Ethnography
101
So What Is Ethnography Anyway?
Introduction
Ethnography: Ellen Isaacs at TEDxBroadway
Ethnography
Ethnography is qualitative research methodology
that seeks to understand a cultures behaviours
and beliefs through observation and interview.
https://hampedia.org/wiki/Ethnography_of_Law,_Science,_and_Medicine
History
 Started in the early 1900’s
 It’s roots are in anthropology
 Colonialists used this to study unknown and foreign
cultures
 In the 1920’s this research method was adopted by
the members of the Chicago School of Sociology
 1940’s the trend expanded.
 Today it has become a common methodology used by
social sciences and different academic fields
Qualitative Framework
Ethnography is a qualitative study because:
 Seeks answers to questions that are not readily
measured.
 There is a relationship with participants
 Data is analyzed to understand a phenomena
 The study occurs in a natural setting
Jane Goodall
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jun/27/jane-goodall-chimps-africa-interview
Methods
• Observations
• Interviews
• Surveys
• Investigations
• Collection of Objects and Artifacts
http://www.examiner.com/article/roughriders-fall-to-lions-on-last-second-field-goal-cfl-action-24-22
How to do Ethnography
Come Down From Your Ivory Towers
Characteristics of an Ethnographic
Research Report
 A description of the culture being studied
 Extensive field work
 Data analysis identifies patterns of behaviours,
beliefs and language
 A personal reflection and cultural image are explained
in the findings
Challenges
 Time consuming
 Can be risky to the researcher
 Data Interpretation
 Interviewer Effect
http://io9.com/5924096/five-webcomics-that-show-san-diego-comic-con-from-a-cartoonists-perspective
Advantages
 Allows insight into cultures that would not be known
otherwise
 Provides a more comprehensive perspective then
other forms of research
 Direct Observation- first hand reporting
Types of Ethnographic Studies
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Classic/traditional ethnography
Rapid ethnography
Critical ethnography
Online ethnography
Duoethnography
Autoethnography
Issues Facing Ethnographers
 Observing participants in limited environments
 Shortened field studies
 Internet or virtual ethnography
 Reliance on interviews alone
Examples of Ethnography in
Education
 How the students in a particular class respond to a
substitute teacher.
 Poverty affects on schooling of children
 High school inclusion
 Social integration of students with visual impairments
3rd Rock From the Sun
Questions for discussion:
• What are some of the things the characters are learning/observing from the human
race?
• How do they attempt to immerse themselves into the culture?
• What challenges do they face in their research?
• How do they gather the information?
https://fanart.tv/series/72389/3rd-rock-from-the-sun/