Ethnography Flashcards

Flashcards on Ethnography

Ethnography

Describing and understanding a cultural world from the point of view of its people.

Emic Perspective

An insider's perspective.

Etic Perspective

An outsider's perspective.

characteristics of ethnographic research

• conducted in natural settings

• provides holistic and systematic overview of context

• done within field site

• documents native perspective

• descriptive and interpretative

• guided by general research questions not hypotheses

• focuses in meaning of word and images rather than numbers

How do researchers collect data during ethnographic fieldwork

• focus groups - group of people chose for shared characteristic to be involved in discussion

• surveys

• interviews

• archival research

• participant observation

Participant Observation

A qualitative research method in which the researcher not only observes people but actively engages in social activities.

Principles of participant observation - Ethnographic Humility

Acknowledging the complexity of social activity.

Principles of participant observation - ethnographic ‘dazzle’

tendency for outsiders when observing other cultures to be focused on difference they fail to notice or appreciate similarities

Types of participant observation - Complete Participant

Researcher fully immersed in the community; activities as a researcher may be concealed.

Types of participant observation - Participant-as-Observer

Researcher participates fully in activities; status as researcher is known.

Types of participant observation - Observer-as-Participant

Researcher participates in key activities for research purposes; status as researcher is known.

Types of participant observation - Complete Observer

No contact with those being observed; covert observation.

Types of ethnographic research methods - Field Ethnography

Observing people in their normal lives for a deeper insight.

Types of ethnographic research methods - Digital Ethnography

Using digital tools to speed up the ethnographic process.

Types of ethnographic research methods - Photo Ethnography

Giving a person a camera to capture images of their life with accompanying notes.

How to do ethnography

identify research q —> determine location —> formulate presentation method —> acquire permission and access —> observe and participate —> interview —> collect archival data —> code and analyse data

Implanting the method

• who to observe

• when to observe - access, safety, practicality

• frequency of visits

• alone or accompanied ?

• what to take with you

• mode of transportation ?

what to do when observing

Field notes

• decide note-taking style and level if detail

• decide in theme / coding

• experimental style - writing postponed

• participating-to-write or observing-to-write : writing begins earlier

what to write

• W: who, what, when, where, how

• R: reaction

• I: inaction (silence ?)

• T: timing (the pace of action / speaking)

• E: emotions (nonverbal signs)

• initial impressions, significant/ unexpected fieldworker, routine actions, variations and exceptions to emerging patterns

Styles of field notes

• notes

• jottings

• dictation

• journal entries

• keywords

• images / drawings

• photos

• creative genres

Post-oberservational field notes

• jottings need to be translated into full, coherent, descriptive text

• within 24hrs

• use word processor can facilitates coding and sorting

• be aware takes time

Ethnography and colonialism

• colonial conquest - ethnographies assisted justification of evolutionist theories and social change

• ethnography occurred during colonisation

• situated in a history of radicalisation

Ethnocentrism

The view in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.

glorify or exotify other cultures

Global Ethnography

Ethnography that considers global contexts and interconnections.

Multi-sited Fieldwork

Research conducted in multiple locations.

Patchwork ethnography

how changing working and living conditions are transforming knowledge production

Digital Ethnography

• Using digital tools and online communities for ethnographic research.

• Extant - studies using exiting materials without researchers influence

• elicited - studies using data from participants in response to researchers qs

• enacted - studies using data generated with participants during the study

What is the field ?

• distinction between home/ field problematic

• feminist - argue fields - not isolated vessels

• fields do not have to be far away

Auto-ethnography

A research method where the divide between participant and observer is blurred; the researcher examines their own experiences.

Anthropocentrism in Ethnography

• The human subject as the privileged object of ethnography.

• distinction between humans / animals ads a Eurocentric binary - does not reflect many cultures

• rise of multi species - undo ethnographic as being solely about observation of human participants

Limits of observation

• privileged method for accessing ‘truth’ about culture

• moving participant observation away from positivist science

• making space for history, context, positionally

• we are not removed or detached from the world

Positionality

Recognition that people's perspectives and realities depend on their different positioning in society.

Reflexivity

Explicit recognition of the ethical and political dimensions of fieldwork and acknowledgement of how these may have shaped knowledge.

Ethical review

• reliability of knowledge depends on explicit recognition of the ethical and political dimensions of fieldwork

• permissions and consent -

• purpose of activity, extent and scope of observation

• topic and setting

• type of research conducted