2206 W11: Ethnography

Ethnography Overview + Methodological Considerations + Applications of Ethnography

Causality vs. Causality Mechanism

Does one variable affect another variable vs. how does the variable affect another variable.

Why use Ethnography?

Difference of what people say vs. what they actually do. Covers overlooked ideas.

Specific Phenomenon

Particular event, processes, or occurrences that can be observed and studied. Different from General Phenomenon, refers to unique instance.

Community Study

Taking entirety of social life into account: ex. neighbourhood studies in big cities.

Complete Participants

Participation: YES.

Secret Researcher: YES.

Pros vs. Cons of Complete Participants

Pros: Access to specific groups.

Cons: ethical issues such as deception, reactivity from research participants, going native, cognitive dissonance, anxiety.

Participant Observer

Participation: YES.

Secret Researcher: NO (only some are aware).

Pros vs. Cons for Participant Observer

Pros: Fewer ethical concerns, authenticity, most popular form of fieldwork.

Cons: Hawthorne effect.

Observer

Participation: NO.

Secret Researcher: YES.

Pros vs. Cons of Observer

• Pros: Professional suitability such as sports, medical, courtroom fields.

• Cons: Hawthorne effect.

Covert Observer

Participation: NO.

Secret Researcher: NO.

Pros vs. Cons Covert Observer

• Pros: unlikelier to influence factors.

• Cons: greatest risk of misunderstanding, only systematic observation.

Grounded Theory

Inductive.

Create concepts & conceptual relations from data

Extended Case Study

Deductive.

Chose a field site or case to improve or modify an existing theory.

Why does ethnography use Purposive Sampling?

Non-probability sampling used for ethnographies as specific characteristics are required.

What are the strengths of being an insider researcher?

• Access

• Acceptance

• Understanding

• Perception that people will act more naturally.

What are the strengths of being an outsider researcher?

• Distance to see and identify insider assumptions.

• Ignorance to question the behaviours that seem natural to the group.

Gatekeeper

Person willing to help recruit participants when researcher has little to no access.

Example:

Key Informant

Expert source of information.

Rapport

Sense of trust and comfort between participant and researcher.

When do ethnographies typically end?

1. Saturation.

2. A natural end.

What is the internal validity, external validity, and reliability concerns with ethnography?

• Internal validity: theory + data

• External validity: triangulation

• Reliability: bias, attention to unusual behaviours, use an inconvenient sample.

What are the four elements of field notes?

1. Direct observation (events, quotes, etc.)

2. Researcher inferences.

3. Researcher’s feelings and reactions.

4. Sociological analysis.

What are the challenges of field notes?

• Complete field notes.

• Time & memory issues.

Team Ethnography

Ethnography conducted by two or more scholars working together. Cover multiple research sites/subgroups simultaneously. Compare results through triangulation.

Triangulation

Using multiple data sources, methods, or theories to verify.

Business Ethnography

Market Research: understanding meanings people attach to products.

Usability Research: assistance to engineer and software developers to understand consumer engagement with websites and technology.

Visual Ethnography

Recording day-to-day lives of participants with a theory and a study goal.

Cyber Ethnography

a.k.a. netnography, study of behaviours in online communities like interactions between players of a videogame or followers of blogs.