Introduction Ethnography

Ethnography

Biography Ethnography Interaction

Ethnography is a phenomenological methodology which stems from

My
anthropology.
Anthropology is the study of people, especially of their societies and
customs. Ethnography is an approach in which the researcher uses socially
acquired and shared knowledge to understand the observed patterns of
human activity. It is a style of research rather than a single method and uses
a variety of techniques to collect data. Ethno- means folk and art; –graphy
means description. Werner and Schoepfle (1987) claim that ethnography is
any full or partial description of a group.

Intercultural
Although it has been a feature of social science research throughout
most of the twentieth century, and has been used across a wide range of
disciplinary applications, ethnography escapes ready summary definition.
In recent years it has become a site of debate and contestation within
and across disciplinary boundaries.

Communicative
Interaction
For our purposes we define this style of research as:
The study of people in naturally occurring settings or fields by means of
methods which capture their social meanings and ordinary activities,
involving the researcher participating directly in the setting, if not also the
activities, in order to collect data in a systematic manner but without

Management
meaning being imposed on them externally. (Brewer, 2000: 10; for other

Diversity
explications of ethnography see: Atkinson et al., 2001; Burgess, 1984;
Davies, 1999; Fetterman, 1998; Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995)

This method of research must permit access to people’s social meanings

and activities. But it does not necessarily mean actual participation in the
Responsibility
Intercultural
setting, so ethnography’s repertoire of techniques includes in-depth
interviews, discourse analysis, personal documents and vignettes and also
participant observation. Visual methods, like video, photography, firm and
the internet are now also joining the list (Brewer, 2004).
These methods are also used in other non-ethnographic research but
here they are employed to meet objectives that distinguish it as a style of
Management
Emotional

research that explores the social meanings of people in the setting by close
involvement in the field. The other prominent feature of ethnography is
that the above listed methods are not used in isolation.
Ethnography routinely builds in triangulation of method because it
involves the use of multiple methods of data collection.
Working in
MCTs

A further complication is that there is an interpolation of method and

methodology in ethnography. It presupposes certain methods of data
collection and it is also closely associated with a particular philosophical
framework that validates its practice. This framework is called naturalism
and also the humanistic, hermeneutic or interpretative paradigms.

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Introduction Ethnography

Naturalism is an orientation concerned with the study of social life in

natural settings and they occur independently of experimental manipulation.
Its fundamental premise is that the main aim of social sciences is to
understand people’s actions and their experience of the world, and the
ways in which their motivated actions arise from and reflect back on these
experiences.
The main method of collecting data is participant observation where the
researcher becomes a full working member of the group being studied. The
research normally takes place over a long period of time, often many
months, in a clearly defined location such as a factory floor, and involves
direct participation in the activities of that particular workplace.
The aim of the method is to be able to interpret the social world in the
way that the members of that particular world do. Bogdan and Taylor
(1975) and Patton (1990) offer a number of suggestions for researchers
conducting ethnographic research which can be summarised into the
following stages:
• Build trust as early as possible.
• Become as involved as you can with the phenomena, but maintain
an analytical perspective.
• Develop strong contacts with a few key informants.
• Gather data from as many different sources as possible, using
multiple methods.
• Capture participants’ views of their experiences in their own
words, but remember the limitations of their perspectives.
• Write up field notes as soon as possible after leaving the setting and
do not talk to anyone until you have done so.
• Be descriptive when taking your field notes and draw diagrams of
physical layouts.
• Include your own experiences, thoughts and feelings as part of your
field notes.
• As field work draws to a close, concentrate on making a synthesis
of your notes.

A considerable number of disciplines have used ethnographic approach.

There are many factions and schisms and ethnography is perhaps the most
hotly contested site in qualitative research today (Denzin and Lincoln,
1994). There are emergence of a number of different styles of ethnography
which depend on the skills and training of the researcher and the nature of
the group with which the ethnographer is working. Whatever the type of
ethnography adopted, it ‘provides insights about a group of people and
offers us an opportunity to see and understand their world’ (Boyle, 1994).
It is useful to consider the following points before embarking on
ethnographic research:
• You need to find an organisation that is open and ready to support
your research.

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Introduction Ethnography

• You have to develop a high degree of trust in those you are

working with to ensure that you collect the data.
• If you are doing full participation to do your research, you must
cope with being a full-time member of a working group as well as
doing the research.
• You need to decide whether the particular setting or group best
reflects the research interests and whether it will be possible to
generalise from the findings.

Despite of all the difficulties ethnography is a very rewarding method

because it gives an opportunity to the researcher to gain first hand
experience, to understand and interpret the phenomenon better.

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References: Ethnography

Atkinson, P., Coffey, A., Delamond, S., Lofland, J. and Lofland, L. (2001).
Handbook of Ethnography. London: Sage.
Brewer, J. D. (2000). Ethnography. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Brewer, J. D. (2004). “Ethnography.” In: C. Cassell and G. Symon (eds.)
Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organisational Research. London:
Sage.
Bogdan, R. and Taylor, S. (1975). Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods.
New York: John Wiley.
Boyle, J. S. (1994). “Styles in Ethnography.” In: J. M. Morce (ed.) Critical
Issues on Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Burgess, R. (1984). In the Field. London: Routledge.
Davies, C. A. (1999). Reflexive Ethnography. London: Routledge.
Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (eds.) (1994). Handbook of Qualitative
Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Fetterman, D. (1998). Ethnography. London: Sage.
Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (1995). Ethnography: Principles and Practice.
London: Routledge.
Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Newbury
Park: Sage.
Werner, O. and Schoepfle, G. (1987). Systematic Fieldwork: Foundations of
Ethnography and Interviewing. Newbury Park: Sage.

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