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Ethnographic Research -Types, Methods and Guide

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Ethnographic Research

Definition:

Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method used to study and document the culture, behaviors, beliefs, and social interactions of a particular group of people. It involves direct observation and participation in the daily life and activities of the group being studied, often for an extended period of time.

Ethnographic Study

An ethnographic study is a research method that involves the detailed and systematic study of a particular group, culture, or community. Ethnographic studies seek to understand the beliefs, values, behaviors, and social dynamics of a group through direct observation and participation in their daily life.

Ethnographic Research vs Ethnographic Study

here’s a table comparing ethnographic study and ethnographic research:

While there are some differences between the two, they are similar in that they both use qualitative research methods to study a particular group, culture, or community. The main difference is that an ethnographic study involves the researcher spending an extended period of time within the community being studied in order to develop a deep understanding, while ethnographic research is focused on documenting and analyzing the culture, beliefs, behaviors, and social interactions of the group being studied.

Ethnographic Research Types

Ethnographic research can be divided into several types based on the focus of the study and the research objectives. Here are some common types of ethnographic research:

Classic Ethnography

This type of ethnographic research involves an extended period of observation and interaction with a particular community or group. The researcher aims to understand the community’s culture, beliefs, practices, and social structure by immersing themselves in the community’s daily life.

Autoethnography

Autoethnography involves the researcher using their own personal experiences to gain insights into a particular community or culture. The researcher may use personal narratives, diaries, or other forms of self-reflection to explore the ways in which their own experiences relate to the culture being studied.

Participatory Action Research

Participatory action research involves the researcher working collaboratively with members of a particular community or group to identify and address social issues affecting the community. The researcher aims to empower community members to take an active role in the research process and to use the findings to effect positive change.

Virtual Ethnography

Virtual ethnography involves the use of online or digital media to study a particular community or culture. The researcher may use social media, online forums, or other digital platforms to observe and interact with the group being studied.

Critical Ethnography

Critical ethnography aims to expose power imbalances and social inequalities within a particular community or culture. The researcher may use their observations to critique dominant cultural narratives or to identify opportunities for social change.

Ethnographic Research Methods

Some common ethnographic research methods include:

Participant Observation

This involves the researcher directly observing and participating in the daily life and activities of the group being studied. This technique helps the researcher gain an in-depth understanding of the group’s behavior, culture, and social dynamics.

Ethnographic researchers use interviews to gather information about the group’s beliefs, values, and practices. Interviews may be formal or informal and can be conducted one-on-one or in group settings.

Surveys can be used to collect data on specific topics, such as attitudes towards a particular issue or behavior patterns. Ethnographic researchers may use surveys as a way to gather quantitative data in addition to qualitative data.

Document Analysis

This involves analyzing written or visual documents produced by the group being studied, such as newspapers, photographs, or social media posts. Document analysis can provide insight into the group’s values, beliefs, and practices.

Field Notes

Ethnographic researchers keep detailed field notes of their observations and interactions with the group being studied. These notes help the researcher organize their thoughts and observations and can be used to analyze the data collected.

Focus Groups

Focus groups are group interviews that allow the researcher to gather information from multiple people at once. This technique can be useful for exploring shared beliefs or experiences within the group being studied.

Ethnographic Research Data Analysis Methods

Ethnographic research data analysis methods involve analyzing qualitative data collected from observations, interviews, and other sources in order to identify patterns, themes, and insights related to the research question.

Here are some common data analysis methods used in ethnographic research:

Content Analysis

This involves systematically coding and categorizing the data collected from field notes, interviews, and other sources. The researcher identifies recurring themes, patterns, and categories in the data and assigns codes or labels to each one.

Narrative Analysis

This involves analyzing the stories and narratives collected from participants in order to understand how they construct and make sense of their experiences. The researcher looks for common themes, plot structures, and rhetorical strategies used by participants.

Discourse Analysis

This involves analyzing the language and communication practices of the group being studied in order to understand how they construct and reproduce social norms and cultural meanings. The researcher looks for patterns in the use of language, including metaphors, idioms, and other linguistic devices.

Comparative Analysis

This involves comparing data collected from different groups or communities in order to identify similarities and differences in their cultures, behaviors, and social structures. The researcher may use this analysis to generate hypotheses about why these differences exist and what factors may be contributing to them.

Grounded Theory

This involves developing a theoretical framework based on the data collected during the research process. The researcher identifies patterns and themes in the data and uses these to develop a theory that explains the social phenomena being studied.

How to Conduct Ethnographic Research

To conduct ethnographic research, follow these general steps:

• Choose a Research Question: Identify a research question that you want to explore. It should be focused and specific, but also open-ended to allow for flexibility and exploration.
• Select a research site: Choose a site or group that is relevant to your research question. This could be a workplace, a community, a social movement, or any other social setting where you can observe and interact with people.
• Obtain ethical clearance: Obtain ethical clearance from your institution or organization before beginning your research. This involves ensuring that your research is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner, and that the privacy and confidentiality of participants are protected.
• Conduct observations: Observe the people in your research site and take detailed notes. This involves being present and engaged in the social setting, participating in activities, and taking note of the behaviors, interactions, and social norms that you observe.
• Conduct interviews : Conduct interviews with people in the research site to gain deeper insights into their experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. This could involve structured or semi-structured interviews, focus groups, or other forms of data collection.
• Analyze data: Analyze the data that you have collected, looking for themes and patterns that emerge. This involves immersing yourself in the data and interpreting it within the social and cultural context of the research site.
• Write up findings: Write up your findings in a clear and concise manner, using quotes and examples to illustrate your key points. This may involve creating narratives, tables, or other visual representations of your findings.
• Reflect on your process: Reflect on your process and methods, thinking about what worked well and what could be improved for future research.

When to Use Ethnographic Research

Here are some situations where ethnographic research may be particularly appropriate:

• When exploring a new topic: Ethnographic research can be useful when exploring a topic that has not been well-studied before. By engaging with members of a particular group or community, researchers can gain insights into their experiences and perspectives that may not be visible from other research methods.
• When studying cultural practices: Ethnographic research is particularly useful when studying cultural practices and beliefs. By immersing themselves in the cultural context being studied, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which cultural practices are enacted, maintained, and transmitted.
• When studying complex social phenomena: Ethnographic research can be useful when studying complex social phenomena that cannot be easily understood through quantitative methods. By observing social interactions and behaviors, researchers can gain insights into the ways in which social norms and structures are created and maintained.
• When studying marginalized communities: Ethnographic research can be particularly useful when studying marginalized communities, as it allows researchers to give voice to members of these communities and understand their experiences and perspectives.

Overall, ethnographic research can be a useful research approach when the goal is to gain a deep understanding of a particular group or community and their cultural practices, beliefs, and experiences. It is a flexible and adaptable research method that can be used in a variety of research contexts.

Applications of Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research has many applications across a wide range of fields and disciplines. Some of the key applications of ethnographic research include:

• Informing policy and practice: Ethnographic research can provide valuable insights into the experiences and perspectives of marginalized or underrepresented groups, which can inform policy and practice in fields such as health care, education, and social services.
• Developing theories and concepts: Ethnographic research can contribute to the development of theories and concepts in social and cultural anthropology, sociology, and other disciplines, by providing detailed and nuanced accounts of social and cultural phenomena.
• Improving product design and marketing: Ethnographic research can be used to understand consumer behavior and preferences, which can inform the design and marketing of products and services.
• Studying workplace culture: Ethnographic research can provide insights into the norms, values, and practices of organizations, which can inform efforts to improve workplace culture and employee satisfaction.
• Examining social movements: Ethnographic research can be used to study the practices, beliefs, and experiences of social movements, which can inform efforts to understand and address social and political issues.
• Studying healthcare practices: Ethnographic research can provide insights into healthcare practices and patient experiences, which can inform efforts to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

Examples of Ethnographic Research

Here are some real-time examples of ethnographic research:

• Anthropological study of a remote indigenous tribe: Anthropologists often use ethnographic research to study remote indigenous tribes and gain insights into their culture, beliefs, and practices. For example, an anthropologist may live with a tribe for an extended period of time, observing and participating in their daily activities, and conducting interviews with members of the community.
• Study of workplace culture: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying workplace culture and understanding the dynamics of the organization. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview employees in a particular department or team to gain insights into their work practices, communication styles, and social dynamics.
• Study of consumer behavior: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying consumer behavior and understanding how people interact with products and services. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview consumers as they use a particular product, such as a new smartphone or fitness tracker, to gain insights into their behaviors and preferences.
• Study of health care practices: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying health care practices and understanding how patients and providers interact within the health care system. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview patients and providers in a hospital or clinic to gain insights into their experiences and perspectives.
• Study of social movements: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying social movements and understanding how they emerge and evolve over time. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview participants in a protest movement to gain insights into their motivations and strategies.

