Ethnography: A Method of Research and A Genera of Writing for Informing, Reforming and Transforming Lives (original) (raw)

Abstract

Ethnography is one of the richest research approaches within the qualitative research paradigm for studying the cultural life worlds of others and/or oneself at a deeper level of consciousness. Additionally, it is a genre of writing that uses multi-epistemic lenses to go deeper into the phenomenon in order to inform, reform, and transform lives. The term ‘ethno’(graphy) is a compound word made up of the words ethno and graphy, which stand for culture and writing, respectively. In order to conduct ethnographic research, a researcher must possess a thorough understanding of a specific cultural context, be able to communicate in the language used by the informants, and be able to bracket one’s biases, while understanding how to "recover meaning" from their complex lifeworld. In doing so, it gives the researcher—the ethnographer in the role of an outsider the chance to chronicle the ‘noodle moments’ of the insiders as informants, within their cultural context, by witnessing their way of life and recording what truly takes place there. To this purpose, through their involvement over an extended length of time, ethnographers must generate detailed accounts of the discussions, observations of the events, symbols, artifacts, festivals, and everyday activities of the researched, among other things. Through critically analyzing behaviors, it offers a window into the meaning that people attribute to their cultural sensibility and a source of insights to inform, reform, and transform communities. Thus, it is a more comprehensive way of examining through the perspective of an insider, which sets it apart from other inquiry techniques.

Key takeaways

sparkles

AI

  1. Ethnography uniquely combines research and writing to inform, reform, and transform cultural understandings.
  2. A researcher must engage for at least six months to effectively conduct ethnographic studies.
  3. Ethnography utilizes multiple data sources to explore the complex lived experiences within cultural contexts.
  4. The approach critically analyzes firsthand accounts to reveal cultural sensibilities and social behaviors.
  5. Moral and ethical considerations are essential in ethnographic research to prevent bias and respect cultural nuances.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (15)

  1. Atkinson, P., Coff ey, A., & Delamont, S. (1999). Ethnography: post, past, and present. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 28(5), 460-471.
  2. Falzon, M. A. (2016). Multi-sited ethnography: Theory, praxis and locality in contemporary research. In Multi-sited ethnography (pp. 1-23). Routledge.
  3. Fleming, J., & Rhodes, R. A. W. (2023). When is ethnography 'real ethnography'?. In Routledge International Handbook of Police Ethnography (pp. 53-70). Routledge.
  4. Follet, C., & Ianko, I. E. (2015). Understanding social value creation: A process study of Romanian beggars and Swedish volunteers.
  5. Forberg, P., & Schilt, K. (2023). What is ethnographic about digital ethnography? A sociological perspective. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, 1156776.
  6. Geertz, C. (1973). Interpretation of Cultures, New York: Basic Books.
  7. Hammersley, M. (2018). What is ethnography? Can it survive? Should it?. Ethnography and education, 13(1), 1-17.
  8. Harrison, A. K. (2014). Ethnography. The Oxford handbook of qualitative research, 223- 253.
  9. Lillis, T. (2008). Ethnography as method, methodology, and "Deep Theorizing" closing the gap between text and context in academic writing research. Written communication, 25(3), 353-388.
  10. Parreñas, J. S. (2023). Ethnography after anthropology: Become moles, not mining corporations. American Ethnologist, 50(3), 453-461.
  11. Roberts, T. (2009). Understanding ethnography. British Journal of Midwifery, 17(5), 291-294.
  12. Qutoshi Sinanan, J., & McDonald, T. (2017). Ethnography. The SAGE handbook of social media.
  13. Van Maanen , J. 1988 . Tales from the fi eld: On writing ethnography, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  14. Walford, G. (2009). For ethnography. Ethnography and Education, 4(3), 271-282.
  15. Wolf, Z. R. (2012). Ethnography: the method. Nursing Research: A Qualitative Perspective. Jones and Barlett Publishers, 285-335.