Research%20Methods

1
Ethnography

• Research Methods
• CASA Writing Center

2
ethno-graphy

• ethno people graphy writing
• ethnography writing about people

3
Defining ethnography

• "the study and systematic recording of human
  cultures also a descriptive work produced from
  such research" (Merriam-Webster, 2012).
• "a systematic study of a particular cultural
  group or phenomenon, based upon extensive
  fieldwork in one or more selected locales"
  (Reimer, 2011, p. 163).

4
What is the purpose of ethnography?

• "The ethnographer is interested in the
  socio-cultural contexts and processes in which
  people live their lives, as well as the meaning
  systems which motivate them... the actors and
  their corresponding actions, behaviors, and
  beliefs are examined within the cultural and
  societal context in which they take place"
  (Whitehead, 2004, p. 15).

5
Ethnography is...

• study of a particular group - in their natural
  setting, doing everyday activities, practices,
  processes
• embedding oneself into a culture to observe and
  describe patterns
• cultural interpretation (Reimer, 2011)
• cultural patterns or processes of a community
• finding the inner workings of social settings

6
What is an ethnographer?

• the data collection instrument (Reimer, 2011)
• gaining the "insider" perspective
• translating this perspective for outsiders
• "We bring our cultural selves with us wherever we
  go, and even with the best of intentions, an
  ethnographer can never see life completely
  through another person's eyes... the ethnographer
  is never able to completely write him or herself
  out of the ethnography" (Reimer, 2011, p. 165).

7
An ethnographer is...

• a researcher - in and out of the field
• an observer
• a participant
• an interviewer
• an interpreter

8
What is the goal?

• To gain an "insider's" perspective on a
  community, culture, or group of individuals
• To develop a cultural interpretation
• cultural constructions, values, norms, processes,
  meanings

9
Examples of Ethnography

• Dogtown and Z Boys (2001)

• Counter Culture (2009)

10
History of Ethnography

• Foundations in anthropology, sociology, social
  anthropology, cultural anthropology
• an interest in observing and understanding the
  culture and processes of "the Other"
• i.e. tribal, native, or indigenous cultures
• Ethnography has moved/moves beyond these
  foundations to explore cultures and communities
  in all areas of life.

11
Why ethnography?

• As a process, ethnographic research allows the
  individual to observe, interact, experience, and
  participate in a community or culture.
• As a product, ethnographic research - or an
  ethnography - translates and offers an
  insiders perspective on the community or
  culture for outsiders.
• This allows others to understand the community or
  culture more fully.
• Why might this be valuable?

12
Research Methods

• Quantitative
• data can be measured
• deals with numbers
• raw data is used to construct graphs or tables
• fails to capture human experience

• Qualitative
• data can be observed, but not measured
• explores the experiences of participants
• descriptive data
• gathers information in a non-numerical form
• interviews, diary accounts, open-ended
  questionnaires, observations

13
Research Methods

• Ethnographic research methods include both
  quantitative and qualitative research.
• quantitative survey data, background research
• qualitative observations, field notes,
  interviews, interactions, reflections

14
Research Question

• Before beginning any research project, it is
  important to consider what you are researching
  and why.
• What is your research question?
• Please refer to your instructors assignment
  guidelines and/or develop your own research
  question as necessary.

15
Ethical Considerations

• The need to protect research participants is so
  critical that all ethnographers, even students
  conducting ethnographic research for a class,
  must abide by this code of conduct (Reimer,
  2011, p. 171).

16
Code of Conduct

• Please ask your professor or the Institutional
  Review Board (IRB) for more information regarding
  ethical considerations in ethnographic research.
• Code of Conduct, American Anthropological
  Association (1998)
• Your ethnographic research should not
• Harm or exploit its participants
• Your ethnographic research should
• Seek informed consent from participants
• Respect the anonymity or recognition of
  participants

17
What are ethnographic research methods?

• ethnographic reconnaissance (Wolcott, 2008, p.
  187).
• fieldwork researcher in the field
• researcher as data instrument
• observation of community
• data collection
• Compose fieldnotes through observation.
• Revise and add to fieldnotes through reflection.
• Conduct interviews (informal or structured)
  and/or surveys with members of the community or
  group.
• Collect site documents and/or representative
  artifacts of the community or group.
• data analysis
• report writing

18
"Ethnographic Reconnaissance"

• reconnaissance a mission to survey, explore, and
  obtain information
• exploration of a community or field site to
  orient oneself
• Visit your site and check it out its okay to
  feel like an outsider!
• Wolcott (2008) argues that it allows the
  researcher "to make a better-informed decision as
  to whether or how to proceed with more thorough
  investigation" (p. 188).

19
Fieldwork

• "the field" is the natural setting of the
  community or culture being observed
• For example, if researching the community of
  regular diners at a cafe, one would observe this
  community at the cafe.
• Give yourself time to observe.
• It is best to return to "the field" as often as
  possible to gain an insider's perspective on the
  community and its processes, practices, and/or
  values.
• Fieldwork cannot be rushed. Dont procrastinate!
• "Certainly, the more time available for fieldwork
  the better" (Wolcott, 2008, p. 190).