Purpose of Ethnographic Research

The purpose of ethnographic research is to provide an in-depth understanding of a particular group or community, including their cultural practices, beliefs, and experiences. This research approach is particularly useful when the research question is exploratory and the goal is to generate new insights and understandings. Ethnographic research seeks to understand the experiences, perspectives, and behaviors of the participants in their natural setting, without imposing the researcher’s own biases or preconceptions.

Ethnographic research can be used to study a wide range of topics, including social movements, workplace culture, consumer behavior, and health care practices, among others. The researcher aims to understand the social and cultural context of the group or community being studied, and to generate new insights and understandings that can inform future research, policy, and practice.

Overall, the purpose of ethnographic research is to gain a deep understanding of a particular group or community, with the goal of generating new insights and understandings that can inform future research, policy, and practice. Ethnographic research can be a valuable research approach in many different contexts, particularly when the goal is to gain a rich, contextualized understanding of social and cultural phenomena.

Advantages of Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research has several advantages that make it a valuable research approach in many different fields. Here are some of the advantages of ethnographic research:

• Provides in-depth and detailed information: Ethnographic research involves direct observation of the group or community being studied, which allows researchers to gain a detailed and in-depth understanding of their beliefs, practices, and experiences. This type of information cannot be obtained through other research methods.
• Offers a unique perspective: Ethnographic research allows researchers to see the world from the perspective of the group or community being studied. This can provide unique insights into the ways in which different cultural practices and beliefs are constructed and maintained.
• Promotes cultural understanding: Ethnographic research can help to promote cultural understanding and reduce stereotypes by providing a more nuanced and accurate picture of different cultures and communities.
• Allows for flexibility: Ethnographic research is a flexible research approach that can be adapted to fit different research contexts and questions. Researchers can adjust their methods based on the needs of the group being studied and the research goals.
• Generates rich and diverse data: Ethnographic research generates rich and diverse data through a combination of observation, interviews, and other methods. This allows researchers to analyze different aspects of the group or community being studied and identify patterns and themes in the data.
• Supports theory development: Ethnographic research can support theory development by providing empirical data that can be used to test and refine theoretical frameworks.

Limitations of Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research has several limitations that researchers should consider when selecting this research approach. Here are some of the limitations of ethnographic research:

• Limited generalizability: Ethnographic research typically involves studying a small and specific group or community, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other contexts or populations.
• Time-consuming: Ethnographic research is a time-consuming process that requires a significant investment of time and resources. Researchers must spend time observing and interacting with the group being studied, which may not be feasible in all research contexts.
• Subjectivity: Ethnographic research relies on the researcher’s interpretation and analysis of the data collected, which may introduce subjective bias into the research findings.
• Limited control: Ethnographic research involves studying a group or community in their natural setting, which limits the researcher’s control over the research context and the behavior of the participants.
• Ethical concerns: Ethnographic research can raise ethical concerns, particularly when studying marginalized or vulnerable populations. Researchers must be careful to ensure that they do not harm or exploit the participants in the research process.
• Limited quantitative data: Ethnographic research typically generates qualitative data, which may limit the types of analysis that can be conducted and the types of conclusions that can be drawn.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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4 Writing Up Research Findings

• Published: May 2018
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Chapter 4 considers the different sensibilities that inform current conventions of ethnographic authorship. The author juxtaposes the “renegade practices” of contemporary ethnographic writing with the more disciplined traditions of standard research reporting. The rest of the chapter elaborates on the ethnographic writing process through two orienting frameworks. The first, organizational approach, emphasizes a need to communicate research results with a measure of empirical precision. This includes discussions of how to develop and organize themes, select useful illustrations, and decide on requisite background and theoretical information. The second, evocative approach, prioritizes the authorial role in communicating meaning and sentiment through effective use of voice, rhythms, textures, and imagination. The author argues that good ethnographic writing must find a productive balance between these competing dispositions. Ultimately ethnography is presented as an adverbial mode of writing that animates social life by describing not only what takes place but also how it occurs.

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Contemporary Research Methods in Hospitality and Tourism

ISBN : 978-1-80117-547-0 , eISBN : 978-1-80117-546-3

Publication date: 13 April 2022

Throughout this chapter you will be exposed to the meaning and types of ethnographic research. An emphasis will be made on the use of ethnography in hospitality and tourism settings. Variations of ethnography such as netnography, chrono ethnography, and ethnographic interviews are explained along with their benefits and drawbacks. This chapter includes guidance on how to conduct an ethnography including the scope and context, length of the project, access to and selection of informants, position of the researcher, issues of concealment or disclosure, and the language used to write the ethnographic narrative. Furthermore, you will be exposed to some of the principal forms of analysis in ethnography including thematic, domain, taxonomic, componential, sociograms, and typologies. Finally, this chapter provides examples of some of the main decisions involved by a researcher engaged in ethnographic inquiry.

• Ethnography
• Ethnographic interviews
• Qualitative research
• Participant observation
• Hospitality

Torres, E.N. (2022), "Ethnography Explained: Toward Conducting, Analyzing, and Writing an Ethnographic Narrative", Okumus, F. , Rasoolimanesh, S.M. and Jahani, S. (Ed.) Contemporary Research Methods in Hospitality and Tourism , Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 189-202. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-546-320221013

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How to Write an Ethnographic Research Proposal

How to Write a Study Report

As an ethnographer, you're concerned with studying a culture and writing about it. Your study may focus on human society and history (i.e., cultural anthropology) or might instead deal with a subset of society (for example, an institutional or business culture). Whatever the case, you will look at how culture and behavior are related, and conduct your research while living and/or working within the environment you study. This means you should have a plan for "blending in"; you should dress, communicate and engage in activities just as your subjects do. But first comes the research proposal.

Define what your study is and where it will happen. Explain your logic (i.e., why you will conduct your study this way and not that way) and include descriptions of how you will collect your data. Discuss the benefits of your proposed study and why it is important to you. Complete and include all of the necessary permission and release forms.

Organize your inquiry. Include research questions and try to answer them -- even if, at this point, you're making an educated guess. If you're studying village life, you may want to ask about hierarchy with regard to age and fitness or gender. If you plan to study the writing culture at a local company, you could ask how the presence or absence of resources or procedures affects written communication such as email and memos.

Create and describe your data collection plan. This section specifically describes what your research is and where you will engage in the study. Describe how you will conduct your research; do you have or need special access to the site? Blending in with the community you study is essential; there should be no plans to change anything in any way during the course of the study.

Mention authors and academics who inspire your study. It's critical to avoid doing the same research twice. Previous material published on your research subject -- academics call this "scholarship" -- will help you to frame your study.

Prepare for a variety of grading techniques. The nature of the ethnography varies, so don't get lost in the details. Instead, take into account any cues from your instructor. Some instructors focus on structure and methodology; others are more concerned with proposed benefits and discussion. Finally, ask yourself if your proposal is organized and easy to understand; make sure your plan is doable before you commit to it.

