Lesson 3 - Ethnography & Observation

Field Research

Process of collecting data in a naturalistic seetting

• e.x. security watching people in an uncontrolled environment or researching closed cultures

• Researchers often study for months and years

Opposite of a laboratory-like setting

The researcher themselves is the “data-collecting instrument”

• Data is as good as the researcher’s skill to obtain it

Ethnography

Method, observation, and interaction of another culture

A type of field research

• If field research is the process, ethnography is a method

Social constructivist perspective on ethnography

How do people construct these different social groups and meanings?

• People interpret the world differently

• Researchers must understand how people construct their lives

Explicit Knowledge

Codified, written, knowledge available for us to interpret

e.x. academic information, wikipedia pages

Opposite of Tacit knowledge

Tacit Knowledge

Unconscious knowledge that we learn from shared cultures and norms

• Ethnography exposes us to other forms of tacit knowledge

Historical roots of ethnography

Traced back to the 5th century, where the Greek writer Herodotus was interested in how other people lived

• Recording a history of the Persians, and how they used animal fat as cooking fuel

Later, missionaries/explorers popped up to document how the natives lived

The main challenge to older ethnography was

Ethnocentrism

• Viewing one’s culture as superior, therefore blocking off other perspectives

• Bias distorted information

Allowed colonizing nations to take over 

John Howard

Interested in “domestic” ethnographies

Wrote about the horrible conditions of prisons in the 1700’s, as well as it’s lack of basic necessities

• John Howard Society named after this guy

Chicago Society

Looked at social problems in urban areas

• Seen Chicago as a “lab”

• Crime as a social phenomenon’

Interested in explaining how poverty comes from social contexts and institutions

• “Criminals are made, not born”

• Social disorder + poverty makes criminals

Howard Becker’s study of “outsiders”

Studied marijuana use in the Jazz scene in the mid 1900’s (SEEN AS DEVIANTS)

• Stated criminologists had to spend time observing people whose behavior they wanted to study

Researchers need to be mindful of in Ethnography:

Emotional demands/attachments

• Culture shock, guilt, emotional burden of spending too much time with participant culture

Ethical issues

• Gaining trust of a gatekeeper, writing info about “private” matters with regards to a culture

Immoral behavior witnessed

• Can we be witnesses or accessories to overt criminal acts?

Limits to being a researcher

• Being seen as an “outsider” means groups don’t trust you

Formal vs. Informal permission

Formal - people sought after by researchers for their position within a group (e.x. an executive member)

Informal - sought after randomly (just used as a link to the group)

Field Roles - GON BE ON THE EXAM!

Complete Observer

Observer as Participant

Participant as Observer

Complete Participant

Complete Observer (field role)

Form of unobtrusive research

• Observe from a neutral distance and take notes

Pros:

• Studied in a more naturalistic setting

• Subverts the Hawthorne effect, Social Desirability bias

Cons:

• Lack of information

• May result in misinterpretation

Observer as Participant

Members know you are a researcher

Minimal participation

• Members may distrust you

• Regarded as an outside

Some activities are off-limits due to lack of rapport

• Present yourself as someone who needs an explanation into what the group is doing

Participant as Observer (most common role)

Active participant - still an “outsider"

Access to core members, yet accepted within the group

• May be certain restrictions

Role is easier to adopt if you have a common background with the group

• e.x. being ex-military studying with police

Personal attachment begins to become apparent when translating field notes into actual written paper

Complete Participant

Status as researcher is hidden

• Most ethically dangerous and questionable

Fully immersed into the cultural world

• Rich source of data

If status is revealed, public may distrust this information

• Idea of deception scares public and participants

Refer to the rebels example

The Rebels - Daniel Wolf (Complete Participant example)

Wolf was studying the Rebels (eventually would become the Hell’s Angels)

• Anthropologist interested in outlaw bikers

Stayed with them for three years, before telling them about the project

• Described how he spent time gaining their trust

• Hung around them in bars before he was invited to events

• Accounts of intiation rituals

  • Bar fight incident with the Airborne regiment allowed members to fully trust him

Rebels allowed Wolf to publish his findings, believing they would portray them accurately

How to gain access

Some field are open, some are closed

• Best approach is to hang around public locations

A gatekeeper would be necessary sometimes

• Has informal or formal controler over a researcher’s access to the community

Negotiate with a gatekeeper

• Confidentiality is a key point

  • e.x. using pseudonyms, portrayal of the group

• Be sincere and honest - can make or break access

Gatekeeper

a person who vouches for you, allowing you to enter the world

Can be formal or informal

Maintaining Access

Build a good first impression to build trust/rapport

• e.x. Convincing a gatekeeper executive of a company that you aren’t working for a rival company

Building Rapport

Be transparent, don’t lie

• Disclose some information, use the power of story to establish shared experiences

Attitude of Strangeness (Observation)

approach where you observe something new for the first time as a stranger or outsider

• Jot down notes

• Highlight key phrases and words

Digital Ethnography (aka netography)

Kind of the same (e.x. subreddit observation, discord servers, incel community infiltration)

• Unique approach with gatekeepers

• Allows us to access explicit knowledge

Allows easier access of hard-to-reach groups like INCELS

Ethical challenges of Digital ethnography

Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it can be ethical

e.x. access of private info

Leaving the field

You can’t just ghost people, give some closure

• Might wanna maintain ongoing relationships with participants

You may experience culture shock

Strengths of Field Research (EXAM QUESTION)

Flexible

Gives In-depth understanding of cultures in a naturalistic setting (ethnography)

Very subjective, story-telling, and open-ended qualitative research

Weaknesses of Field Research (EXAM QUESTION)

Less control over environment

Extremely time intensive - must build rapport

Avoidance of ethnocentric perspectives

Ethics - responsible for protecting and informing participants

• Furthermore, ethics clearances

• e.x. reporting abuses found during research

THE HAWTHORNE EFFECT

Hawthorne Effect (EXAM)

Effect where research subjects react differently because they know they’re being observed