20
Researcher - Ethnographer

• Ethnographer as the data instrument
• Using your own experiences, observations, and
  perceptions to observe and take note of a
  community or culture
• In addition to observation and interviews,
  ethnographers conduct outside research to learn
  more about the community or culture they are
  researching.
• This helps them in the field and also in writing
  their ethnographic reports.

21
Observation

• This takes time!
• Be sure to seek permission to observe a
  community.
• Prepare a statement of purpose to explain your
  reasons for being there.
• Return to your field site as often and as many
  times as possible.
• This will depend on the time you have available
  to conduct your own ethnographic research.

22
Types of Observation

• Participant Observation
• The researcher becomes an active participant in
  the community while observing.
• Experiential observation
• Non-Participant Observation
• The passive observer
• "fly on the wall"
• The researcher does not become an active
  participant in the community.
• Focus on observation only - no interaction

23
Observation as Experience

• "Participant observation is founded on firsthand
  experience in naturally occurring events"
  (Wolcott, 2004, p. 49).
• Using all five senses to observe, experience, and
  absorb.
• Documenting these observations in field notes.

24
Data Collection - Field notes

• Keep a notebook with you to take notes and/or
  make sketches.
• Outsider perspective / insider perspective
• Each time you sit down to observe, date your
  notes.
• Some things you could consider are
• Observe WHO is present what are their roles?
• WHAT they are doing?
• WHY are they doing this?
• Consider the focus and purpose of your research.

25
Writing Field Notes

• As quickly as possible, write up notes about
  what you learn, including first impressions,
  problems you anticipate, leads you might follow,
  analytical concepts you may later want to
  consider. Keep track as well of your emotional
  responses and information gained through all your
  senses, not just what you have seen (Wolcott,
  2008, p. 193).

26
Field Notes What to write?

• First impressions
• Information gained through all your senses
• Problems you anticipate
• Leads or interests you might follow
• Analytical concepts
• i.e. discourse community theory
• Emotional responses
• (Wolcott, 2008)

27
Interviews

• Seeking permission informed consent
• Using a recording device
• Interviews sitting down face-to-face with an
  individual to discuss questions
• Formal structured QA
• Informal more like a conversation
• Guided by prepared questions, but flexible to
  discuss responses of interviewee(s)

28
Surveys

• Surveys developing questions for participants
  to respond to and return to the researcher
• Allow for a larger response population
• Can offer numerical data and open-ended responses

29
Collecting Site Documents

• How are people communicating?
• How is information gathered and/or shared?
• Genres newsletters, memos, forms
• Media images, web sources, videos
• texts are reflections of shared practice,
  societal norms, and public relationships, and
  they are potentially rich sources of data
  (Reimer, 2011, p. 168).

30
Data Analysis

• You will analyze the data you have collected
  according to the focus of your research.
• Return to your Research Question.

31
Report Writing

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Background Review of the Literature
• Informing your reader about the community or
  culture, its history, its construction, its
  importance, etc.
• Methods
• Discussing your methods of ethnographic research
• Results
• Analyzing the results
• Using the data you collected in your
  observations, interviews, site documents, etc.
• Discussion

32
How do I do ethnography?

• Select a community or group of individuals that
  you will study.
• Develop a focus or question for your study.
• i.e. What are the goals and characteristics of
  this discourse community?
• Set up a time to observe your community.
• It is best to return to your field of study
  numerous times.
• Compose thorough field notes and return to
  reflect on them often.
• Interact with individuals within the community.
• Seek interviews or distribute surveys.
• Organize your findings.
• Analyze your findings.

33
Ethnography activity - Step 1

• Imagine you are asked to conduct ethnographic
  research to learn more about the goals and values
  of college freshmen.
• Create five (5) interview questions you could ask
  an "insider" of this community.

34
Ethnography Activity - Step 2

• Using the five (5) interview questions you
  created, travel to another table and interview an
  individual.
• Be sure to take notes on their responses.

35
Ethnography Models

• If youd like to look at some examples of
  ethnographic research and reports, see the
  Writing About Writing textbook
• Mirabelli, T. Learning to serve The language
  and literacy of food service workers (p. 538)
• McCarthy, L. P. A stranger in strange lands A
  college student writing across the curriculum
  (p. 667)
• Branick, S. Coaches can read, too An
  ethnographic study of a football coaching
  discourse community (p. 557)

36
References

• American Anthropological Association. (1998).
  Code of ethics of the American
• Anthropological Association. Retrieved from
• http//www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethcode.h
  tm
• Reimer, J. F. (2011). Ethnography research. In S.
  D. Lapan, M. T. Quartaroli, F. J. Reimer
  (Eds.), Qualitative research An introduction to
  methods and designs (pp. 163-188). Hoboken, NJ
  Jossey Bass.
• Wolcott, H. F. (2008). Ethnography as a way of
  seeing, 2nd ed. New York, NY Alta Mira Press.
• Whitehead, T. L. (2004). What is ethnography?
  Methodological, ontological, and
• epistemological attributes. Cultural Ecology of
  Health and Change
• (CEHC). Retrieved from http//www.cusag.umd.edu/d
  ocuments/
• WorkingPapers/EpiOntAttrib.pdf