• Introduce the proposal with an anecdote. Providing a practical and/or interesting scenario in the beginning will help your reader understand the context of your study. A little entertainment never hurts, either.
• Don't get in over your head. Sometimes it's best to begin with a small and focused project rather than a broad and complex one. Take into consideration time frame and resources, and be able to juggle your other academic and life responsibilities accordingly.
• Don't spoil the results. Because clean ethnographic research depends on objectivity, don't do or say anything that could upset the natural flow of your subject community. For this type of research, it's best to be the proverbial fly on the wall.

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Christopher de la Torre has been writing about science and communication since 1998. His work appears on websites including Singularity Hub and in "Vogue." He holds a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Eastern Connecticut State University and is pursuing a master's degree in English from George Mason University.

• Ethnographic Research: Types, Methods + [Question Examples]

Ethnographic research is a qualitative research approach that involves observing variables in their natural environments or habitats in order to arrive at objective research outcomes. As the name suggests, ethnographic research has its roots in ethnography which is the in-depth study of people, cultures, habits and mutual differences. 

This type of systematic investigation interacts continuously with the variables and depends, almost entirely, on the data gathered from the observation of the research variables. Ethnographic research is sometimes referred to as a thick description because of its in-depth observation and description of the subjects.

In recent times, ethnography has been adopted to the internet in the form of netnography. This means that researchers can now study how online communities interact in order to identify social communication patterns. 

What is Netnography?

Simply put, netnography is online ethnography research, that is, it is the conducting of ethnography research via the internet. Netnography adapts the ethnographic research methodology to the study of online communities in order to discover the natural behavioral patterns of internet users. 

As a modern model of ethnographic investigation, netnography uses the data gathered through digital communications in varying online communities to trace and analyze patterns of social interaction. Just like ethnography research, netnography also requires close observation of interactional patterns in order to arrive at the most objective conclusions. 

Types of Ethnographic Research   

There are several types of ethnographic research, namely; business, educational and medical ethnographic research. All based on different fields of human endeavor and each type is defined by specific characteristics. Ethnographic research is a multi-dimensional research design that can be adapted to different fields including business, medicine, education, and psychology. 

Business Ethnographic Research

Business ethnographic research is a research design that involves observing consumer habits and target markets in order to discover true market needs and the overall disposition to your product or service. It is an extremely beneficial research tool that can help your organization identify its customers’ needs and satisfy market demands. 

This research method combines different techniques including fieldwork, physical interviews and online surveys in order to gather useful data on the consumer habits of target markets. Business ethnographers use these techniques to analyze how clients interact with an organization’s services and come up with useful conclusions that can be used to develop effective market strategies. 

In carrying out a business ethnographic research, it is necessary to work with a customer or client-oriented framework that focuses on target markets rather than the business. The aim of this research design is to discover recurring client behavioral patterns that can serve as key market insights.

In order to gather useful data, the researcher must ask the right questions. Some question samples for business ethnographic research include the following:

• What do you enjoy about this product or service?
• Why do you use this product?
• What specific needs does the product meet for you?
• What specific needs does the product fail to meet?
• Does the pricing of the product equate its value?

Educational Ethnographic Research 

Educational ethnographic research is a research design that involves observing teaching and learning methods and how these affect classroom behaviors. This research model pays attention to pedagogy, its effects on learning outcomes and overall engagements by stakeholders within the classroom environment. 

Typically, educational ethnographic research studies students’ attitudes, academic motivations, and dispositions to learning. To do this, the researcher combines non-participant observation methods with direct participant observation techniques in order to gather the most relevant and objective data. 

Question samples for educational ethnography research include:

• Do you enjoy this teaching method?
• Does the teacher allow for feedback in his or her classes?
• Does the teaching method communicate objectives clearly?
• What is the student’s attitude toward learning?

What is Pedagogy: Definition, Principles & Application

Medical Ethnographic Research 

Medical ethnographic research is a type of ethnographic research used for qualitative investigations in healthcare. This research design helps medical practitioners to understand the dispositions of patients ranging from the simplest to the most complex behavioral patterns. 

Medical ethnographic research enables the healthcare provider to have access to a wealth of information that will prove useful for improving a patient’s overall experience. For example, through ethnographic research, a healthcare product manufacturer is able to understand the needs of the target market and this will, in turn, influence the product’s design. 

In addition, medical ethnographic research exposes healthcare professionals to insights on the complex needs of patients, their reaction to prescriptions and treatment methods plus recommendations for improvement. Here are a few questions that can be used for medical ethnographic research:

• For how long have you used this drug?
• For how long have you been on this treatment?
• What positive changes have you noticed so far?
• Have you noticed any side effects so far?
• Does this medication or treatment meet your needs?

Method of Ethnographic Research 

Typically, there are 5 basic methods of ethnographic research which are naturalism, participant observation, interviews, surveys, and archival research. Carrying out ethnographic research will involve one or more research techniques depending on the field, sample size, and purpose of the research

• Live and work

Also known as naturalism, live and work is an ethnography research technique in which the researcher observes the research variables in their natural environment in order to identify and record behavioral patterns. It may involve living in the natural environment of the group or individuals being researched for a period of time in order to record their activities. 

Naturalism is the oldest method of ethnographic research and it may create some degree of rapport between the ethnographer and the research variables . When using this method, the researcher must ensure that he or she limits interference with the subjects to the barest minimum in order to arrive at the most objective research outcomes. 

Naturalistic observation can be disguised or undisguised. Disguised naturalistic observation involves recording the subjects in such a way that they are unaware of being studied while in undisguised naturalistic observation, the research subjects are aware of the fact that they are being understudied. 

The live and work method allows the researcher to gather the most accurate and most relevant data as a result of observing the research subjects in their natural environment. However, this technique is not favored by modern ethnographers, especially in fields like medicine and education, because it is expensive and it takes a lot of time. 

• Participant Observation

Participant observation is a data collection method in ethnography research where the ethnographer gathers information by participating actively and interacting with the research subjects. This method is quite similar to life and work techniques. 

The major difference between participant observation and live and naturalism is that in the former, the ethnographer becomes an active member of the group being observed. This gives the researcher access to information that can only be made available to members of the group. 

There are 2 types of participant observation which are, disguised participant observation and undisguised participant observation. In the former, the ethnographer pretends to be a part of the research subjects while hiding his or her true identity of being a researcher. 

In undisguised participant observation, the ethnographer becomes a part of the group being observed and reveals his or her identity as a researcher to the group. This technique is more prone to reactivity, unlike disguised participant observation. 

The primary advantage of participant observation as a research technique is that the ethnographer is exposed to more information. He or she is better able to understand the experiences and habits of the research subjects from the participant’s point of view. 

There are a number of limitations associated with this research technique. First, the presence of the researcher can affect the behaviors of the research subjects; especially with undisguised participant observation, and this can affect the authenticity of the result. 

In addition, there can be the issue of biased research outcomes. As a result of the relationship between the researcher and the group, the ethnographer may become less objective and this can lead to experimental bias which affects the research outcomes. 

An ethnographic interview is a qualitative research method that merges immersive observation with one-on-one discussions in order to arrive at the most authentic research outcomes. In this research design, the ethnographer converses with members of the research group as they engage in different activities related to the research context. 

During this contextual inquiry, the researcher gathers relevant data related to the goals and behaviors of the members of the research group. As the ethnographer observes the research subject in its natural environment, he or she has the opportunity to ask questions that reveal more information about the research group.

An ethnographic interview is usually informal and spontaneous, and it typically stems from the relationship between the researcher and the subjects. The ethnographic interview often results from the participant observation method where the ethnographer actively engages with the members of the research group in order to find out more about their lives. 

As a two-way research method, an ethnographic interview allows the researcher to gather the most relevant and authentic information from the research group. However, it can also be affected by experimental bias as a result of the relationship between the ethnographer and the subjects. 

 An ethnography survey is an inductive research method that is used to gather information about the research subject. This research design is also referred to as analytic induction and it involves outlining hypotheses in the form of survey questions and administering these questions in the research environment. 

Administering a survey will help the ethnographer gather relevant data, analyze this data and arrive at objective findings. The aim of carrying out an analytic induction is to discover the causative factors of certain habits of the research group and come up with accurate explanations for these behaviors. 

