigation is on the everyday behaviors of members of a culture,

including:

interactions between members and outsiders;

language - what it is, when it is used, and how it is used;

rituals carried out by members of that culture.

The intent is to identify cultural norms, beliefs, social structures, and other cultural
patterns.

Multiple methods

The ethnographic researcher will use many diverse forms of data in order to develop
the 'story' as experienced by the participants.

Multiple methods of data include:

written documents;

researchers own field notes (observational notes, communications, chance

conversations, overheard remarks);

audiotapes and videotapes;

quantitative data may also be included, e.g. surveys or experimental findings.

Researcher engagement

The ethnographic researcher has to be able to engage with members of the culture
under study, and therefore has to be good at forming human connections.

In addition, the ethnographic researcher has to be prepared for the huge investment
in his or her time that such research demands, and must be willing to put in that
time.

Researcher as instrument

The ethnographic researcher has to be aware that he or she is the actual instrument
of research, as opposed to questionnaires, etc.

This can put tremendous responsibility upon the researcher.

Multiple perspectives

Ethnographic research aims to achieve a combination of multiple perspectives,

based upon the fact that:

Each individual member of that culture has an account of their experiences

within that culture that is unique to them.

There are multiple claims that can be made which are based on empirical
experiences of that culture.

There are multiple and diverse procedures that are used within ethnographic
research to collect the data.

Other main characteristics

The ethnographic researcher needs to give assurance that the data that has

been collected are grounded in actual experience within the

culture. Throughout the research and the collection of data, there will develop
a cycle of hypothesis and theory building, which, hopefully, will eventually be
confirmed.

The ethnographer must work systematically, constantly reviewing the

evolution of ideas, reflecting on why particular decisions were made, why

certain questions were asked and why data were generated in a particular
way - in other words, the researcher must try to articulate the assumptions
and values implicit in the research, and importantly to acknowledge the
research as part of the story.

Ethnography allows some considerable flexibility in the choice of methods

used to obtain information about the culture.

Such flexibility can be either an advantage or a disadvantage.

It can be an advantage to a researcher who is experienced enough to know what to

look for, and how to go about collecting the data.
On the other hand, it can be a disadvantage particularly to the novice researcher
who can find themselves being overwhelmed and distracted by a multitude of
unimportant details.

Therefore, before commencing the research, the ethnographic researcher needs to

have clear intentions and outcomes from the study, otherwise it would be so very
easy to get lost within the experiences and data collected.

Aim of ethnographic research

It involves the description and the interpretation of cultural behaviour.

The aim of the ethnographic researcher is to learn from (rather than study)
members of a cultural group.

The intention of the ethnographic researcher in relation to the members of a

particular cultural group is to understand their world view as they define it.

Key stages

There are several key stages involved in ethnographic research.

Data collection

Data collection always takes place in the field.

Data analysis

Data analysis is ongoing throughout the study

Advantages/Disadvantages

As with all research methodologies, there are inbuilt advantages, and there are
inbuilt disadvantages.

Conclusion

In this type of research enquiry, developing a theory is a process, and as new data
emerge, existing theories may prove to be inadequate. The researchers view of
what needs to be looked at and reported on may change and explanations of what
is going on may be supplanted by ones seem to fit better. In other words, the
emerging design is one of several distinguishing feature of this qualitative
methodology.

The object of ethnographic research is to discover the cultural knowledge that

people hold in their minds, how it is employed in social interaction and the
consequences such employment may hold. No attempt to generalise the findings
beyond the case itself should be made, since statistical random sampling is rarely a
feature of ethnographic research - rather the intention is to achieve understanding
of a specific case. However, Hammersley (1992) suggests that empirical
generalization is possible in some cases if typicality of a defined population at a
given time can be established.

The outcome of this type of qualitative research is story telling: snapshots of

peoples lives and relationships, inner thoughts, feelings and contradictions, and the
goal of ethnographic research is to combine the view of the insider with that of an
outsider to describe a social setting.

Ethnography lends itself particularly to the study of some sub-cultures and

institutions, such as drug users, sex workers and the police, because overall it is a
method of deep research, involving spending considerable periods of time with a
particular community or group of people. Hence it is a popular approach within
social research.