Instrumentation/Methodology

1.Observation @PARTICIPANT
@NON-PARTICIPANT
1.1.PARTICIPANT
OBSERVATION
involves the study of a particular individual or group of
participants through direct interaction--i.e., immersion. In
order to engage in participant research, you are required to
obtain permission to follow, observe and document the daily
activities of subjects.
Instrumentation/Methodology
1.Observation
1.2. NON-PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

is the study of groups of people in public places.

Rather than focus on a particular individual, who knows
you are observing them, you watch a variety of people
interacting. Non-participant observers are
eavesdroppers.
Instrumentation/Methodology
2.Interview is research done through
narrative
2.SEMI-STRUCTURED 3.UNSTRUCTURE
1.STRUCTURED D
involve a specific set of questions with limitations placed on
subject responses. in this case the researcher is only
interested in learning about a specific part of the subject's
life. this is common practice in product research; participants
are asked about their thoughts and feelings in regard to
particular stimuli, not life in general.
Instrumentation/Methodology
2.Interview
2.2.SEMI-
STRUCTURED
are similar to structured interviews in that they
begin with a general framework but are free to
evolve around the subject's narrative--i.e., the
subject is able to get a little sidetracked.
Instrumentation/Methodology
2.Interview
2.3.UNSTRUCTURED
allow subjects to speak freely. Although the
researcher may begin with a general prompt or
conversation to gain trust, effort is made to allow
the free expression of the subject--e.g., starting a
conversation about the subject's job.
Instrumentation/Methodology
3.Survey
Surveys and questionnaires are like written interviews.
They vary in degree of structure and researcher
involvement. The primary advantage of surveying a
population is the ability to produce large amounts of
quantitative data, such as numerical ratings. Adding this
tool to the ethnographic toolbox makes it easier to draw
quantitatively meaningful, statistically significant
conclusions from research.
Instrumentation/Methodology
4.Data Analysis
the study of physical evidence, the paperwork of culture. Anything from
doctor's bills to ceramic art may be considered data. If participant observation
is being used in addition to data analysis, researchers can ask for this
information directly. Otherwise, they may gather it while taking notes in the
field. To retain the validity of data collected for analysis, some researchers
include a personal statement at the beginning of their literature that describes
their subjective position. This statement may explain why certain evidence
was ignored, judged unimportant or overlooked. For example, a young, male
researcher documenting a genealogical connection might disbelieve the
testimony of a sickly, old woman because he believed she was an unreliable
source.
Sampling Technique
1.Purposeful
Only people with specified characteristics are
selected. These characteristics can represent the
range of characteristics in your population of interest,
or you can focus on some characteristics in
particular.
Sampling Technique
2.Snowball
In a snowball sample you ask your participants if they can
suggest someone else, with the
relevant characteristics, who they think may be willing to take part
in the evaluation. That
someone else then nominates another, and so on.
This makes it easier to contact people you might not otherwise have
any way of getting in touch
with. However, it does introduce a lot of bias into your results
because your samples are all likely
to know each other and to have similar opinions.
Sampling/ Technique
3.Convenience
With this method you survey whoever you happen to have
access to. It is also called opportunity
sampling. This is commonly used in market research.
It is a very easy method to use but you do not know if the
people you stop are members of the
population you are interested in (drivers who have been
prosecuted for speeding for instance).
Sampling/ Technique
4.Quota
This is another method commonly used in market research. With quota sampling you divide the
population (e.g. older drivers) into distinct parts (strata). You then decide how many of each
stratum you want to have in the total sample. This forms your quota and you convenience sample
until the quota is reached.
For example, you could stand outside an out-of-town supermarket in the day time. You have
decided that you want to survey 50 male drivers aged over 65. Every time you see a male older
driver enter the store you ask if he is aged over 65 and you continue until you reach your quota of
50 completed surveys.
This is the non-random form of stratified sampling.
Findings
should never be considered statistically significant, as by its very nature, ethnography can never study
large enough numbers of participants. The researcher should take care not to load too many questions into the
study design . Is best suited for getting rich and valuable answer that can be by looking in great details at a
small number of issues.