In order to gather the most relevant responses using this, it is best to include different question types in your survey. Likert scale questions , open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions , and close-ended questions are common types of ethnography survey questions. 

To make your ethnography survey even more effective, you can create and administer it online using data-collection tools like Formplus . Formplus allows you to build your ethnography survey form in minutes using the Formplus builder and you can easily share your survey with respondents via available multiple sharing options.

High survey drop-out rates and survey response bias are some of the major limitations of this research method. However, this method is fast and cost-effective especially when carried out online and if done right, it can reveal useful insights about a research group. 

• Archival Research

Archival research is a qualitative approach to ethnographic research in which the researcher analyzes existing research, documents and other sources of information about the research group in order to discover relevant information. This method can also be referred to as understanding.

Archival research adopts ethnography to a collection of related documents from the past which substitute for actual physical presence in the research environment. It pays absolute attention to every piece of information about the research variables. 

As a method of data collection in ethnography, archival research reduces the chances of experimental biases since the researcher does not directly interact with the subjects. Also, it allows the ethnographer to have access to a large repository of research data that results in more accurate findings. 

However, because archival research is often subject to randomization, its findings may not accurately reflect the research group. Also, archival data is not full-proof as there may be biases when the data is recorded and this will affect the research outcomes. 

When to Use Ethnography Research

Ethnographic research should be used in the early stages of user-focused systematic investigations. This is because ethnography research helps you to gather useful information about the dispositions, goals, and habits of the research variables in specific contexts. 

Ethnography research is most suitable for complex research processes especially in markets and customer settings. In market research, ethnography allows organizations to gain insights into consumer habits and receive first-hand feedback on the extent to which their product or service meets the needs of target markets.

This research design is also useful for examining social behaviors and interactions. It is extremely beneficial in the study employees’ disposition to organizational work culture and policies. 

While ethnographic research helps businesses bridge product gaps and improve consumers’ experience, there are certain situations where this research design is counter-productive. Ethnographic research should not be used in processes that require statistically valid analysis, test-runs or group comparisons. 

How to Conduct Ethnographic Research with Online Surveys 

Formplus is a data-gathering tool that allows you to create and administer online surveys for ethnography research easily while saving time and cost, and improving your research sample size. 

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to conduct ethnographic research with online surveys using Formplus: 

Access Formplus Builder

In the Formplus builder, you can easily create your ethnography survey form by dragging and dropping preferred fields into your form. To access the Formplus builder, you will need to create an account on Formplus . 

Once you do this, sign in to your account and click on “Create Form ” to begin. 

Edit Form Title

• Click on the field provided to input your form title, for example, “ETHNOGRAPHIC SURVEY”.

• Click on the edit button to edit the form.
• Add Fields: Drag and drop preferred form fields into your form in the Formplus builder inputs column. There are several field input options for survey forms in the Formplus builder.
• Edit fields
• Click on “Save”
• Preview form.

Customize Form

Formplus allows you to add unique features to your ethnographic survey form. You can personalize your form using various customization options in the builder. Here, you can add background images, your organization’s logo, and other features. You can also change the display theme of your form. 

Save your ethnographic survey form and share the link with respondents. 

Advantages of ethnographic research .

• Ethnographic research allows you to have access to a wider and more accurate data scope than other research designs. This qualitative research approach collects first-hand information about the research variables and gives the ethnographer a wider range of data to work with thereby resulting in more objective research outcomes.
• Ethnography research enables the researcher to partake in the experiences of the research variables in their natural environment.
• Ethnography research accounts for complex group behavioral patterns and highlights interrelationships among research variables.
• It helps researchers understand the scope, reason(s) and context of the habits of research variables.

Disadvantages of Ethnographic Research

• Ethnographic research requires expertise and it is time-consuming. It takes time to observe research variables in order to arrive at cogent findings.
• Ethnographic research is capital-intensive too.
• It is subject to experimental biases stemming from the relationship between the subjects and the researcher.
• Issues of data sample size can also arise with ethnographic research. This is because small data samples can suggest false assumptions about the disposition of the research group while large quantities of data may not be processed effectively.

Risks Associated with Ethnographic Research

Unlike other research methods, ethnographic research tends to be sporadic and extends for a long period of time. And although respondents can stop participating in the research process at any time, there are still a few risks they are likely to encounter during this research

1. Psychological Risks

During uncomfortable topics, respondents may feel psychological triggers like guilt, fear, sadness, etc This can cause them to lose interest in the research or pull out from participating. In some cases, research participants may need constant reassurance to encourage them.

2. Social Risks

Depending on the research subject, there are social risks that are posed to a respondent during ethnographic research. These risks include stigmatization or condemnation from their community particularly if confidential information is shared and friction in personal relationships. This can further lead to a psychological risk. 

3. Physical and Economical Risks

Although these risks are uncommon in ethnographic research, it is imperative that you prepare for them as a researcher. In politically volatile communities, or research that involves tedious physical activity, physical risks are on the high side.

Economic risks can arise when research participants are removed from their jobs or limited from carrying out profitable ventures.

During your study, ensure that you disclose the possible risks to your research participants and elaborate on how you intend to mitigate these risks. 

FAQ’s on Ethnographic Research

• Does Ethnographic research come before or after a survey?

Most research uses data collected from various studies to validate a hypothesis or seek better clarity. So it is often conducted after a large-scale survey or quantitative segmentation study. However, it all largely depends on what the goal of the research is.

• Is ethnographic research qualitative or quantitative?

Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method where researchers study their respondents in their own environment

• How long does an ethnographic research project take?

The duration of your ethnographic research completely depends on the scope of your study. However, they usually last for a couple of months.

• Do ethnographers use field guides?

Yes. In ethnographic research, there are field guides to help guide the research process. However, it’s just a tool, and most times, it isn’t followed verbatim on the field. 

• How do I create a database for comparative analysis during Ethnographic?

You can compile your data using the Formplus PDF Builder to create PDFs of your analysis or create forms for documentation and save them using the secure Formplus storage.

Conclusion 

Ethnographic research helps individuals and organizations to gain useful insights into users’ behaviors as influenced by their natural environment. This form of systematic investigation bridges the gap between the ethnographer and the research variables because the researcher has the opportunity to be a part of their experiences. 

Administering online surveys for ethnographic research will speed up your data collection process and would allow you to save costs and have more control over your sample size. You can use Formplus to create and administer online ethnographic research surveys easily. 

Connect to Formplus, Get Started Now - It's Free!

• advantages of ethnographic research
• ethnographic research methods
• ethnographic research survey
• ethnography
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• how to conduct ethnographic research
• types of etnographic research
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Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry

Qualitative observational research describes and classifies various cultural, racial and/or sociological groups by employing interpretive and naturalistic approaches. It is both observational and narrative in nature and relies less on the experimental elements normally associated with scientific research (reliability, validity and generalizability). Connelly and Clandinin (1990) suggest that qualitative inquiry relies more on apparency, verisimilitude and transferability. On the other hand, Lincoln and Guba (1985) emphasize the importance of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability in qualitative studies. Because the field of qualitative research is still evolving, the criteria and terminology for its evaluation are not yet agreed upon.

What is agreed upon is that qualitative observational research is a systematic inquiry into the nature or qualities of observable group behaviors in order to learn what it means to be a member of that group. The researcher's job, rather than to describe a stable entity, is to give continually updated accounts of observations on multiple levels of group interactions that occur on both a temporal and continuous basis simultaneously.

Thus, this type of research attempts to identify and explain complex social structures within the study group. Typically, qualitative research methodologies are combined with each other in order to provide comparative results. A triangulation of methods (also called multiple methods), where three or more methodologies are used and the results compared against each other, is common and can provide a more complete understanding of the behavior of the study group.

Qualitative study lends itself to thick narrative description, and it may be intensive given the complexity of group interactions. It takes place on site, in the group's natural environment, and attempts to be non-manipulative of group behaviors. The purpose is to aim for objectivity, while it must take into account the views of the participants.

