Internal
Links
Top
|
|
Outline on the
Social Science Method of Ethnography
|
|
External
Links
|
| |
- Overview of Research Methods |
Link
|
| |
- Research Instruments in the Social Sciences |
Link
|
| |
- Field Research |
Link
|
| |
An Ethnography is a careful analysis of a social phenomenon
such as a work situation, written by a knowledgeable observer, such as
a social scientist, usually after six months to a year of observation |
|
| |
Ethnography is one of several types of Field Research |
|
| |
Ethnography offers a way to learn what subjects such as workers actually
do & how they interact w/ other participants in the setting |
|
| |
The ethnographer seeks no only to explain the phenomenon, such as work
from the worker's perspective, but also to describe & explain larger
patterns that may be invisible to individuals in the setting |
|
| |
Often ethnographies are a narrative that is familiar to the general
population because it superficially resembles, friends' or relatives accounts
of the life of people lived in the setting being examined |
|
| |
Many ethnographies attempt to examine unusual social phenomenon such
as porno theaters, criminals' lives, drug users' lives, dangerous or unique
occupations, etc. |
|
| |
Ethnographies are different from mere journalistic accounts, novels,
exposé's, docudramas, etc. because a trained observer is sensitive
to subtle features of the social setting being examined & interactions
among the participants |
|
| |
Ethnographers scholastically examine their setting before engaging
w/ it |
|
| |
Ethnographers are educated in social science methods & are more
likely be be an objective observer attuned to unique, important, etc. phenomenon
in the setting |
|
| |
Evidence accumulated from many ethnographies provides an even stronger
basis for conclusion (Hodson, 2001) |
|
| |
Ethnographic studies are usually limited to fairly small groups during
a specific period of time |
|
| |
Ethnographies typically present a work group at a particular point
in time, the time frame during which the observer was there |
|
| |
The reader of an ethnography typically learns the point of view of
one actor or one group of actors in a setting such as a workplace |
|
| |
Ethnography, & all Field Research, may be either Participant or
Nonparticipant Research |
|
| |
Ethnography, & all Field Research, may be either Obtrusive or Unobtrusive
Research |
|
| |
See Also: Field Research for more on Participant or Nonparticipant
Research & Obtrusive or Unobtrusive Research |
Link
|