qualitative- ethnography Flashcards
What is ethnography?
- a method of social research which explores nature of social phenomenon through first-hand observations in natural settings
- immersing oneself in the culture of the people being studied
- spending extended periods of time observing and recording the interactions of people in the field
Features of ethnography
- researchers respond to the field, rather than entering with preconceived hypotheses
- find ‘unexpected stories’
- detailed exploration of meaning making procedures
- thick descriptions
- intensive
- long-term
Bronislaw Malinowski: Trobriand Islands (1916)
The father of modern ethnographic methods
Pitched a tent in the village among the community
Learned to speak their language
“participant observation”
“grasp the native’s point of view”
“Not just hearing what participants say, but observing” eg ceremony
Critique of Malinsow and ethnography
- the exotic ‘other’
- ethnography has its origins in colonial inequalities
- colonising discourse
- people from ‘global South’ to learn about the global North
- objectifying the Native
- Researcher take up complete membership of the group
- may contaminate or change a community
Emancipatory Potential of Ethnography
Eg People with Disabilities
Children
People whose realities are often ignored or side lined should be able to “write back” within the research process
The Strange and the Familiar
The purpose of ethnography is often to make the strange familiar
But it is also used to:
Render the familiar Strange
“By turning the gaze back to familiar cultures, the opportunity is open to think again about practices within those cultures and to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions about social groups and/or contexts.”
E.g. Ethnographic work with children in schools.
Field notes and reflexive journals
important to ethnographers
Ethics, Gaining access and Gatekeepers
- Issues of informed consent, anonymity, privacy, (No) deception
- Gaining access can be tricky (eg schools)
- Identity of the researcher will have an impact on:
- -Ethics of Research
- -Ability to gain access
- -Being an ‘outsider’ may mean difficulty in accessing research participants, it may take longer to familiarise yourself with the field and build relationships.
- -Being a member of community may help researcher gain access (eg BDSM Study)
- -However, being an ‘insider’ may also add the complex layer of ethical issues including the risk of an abuse of power within pre-existing relationships”.
Participant Observations
Sometimes seen as synonymous with Ethnography
It means the researcher participates in the community they are studying
E.g. Studying Children in schools: Teacher’s Assistant.
Exploring gender in work place: Doing an internship at the firm
NB: Be careful of the participant Vs Non-participant observation binary
It could seem to imply that non-participant observation means researcher has no impact, which is never true.
Other Ethnographic Methods
- Interviews
- Analysis of written documents
- Focus groups
- Multi-Media (eg Photovoice, video )
- PAR
- Guided Tours, Mapping
- Web Based Methods
Guided tours
eg. with children
Children were also invited to take the field-worker on a guided tour around their local community and talk about the activities and relationships important for their everyday use of the community. They offered the opportunity for the researcher to obtain firsthand experience of the children’s favorite places and daily routes and routines and to observe the children in their natural milieu (Christensen, 2003). The children took the researcher around their neighborhood: past their house, around the garden, and out onto the fields and roads. The children decided the route and whether the tour should be conducted on their own or together with a friend or family member.
Online Ethnography: Virtual Ethnography
As more individuals go online to meet their cultural and social needs, the more pressing it is that researchers develop proper methodologies to study online interactions.
- Studying online communities: Virtual Message Boards and Forums
- Research on Forums for of sex workers
“Lurking” vs Active Participation
Difficulties in Defining the “Space” and boundaries
While performing an ethnographic study of online… questions arose like “is it the entire website? Is the focus only on the forums? Does it include the hyperlinks users attach to their posts? How should space be conceptualized while being sensitive to the effects of the offline world?” In other words, one must cope with the notion of space in virtual ethnography.
Identity Play and Authenticity Online? some considerations
- Greater opportunity for anonymity
- More opportunity for Identity Play
- Are People being Authentic?
- Does it Matter?
- How do we explore emotion in a primarily text based interaction?