This guide attempts to acknowledge the broad categories of qualitative observational research. First, qualitative observational research is broken down into its most common approaches, including types of this research method, themes that guide researchers' study designs and other, secondary approaches. Next, a Methods section introduces steps and methods used in qualitative observational research, employing multiple methods and computer software for this field of research. Then, a Commentary section includes some of the advantages and disadvantages to qualitative observational research, a look at the ongoing qualitative vs. quantitative discussion and some of the ethical considerations of this form of research.

Types of Qualitative Observational Research

Qualitative observational research consists of over 30 different approaches which often overlap and whose distinctions are subtle. The type of approach used depends on the research question and/or the discipline the researcher belongs to. For instance, anthropologists commonly employ ethnomethodology and ethnography, while sociologists often use symbolic interaction and philosophers frequently use concept analysis (Marshall & Rossman 1995). This overview discusses five approaches frequently used in English studies and two others, phenomenology and kinesiology, that may prove useful to some researcher.

Ethnography

Ethnography is a long term investigation of a group (often a culture) that is based on immersion and, optimally, participation in that group. Ethnography provides a detailed exploration of group activity and may include literature about and/or by the group. It is an approach which employs multiple methodologies to arrive at a theoretically comprehensive understanding of a group or culture. The issue for the observer is how the particulars in a given situation are interrelated. In other words, ethnography attempts to explain the Web of interdependence of group behaviors and interactions.

Narrative Inquiry

Narrative inquiry is the process of gathering information for the purpose of research through storytelling. The researcher then writes a narrative of the experience. Connelly and Clandinin (1990) note that, "Humans are storytelling organisms who, individually and collectively, lead storied lives. Thus, the study of narrative is the study of the ways humans experience the world." In other words, people's lives consist of stories.

Field notes, interviews, journals, letters, autobiographies, and orally told stories are all methods of narrative inquiry. For example, a researcher might do a study on the way in which fourth grade girls define their social roles in school. A researcher might look at such things as notes and journal entries,and might also interview the girls and spend time observing them. After this, the researcher would then construct her own narrative of the study, using such conventions as scene and plot. As Connelly and Clandinin also note,"Research is a collaborative document, a mutually constructed story out of the lives of both researcher and participant."

Narrative inquiry is appropriate to many social science fields. The entire field of study is often used in disciplines such as literary theory, history, anthropology, drama, art, film, theology, philosophy, psychology, linguistics, education, politics, nutrition, medicine, and even aspects of evolutionary biological science.

Short Term Observation

Short term observational studies list or present findings of short term qualitative study based on recorded observation. Observation in the studied group's natural setting is a key aspect of qualitative research. The terms group and culture are used in a loose sense here because for the researcher, a group or culture may include populations such as an individual classroom of students, a set of employees in the workplace, or residents of similar geographical or cultural areas or backgrounds. Short term observational studies differ from ethnographies in that they focus more narrowly on specified categories of group behaviors. This type of research functions well as a means of fleshing out quantitative research that would otherwise do little more than list numerical data. Types of short term observational research run the spectrum from crossing the boundary into quantitative research to a very nearly ethnographic approach. Regardless of the group or culture under study, the observer/researcher studies a set of individuals in their natural setting as opposed to a clinical setting, hence this type of research is known as fieldwork.

Traditionally, the period of observation for a qualitative observational study has been from six months to two years or more (Fetterman 1989). Today, it is generally acceptable to study groups for less than six months, provided that the researcher triangulates the research methods. The more time spent in the field the more likely your results will be viewed as credible by the academic community.

Ethnomethodology

According to Coulon (1995), "ethnomethodology is the empirical study of methods that individuals use to give sense to and...to accomplish their daily actions: communicating, making decisions, and reasoning" (p. 15). This approach is actually a form of ethnography, which specifically studies activities of group members to see how they make sense of their surroundings. Usually an ethnomethodologist will see or hear things in a group that participants are not consciously aware of. For instance, in Ways with Words , Heath (1983) notices that in the Black community of Trackton, children learn how to become fast thinkers when playfully interacting with adults and other children. The participants may not be aware of this teaching and learning process, but Heath asserts that the learned wittiness of the children pays off when they have to defend themselves.

Grounded Theory

In this approach, researchers are responsible for developing other theories that emerge from observing a group. The theories are "grounded" in the group's observable experiences, but researchers add their own insight into why those experiences exist. In essence, grounded theory attempts to "reach a theory or conceptual understanding through step wise, inductive process" (Banning 1995).

Phenomenology

This approach, most often used by psychologists, seeks to explain the "structure and essence of the experiences" of a group of people (Banning 1995). A phenomenologist is concerned with understanding certain group behaviors from that group's point of view. For instance, a researcher might notice that in a certain group, all girls wear pink socks on Tuesdays. A true phenomenologist would not assume that pink is the girls' favorite color and Tuesdays are their favorite day to wear them. Instead, that researcher would try to find out what significance this phenomenon has. Phenomenological inquiry requires that researchers go through a series of steps in which they try to eliminate their own assumptions and biases, examine the phenomenon without presuppositions, and describe the "deep structure" of the phenomenon based on internal themes that are discovered (Marshall & Rossman, 1995). Phenomenology does greatly overlap with ethnography, but, as Bruyn (1970), points out, some phenomenologists assert that they "study symbolic meanings as they constitute themselves in human consciousness" (p. 286).

Kinesic analysis examines what is communicated through body movement. This approach is based on the assumption that all human beings, although they may be unaware of it, act and react to situations nonverbally as well as verbally. Kinesics can be especially useful when employed in conjunction with other qualitative methods such as interviews and narratives to triangulate data. Kinesics must be used thoughtfully and carefully, as movements and gestures can be easily misinterpreted and presenting findings without giving context renders the data useless (Marshall & Rossman, 1995).

Characteristics of Qualitative Observational Research

Qualitative observational research can be characterized by at least ten overlapping themes that researchers should be aware of when collecting and analyzing data. In Qualitative Evaluation Methods , Patton (1980) discusses these characteristics to help researchers design studies. These characteristics are explained below using examples relating to Black English Vernacular (BEV) and the African American rhetorical tradition. All of the examples below are based on Balester's 1993 text, Cultural divide: A study of African-American college-level writers .

Naturalistic Inquiry

Qualitative observational research is naturalistic because it studies a group in its natural setting. Patton explains, "Naturalistic inquiry is thus contrasted to experimental research where the investigator attempts to completely control the condition of the study" (p. 42). For example, if you wanted to study college students who were speakers of BEV, you would not conduct your research in a predominantly Caucasian college or university.

Inductive analysis

This characteristic is prevalent in qualitative research because it allows the observer to become immersed in a group. The researcher starts with answers, but forms questions throughout the research process. Hypotheses and theories can continuously change depending on what the observer wants to know. For instance, an observer might realize that the purpose of many of BEV speech acts is to build up the reputation of the speaker. Thus, the observer's job is to find out why. This could lead to further research into the rhetorical strategies and purposes of BEV.

Holistic perspective

Patton states, "[A] holistic approach assumes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" (p. 40). In other words, almost every action or communication must be taken as a part of the whole phenomenon of a certain community or culture. However, this characteristic of qualitative observational research can be bothersome because it can lead researchers into taking every little action into consideration when writing a narrative. For instance, a researcher might notice that many speakers of BEV employ a particular rhetorical strategy in their writing. However, this phenomenon might not have anything to do with BEV and its traditions or strategies. It might be linked to something else in their lives.

Personal contact and insight

The researcher is responsible for becoming a part of a group to get a more in-depth study. However, the researcher also has to be aware of biases (both good and bad). For example, researchers who do not consider BEV a legitimate form of discourse should be aware of and acknowledge that bias before studying BEV. In contrast, a researcher who speaks BEV might ignore some negative implications of this discourse.

