What are Ethnographic Research methodologies?
There are several ways researchers conduct ethnographic research. Each, however, is designed to perform a specific task. Each method is designed to solicit a particular kind of information from participants. Some methods widely used by ethnographic researchers include:
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Participant Observation:
this term has been as an umbrella term to describe what ethnographic researchers do while out in the field and, more narrowly, to describe the activities of an ethnographer at a specific event. H. Russell Bernard uses the term synonymously with ethnographic fieldwork—“It involves getting close to people and making them feel comfortable enough with your presence so that you can observe and record information about their lives” (1994:136). Participant observation is much more than just conducting interviews or completing telephone surveys…it’s much more than simply watching a ritual. It encompasses a wide range of methods including a combination of methods such as those previously listed.
This method differentiates ethnographic research from other research types because of its student-inspired researcher role. That is, the researcher must enter a group ready, willing, and able to learn and accept their lifeways. As an ethnographic researcher hired to study a particular place, people, or event, one would have to put his or her thoughts aside and determine how the practice fits into the beliefs, values, rituals, and behaviors of the group who is practicing it. Your thoughts should not be your guide. You want participants to teach you the meanings of their ways and the contexts in which they are practiced. For an example of how participant observation is used, see “African American Churches as Ethnographic Resources” by Audrey L. Brown.
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Literature Review:
before attempting to contact individuals for a study, ethnographic researchers read literature about the subject under study. This is an important step because the researcher does not want to repeat other studies. An ethnographer can also learn from what is missing in the literature. Local historical sources are important in placing a study within the proper context, a context that should take into consideration interrelated issues, settings, the environment, and relationships. Nothing is worse than a participant correcting a researcher on common knowledge! For an example of how a literature review can aid in understanding a people or place, see I. Susser’s “The Construction of Poverty and Homelessness in US Cites” and Michael Moffatt’s “Ethnographic Writing about American Culture.”
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Interviews:
there are several types of interviews ethnographic researchers conduct. Many mistake interviewing as the only method of ethnographic researchers. While interviews are important, it is equally important to validate what people are saying with what they do through other participant observation techniques. There are four basic types of interviews: informal, unstructured, semi-structured, and structured. As you may have guessed, there is a continuum ranging from no control (chit-chats or daily rounds) to lots of control (e.g., a questionnaire). Trained professionals will know when and how to administer a specific type of interview.
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Life History:
a type of interview that reveals an individual’s lived experiences over a chronological period of time. They are usually centered around a particular theme (e.g., experiences with discrimination over one’s lifetime) and are very detailed. Unless you have a very experienced professional to make sense of all the details, life histories can sit in file cabinets, unavailable to anyone.
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Focus Groups:
questions asked of participants in a group setting. This method focuses on the discourse of the community and also allows the researcher the opportunity to observe the reaction of participants to one another’s ideas. Focus groups generate a significant amount of data in a short period of time.
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Fieldnotes:
notes kept by anthropologists throughout the duration of their studies. Fieldnotes can include drawings, census, comments on social relationships, and descriptions of places, events, and weather. Fieldnotes become important because they serve as a reminder of events that have occurred through the duration of a study. Researchers know that relying on memory alone can alter the perception of what actually took place during any given event.
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Mapping:
technique used by ethnographers to better understand social and spatial relationships within a community through the use of “maps” drawn by community members. Mapping comes in a variety of forms, there can be geographic maps that illustrate physical structures and distance, mental or cognitive maps that give insight into the importance of a place or space according to individual perception, and transect walks which involve a researcher walking with a member of the community and asking questions along a guided tour. These are but three types of “mapping” done by anthropologists. To learn more abut mapping in ethnography see Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. Le Compte’s Ethnographer’s Toolkit, volume 4.
Remember, the key to quality ethnographic research is trained researchers who are knowledgeable of the subject under study and who are able to work within community, time, budgetary, and personnel constraints.
Try It Yourself
Is it so “obvious?”
Interview
Interviews and participant observation are perhaps two of the more well-known ethnographic methods. Interviewing allows an ethnographer to personally connect with an individual while obtaining first hand information that is useful in answering a question or questions that have “obvious” answers.
To get a feel of how interviewing works, try this.
- Think of a job, position, or activity that you see people around you perform everyday. Maybe someone who is a data specialist in your office, a supervisor, a crossing guard, teacher, janitor, street vendor, etc.
- Having this activity in mind, interview two people (they can each have different jobs) and ask questions that address what it is they actually do everyday. You want to find out how they do this, step-by-step.
- To begin, make a list of five questions that you would like to ask. For example, what is the title of your job? What are your qualifications? When do you perform your job? Is there a procedure to performing your job, etc.
- After you have made this list, ask your fist interviewee these five questions. When you have completed that interview, seek out interviewee number 2.
- This time, ask interviewee 2 open-ended questions like what is it that you do everyday? Can you describe it to me?
Were their answers to your questions obvious? Is there a difference in the responses that you received? Was one interview more informative or effective than the other? Did you ask them how much money they make, and if not why not? Which questions did you feel comfortable asking?
Try It Yourself
Grocery Store
Mental Maps and Observations
Mental maps provide valuable information about a place of study. The way in which people remember a place or space can give insight into their impressions of that place, its use, what was seen as being important enough to observe, and how they organize information spatially. Mental maps can provide insight into an individual’s perspective regarding a place or space.
How well do you think you know familiar places, like your local grocery store?
Try this:
- Take a few moments to map out your local grocery store on a piece of paper.
- After you have mapped it, look for patterns throughout the store. Are certain foods found near each other? Are beverages in more that one section, if so why?
- Can you categorize the various sections of your grocery store?
- Now, after making a mental map, go to the grocery store to see if you were correct.
- Did you leave out anything? Have you noticed changes in the store since you began shopping there?
- Does this give you any perspective on what you might find of importance in the grocery store?