Dynamic systems

Qualitative observational research is not concerned with having straightforward, right or wrong answers. In addition, change in a study is common because the researcher is not concerned with finding only one answer. For example, a researcher could gain a different perspective on BEV by observing and interviewing a wide range of BEV speakers; the researcher could study both male and female speakers and speakers from different educational and geographical locations.

Unique case orientation

Researchers must remember that every study is special and deserves in-depth attention. This is especially necessary for doing cultural comparisons. For instance, a researcher may believe that "Jive" (a way of talking in the 1970s) and BEV are the same because they both derive from African-American culture. This is untrue, and BEV should be considered a unique form of discourse, with its own history, conventions, and uses/contexts.

Context sensitivity

Researchers must realize the different variables, such as values and beliefs, that influence cultural behaviors. For example, knowing that the rhetorical strategies of BEV--signifying, running it down, putting down, putting on, etc.--are context specific, a researcher might examine what values and beliefs influence this context specificity.

Empathic neutrality

Ideally, researchers should be non-judgmental when compiling findings. Because complete neutrality is impossible, this characteristic is a controversial aspect of qualitative research. For instance, it would be difficult for a researcher not to judge students who completely stop speaking BEV upon coming to college, since BEV has strong roots in African-American culture and is strongly tied to speakers' identities.This example might illustrate the difficulties in remaining completely neutral.

Design flexibility

Researchers can continue to do research on other topics or questions that emerge from the initial research. Some topics that could emerge from studying college students who are speakers of BEV are student composing processes, their academic success, or their assimilation or accommodation to academic discourse.

Qualitative data

This is a detailed description of why a culture is the way it is. Triangulation, or the use of many data gathering methods, such as field notes, interviews, writing samples, and other data helps determine the cultural phenomenon of a group. For example, a researcher could collect personal letters from different BEV speakers to find a common bond that is inherent in all their personal letters. The researcher could then interview the participants about their letter writing to get diverse points of view.

In sum, the qualitative observational researcher must attempt to maintain a non-judgmental bias throughout the study. The researcher's goal is to observe and describe group patterns, similarities, and differences as they occur. Preconceptions or expectations of an individual or group's behavior interferes with the researcher's ability to tell the group or culture's story in a fair and accurate manner. In addition, preconceived expectations preclude the researcher from observing subtle nuances of character and speech that may be important to understand group behaviors or interactions. While absolute objectivity is impossible, it is paramount that researchers enter the field or study group with an open a mind, an awareness of their own biases, and a commitment to detach from those biases as much as possible while observing and representing the group.

Methods of Qualitative Observational Research

Qualitative observational research involves more than simply going out into the field and observing a given group or culture. Researchers must also consider such issues as their role, their research question, the theory driving their inquiry, how they will collect and analyze information, and how they will report their results. In this section, we address these issues in detail. We also consider the use of multiple methodologies for collecting information and the role of computer software in qualitative observational research.

Steps and Methods used in Qualitative Observational Research

Qualitative observational research involves more than simply going out into the field and observing a given group or culture. Researchers must also consider the following:

Observer's role

As Connelly and Clandinin (1990) point out, in all instances, qualitative observational research involves formulating a thoughtful and well-understood relationship between the researcher and research participants. It is essential for the researcher to determine what role(s) to play to ensure facilitation of the study and acceptance by the participants in the study group or culture. Some possibilities include observing-participant, participant-observer and neutral observer.

The observer's role is to record group interactions and behaviors as objectively as possible using various qualitative inquiry tools. Observing-participants already have a position in the society/community before taking on the role of observer. They must also examine their own subjectivity and consider that participating in the group might lead to sympathetic or antagonistic interpretations of group behaviors. Participant-observers, on the other hand, attempt to become part of community and to adopt roles as participants, but come to the study with their own culture or community inscriptions. They attempt to participate fully and take on participant roles, but must be careful to behave in a consistent manner as part of the setting so as not to cause significant changes in the community itself. Although neutral observers do not participate in the group they are studying, they still need to be aware of any presumptions they may hold that would influence their findings and what influence the act of observing the participants may have on their behavior.

It is the observer's responsibility to let readers of the research report know not only the role played in the research, but also the point of view of the observer.

Defining the research question

Unlike most scientific research methods, qualitative observational inquiry does not require the researcher to define a precise set of issues in the initial phases; these issues often emerge from the study over time. While some qualitative inquiries may begin with a set of questions, it is common for theories about group behavior and interactions to emerge as a result of the observer's exploratory work (emergent design). And, those theories may identify relevant questions for further research.

The goal of qualitative observational research is to define and answer a specific research problem or question, but this problem or question may or may not be defined at the time when the researcher first begins the study. Some researchers like to enter the field with a specific research problem already in mind. While such researchers still want to let events unfold as freely as possible once in the field, they believe that by defining the research problem in advance they are better able to observe the study group or culture and identify specific patterns of behavior.

Other qualitative observational researchers like to enter the field first and let the research questions or problems identify themselves. These researchers believe that entering the field with a specifically defined research question may bias their observations, and they may fail to notice relationships or behavior patterns that are important in understanding the study group or culture. Whatever approach is taken in determining the research question, the observer does need to be clear about the purpose, scope, and focus of the study and identify the subjects and the context in which they will be studied.

Identifying the theory that drives the inquiry

The qualitative observational researcher must determine what underlying theory or model should inform the research. This may mean replicating or building on an earlier study, or it may mean formulating a new model or theory by which to conduct the study. Either way, the theory or model chosen will help the researcher determine how to structure the study (i.e., whether to study participants in the classroom only or to study them outside of the classroom as well, and how and when to use interviews).

Selecting qualitative research tools

Selecting how and when data will be collected is an essential step in designing qualitative observational research studies. One of the primary tools of ethnographic study is the use of field notes. Observers may simply begin with a blank notebook and write down everything that goes on. Others may use audio and/or video tapes. Some observers begin with a list of categories of behavior to be noted. This works best when the research question is already defined; however, categories should be flexible and modifiable throughout the study.

The goals of note taking are to help ensure validity of the data collection and interpretation processes, to check data with members of context if possible, to weigh the evidence, and to check for researcher and subjects' effects on both patterned and outlying data.

Another useful tool, journal records, may be made by participants, researchers or practitioners. These records are collected through participant observation in a shared practical setting.

Written dialogue between researcher and participants is also used in narrative inquiry as a way of offering and responding to tentative narrative interpretations (Clandinin, 1986). Researchers may look at autobiographical and biographical writing, as well as documents such as plans, newsletters, course materials and student products, rules, laws, architecture, picturing, metaphors, poetry, clothing, foods, rituals, physical setting, and implements such as musical instruments, artifacts, logs--in short, anything within the context of the studied group that speaks of their experience.

Unstructured interviews may be used to collect data; personal stories tell us something of how group members perceive and experience their conditions. Structured interviews permit more focused information gathering, but may overlook aspects of the group that an unstructured interview might reveal. To facilitate truthful responses, the interview should be informal or conversational in nature. Interviewees may be selected with intent to uncover specific information or to gain a cross section of group members (for instance, both high achievers and those having difficultly with the material).

Researchers may need to use "stimulation recall" to prompt interviewees or participants in informal discussion concerning specific events. Another method, "simulation response," presents hypothetical situations to obtain responses from members of the community. While these methods are often helpful, they are not infallible. Members may inhibit access to information by concealing aspects of their lives or by telling researchers what they think they want to hear.

Analyzing and reporting data

The final steps to be taken by the qualitative observational researcher are analyzing the data and writing the research report. The researcher's work culminates in synthesizing and interpreting the data into an understandable and enlightening piece of writing. But, despite the fact that these steps mark the culmination of the researcher's work, it should not be assumed that they are reserved for the end of the study. Instead, it is common for the researcher to analyze data and write parts of the final report throughout the research process. In analyzing descriptive data, the researcher reviews what was witnessed and recorded, and synthesizes it with the observations and words of the participants themselves.

The observer begins with reading a situation as a text, applying as many critical techniques as possible without violating the sanctity of the text. It is important to avoid picking and choosing instances of behavior out of context. Analysis may reveal convergent data, metaphors that run throughout a language, culture, or group (thematic analysis). Key terms or key metaphors may be unpacked and examined for their significance and interrelationships among other aspects of group dynamics (content analysis). Dominant plots in the literature, films, and the text of daily life of the group aid in analysis of the data as a whole.

Writing the research report

The analyzing and writing stages of research also mark the point where researchers wed their stories with the stories of research participants. This marriage represents the ultimate goal of qualitative research: to produce a text that in the end provides a clearer understanding of the group or culture's behavior, and by doing so helps us better understand our own individual or group behaviors.

Often, the research report is written as an ethnography or a narrative. However, these two forms are not the only options for presenting qualitative observational research findings. Increasingly, the scope of qualitative observational research reporting is broadening to include elements of other genres, such as self-narratives, fiction, and performance texts (Alvermann, et al. 1996).

What researchers choose to include or exclude from the final text can have a tremendous effect on how their results are interpreted by others. Alvermann, et al. propose that conscientious qualitative researchers might pose the following questions when writing up their findings:

• How much information needs to be included in the text about theories that may have guided the research, disciplinary biases, personal hunches that were followed, etc.?
• Should I include my original research question and its changing forms as I conducted my research?
• How much background information abouth the topic and description of research processes do readers need to understand my findings?
• How much description of myself needs to be included to reveal possible biases or perspectives (gender, ethnicity, age, academic/social theories adhered to, etc.)?
• How can I ensure the report is interesting without compromising credibility?
• How can I fairly and accurately report my findings within the length limitations of where it will appear (journal, paper presentation, etc.)?
• Are the representations of myself and the studied group fair? Is it clear that these are mere representations or have I presented them as definite factual evidence?

Researchers who take the time to confront these possible problems will produce fairer, clearer reports of their research. Even when the report takes the form of a narrative, researchers must be sure that their "telling of the story" gives readers an accurate and complete picture of the research.

It is important to note that the order of presentation is not indicative of an essential or set pattern. Although some elements in the researcher's decision-making process will necessarily precede others (i.e., the determination of the researcher's role before data collection), most of the steps outlined below will significantly overlap and recur throughout the research process.

Employing Multiple Methods

It is important to underscore that one cannot point to a single clear definition of a qualitative study. Oftentimes researchers triangulate data by combining different types of qualitative approaches and even including quantitative elements. For example, Doheny-Farina (1985) conducted a study of the collaborative writing process in a new software company. He visited the company for three to five days a week over eight months. His visits ranged from one to eight hours. His key informants were the company's top five executives, two middle managers, and two outside consults. He took 400 pages of field notes of three types: observational, theoretical, and methodological. He tape-recorded meetings, and he also conducted 30 open-ended and discourse-based interviews.

Doheny-Farina analyzed the data by reviewing it chronologically and developing a coding scheme as he reviewed. From the data he discovered a major theme and sub-theme. His analysis describes the writing of the company's business plan within its organizational context.

Essentially, his data showed that the organizational context shaped the writing of the business plan while the writing of the business plan shaped the organizational context.

Although the article Doheny-Farina wrote about his study starts out much like a traditional research report, it reports its results as a story with a chronology and a discussion of themes. He also offers theoretical, pedagogical, and research implications. He concludes by allowing that he is offering a model that is not necessarily generalizable but nonetheless valuable.

Computer Software for Qualitative Research

Qualitative observational research, by nature, involves the compilation of massive amounts of data. Because of this, many researchers have begun using computer software to help them organize and make sense of the volumes of information. There are many reasons for using computers in qualitative research, but according to Richards and Richards (1993), "Computers [offer] to address each of the obvious barriers to qualitative analysis by manual methods--limitations on size, flexibility and complexity of data records, and systems of theorizing about data." The authors also argue that using computers for qualitative research can give studies more credibility and status because of the association between computers and "hard" data. Research software can also help the researcher to analyze data that was previously too unwieldy for study. Finally, computers greatly speed up the process of retrieving and exploring data. In their text Computer Programs for Qualitative Analysis, Weitzman and Miles (1995), cite a list of the ways computer software can help the qualitative researcher (p. 5):

• Making notes in the field
• Writing up or transcribing field notes
• Editing: correcting, extending, or revising field notes
• Coding: attaching keywords or tags to segments of text to permit later retrieval
• Storage: keeping text in an organized database
• Search and retrieval: locating relevant segments of texts and making them available for inspection
• Data "linking": connecting relevant data segments to each other, forming categories, clusters, or networks of information
• Memoing: writing reflective commentaries on some aspect of the data as a basis for deeper understanding
• Content analysis: counting frequencies, sequence, or locations of words and phrases
• Data display: placing selected or reduced data in a condensed organized format, such as a matrix or network, for inspection
• Conclusion-drawing and verification: aiding the analyst in interpreting displayed data and testing findings
• Theory-building: developing systematic, conceptually coherent explanations of findings; testing hypotheses
• Graphic mapping: creating diagrams that depict findings or theories
• Preparing interim and final reports

Before choosing software for a qualitative study, researchers should not only be familiar with the types of software available, but they should also be well versed in the particular program functions and features they need. Flexibility and user friendliness are two more considerations addressed by Weitzman and Miles. They explain that before choosing software, researchers should find out if the software is designed to do what they need, and if not, can the software be adapted to meet the needs of a particular study. In addition, researchers should consider how complicated the software is to learn and use. Researchers should also find out if the software comes with a manual, has on-screen help, and/or has a technical support phone number.

Commentary on Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry

Advantages of qualitative observational research.

Qualitative observational research, especially ethnographies, can:

• Account for the complexity of group behaviors
• Reveal interrelationships among multifaceted dimensions of group interactions
• Provide context for behaviors

Narrative inquiry,especially ethnographic, can:

• Reveal qualities of group experience in a way that other forms of research cannot
• Help determine questions and types of follow-up research

Observational study can:

• Reveal descriptions of behaviors in context by stepping outside the group
• Allow qualitative researchers to identify recurring patterns of behavior that participants may be unable to recognize

Qualitative research expands the range of knowledge and understanding of the world beyond the researchers themselves. It often helps us see why something is the way it is, rather than just presenting a phenomenon. For instance, a quantitative study may find that students who are taught composition using a process method receive higher grades on papers than students taught using a product method. However, a qualitative study of composition instructors could reveal why many of them still use the product method even though they are aware of the benefits of the process method.

Disadvantages of Qualitative Observational Research

• Researcher bias can bias the design of a study.
• Researcher bias can enter into data collection.
• Sources or subjects may not all be equally credible.
• Some subjects may be previously influenced and affect the outcome of the study.
• Background information may be missing.
• Study group may not be representative of the larger population.
• Analysis of observations can be biased.
• Any group that is studied is altered to some degree by the very presence of the researcher. Therefore, any data collected is somewhat skewed. (Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle)
• It takes time to build trust with participants that facilitates full and honest self-representation. Short term observational studies are at a particular disadvantage where trust building is concerned.

Ethnographic studies

• The quality of the data alone is problematic. (Lauer and Asher) (1988): Ethnographic research is time consuming, potentially expensive, and requires a well trained researcher
• Too little data can lead to false assumptions about behavior patterns. Conversely, a large quantity of data may not be effectively be processed
• Data Collector's first impressions can bias collection

Narrative Inquiries

• Narrative inquiries do not lend themselves well to replicability and are not generalizable.
• Narrative Inquiries are considered unreliable by experimentalists. However, ethnographies can be assessed and compared for certain variables to yield testable explanations; this is as close as ethnographic research gets to being empirical in nature.
• Qualitative research is neither prescriptive nor definite. While it provides significant data about groups or cultures and prompts new research questions, narrative studies do not attempt to answer questions, nor are they predictive of future behaviors.

The Qualitative/Quantitative Debate

In Miles and Huberman's 1994 book Qualitative Data Analysis , quantitative researcher Fred Kerlinger is quoted as saying, "There's no such thing as qualitative data. Everything is either 1 or 0" (p. 40). To this another researcher, D. T. Campbell, asserts, "All research ultimately has a qualitative grounding" (p. 40). This back and forth banter among qualitative and quantitative researchers is "essentially unproductive," according to Miles and Huberman. They and many other researchers agree that these two research methods need each other more often than not. But, because qualitative data typically involves words and quantitative data involves numbers, there are some researchers who feel that one is better (or more scientific) than the other. Another major difference between the two is that qualitative research is inductive and quantitative research is deductive. In qualitative research, a hypothesis is not needed to begin research. However, all quantitative research requires a hypothesis before research can begin.

Another major difference between qualitative and quantitative research deals with the underlying assumptions about the role of the researcher. In quantitative research, the researcher is ideally an objective observer who neither participates in nor influences what is being studied. In qualitative research, however, it is thought that the researcher can learn the most by participating and/or being immersed in a research situation. These basic underlying assumptions of both methodologies guide and sequence the types of data collection methods employed.

Although there are clear differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches, some researchers maintain that the choice between using qualitative or quantitative approaches actually has less to do with methodologies than it does with positioning oneself within a particular discipline or research tradition. The difficulty in choosing a method is compounded by the fact that research is often affiliated with universities and other institutions. The findings of research projects often guide important decisions about specific practices and policies. Choices about which approach to use may reflect the interests of those conducting or benefiting from the research and the purposes for which the findings will be applied. Decisions about which kind of research method to use may also be based on the researcher's own experience and preference, the population being researched, the proposed audience for findings, time, money and other resources available (Hathaway, 1995).

Some researchers believe that qualitative and quantitative methodologies cannot be combined because the assumptions underlying each tradition are so vastly different. Other researchers think they can be used in combination only by alternating between methods; qualitative research is appropriate to answer certain kinds of questions in certain conditions and quantitative is right for others. And some researchers think that both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used simultaneously to answer a research question.

To a certain extent, researchers on all sides of the debate are correct; each approach has its drawbacks. Quantitative research often "forces" responses or people into categories that might not "fit" in order to make meaning. Qualitative research, on the other hand, sometimes focuses too closely on individual results and fails to make connections to larger situations or possible causes of the results. Rather than discounting either approach for its drawbacks, researchers should find the most effective ways to incorporate elements of both to ensure that their studies are as accurate and thorough as possible.

It is important for researchers to realize that qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in conjunction with each other. In a study of computer-assisted writing classrooms, Snyder (1995) employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study was constructed according to guidelines for quantitative studies; the computer classroom was the "treatment" group and the traditional pen and paper classroom was the "control" group. Both classes contained subjects with the same characteristics from the population sampled. Both classes followed the same lesson plan and were taught by the same teacher in the same semester. The only variable used was the absence or presence of the computers. Although Snyder set this study up as an "experiment," she used many qualitative approaches to supplement her findings. She observed both classrooms on a regular basis as a participant-observer and conducted several interviews with the teacher both during and after the semester. However, there were problems in using this approach. The strict adherence to the same syllabus and lesson plans for both classes and the restricted access of the control group to the computers may have put some students at a disadvantage. Snyder also notes that in retrospect she should have used case studies of the students to further develop her findings. Although her study had certain flaws, Snyder insists that researchers can simultaneously employ qualitative and quantitative methods if studies are planned carefully and carried out conscientiously.

Newkirk (1991) argues for qualitative research in English education from a political point of view. He says that not only can teachers more readily identify with and accept such particularized studies, but also the work of observing-participants, who report classroom "lore," gives practitioners a voice in the conversations informing their discipline. In addition, he asserts that experimental research tends to support the hierarchical structure of education policy, which discounts the experience of practitioners by privileging the alleged objectivity and generalizability of experimental designs and removing research from context. Additionally, Newkirk points out that "ethnographic...research works from fundamentally different assumptions about knowledge." Essentially, ethnography's epistemological orientation is phenomenological (observation based) while experimental research's is ontological (investigates the metaphysical or essential nature of something).

Ethical Considerations in Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry

Ethical issues should always be considered when undertaking data analysis. Because the nature of qualitative observational research requires observation and interaction with groups, it is understandable why certain ethical issues may arise. Miles and Huberman (1994) list several issues that researchers should consider when analyzing data. They caution researchers to be aware of these and other issues before, during, and after the research had been conducted. Some of the issues involve the following:

• Informed consent (Do participants have full knowledge of what is involved?)
• Harm and risk (Can the study hurt participants?)
• Honesty and trust (Is the researcher being truthful in presenting data?)
• Privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity (Will the study intrude too much into group behaviors?)
• Intervention and advocacy (What should researchers do if participants display harmful or illegal behavior?)

Related Links

The following is a list of Internet links that are related to the field of qualitative observational research methods.

The Association of Qualitative Research Practitioners

http://www.aqrp.co.uk/

Nova Southeastern University’s School of Social and Systematic Studies (go to their Homepage and do a search on Qualitative Research)

http://www.nova.edu/

ISWorld Net page for research and scholarship

http://www.umich.edu/~isworld/reshome.html

Annotated Bibliography

Alvermann, D., O'Brien, D., & Dillon, D. (1996). On writing qualitative research. Reading research quarterly, 31 (1), 114-120.

This article presents a "conversation" among the authors about issues in writing qualitative research reports. They address potential problems researchers may face when reporting their findings and discuss how theory and methodology shape qualitative research write-ups.

Anderson, G. L. (1994). The cultural politics of qualitative research in education: Confirming and contesting the canon. Educational Theory, 44, 225-237.

This article looks at different approaches to qualitative field research. It is also a critical review of the Handbook of qualitative research in education .

Andreas, D. (1992). Ethnography of Biography: Student Teachers Reflecting on 'Life-Stories' of Experienced Teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, CA, April 20-24).

Explores the use of ethnographic biography as a source of information and reflection for student teachers.

Balester, V. M. (1993). Cultural divide: A study of African-American college-level writers. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

This book is based on research Balester conducted on the spoken and written texts of African-American students. For her study, Balester did case studies of eight African-American students, looking specifically at the students' attitudes toward their own language and the language of academia.

Banning, J. (1995, Sept. 19). Qualitative research. Personal interview with professor at Colorado State University, Fort Collins.

Dr. Banning, a professor in the School of Education at Colorado State University, discusses in detail the workshop he and colleague Jeff Gliner conducted on qualitative research.

Bishop, W. (1992). I-Witnessing in Composition: Turning Ethnographic Data into Narratives. Rhetoric Review ; v11 n1 p147-58 Fall.

Discusses problems with reconciling ethnographic research with positivistic methods.

Blair, K. (1995). Ethnography and the Internet: Research into Electronic Discourse Communities. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (46th, Washington, DC, March 23-25, 1995).

Pros of electronic ethnography.

Borman, K. M. (1986). Ethnographic and qualitative research design and why it doesn't work. American Behavioral Scientist, 30, 43-57.

Borman identifies the characteristics of qualitative research and its weaknesses, then offers solutions.

Brophy, J. (Nov. 1995). Thoughts on the qualitative quantitative debate. Chicago, IL: National Council for the Social Studies. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 392 734)

The focus of this paper is on the goals of both qualitative and quantative research and developing effective studies for the classroom. Brophy asserts that qualitative and quantitative methods are simply "tools" and should be evaluated from the standpoint of what questions they can answer best.

Bruyn, S. T. (1970). The new empiricists: The participant observer and phenomenologist. In W. J. Filstead (Ed.), Qualitative methodology: Firsthand involvement with the social world. Chicago: Markham, 283-287.

This article discusses the importance of phenomenology to qualitative research.

Bullock, R. (1995). Classroom Research in Graduate Methods Courses. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (46th, Washington, DC, March 23-25, 1995).

Examines first year graduate student-teachers and why they are distrustful of narrative or ethnographic research as opposed to empirical research.

Burroughs-Lange, S. G., & Lange, J. (1993). Denuded data! Grounded theory using the NUDIST computer analysis program: In researching the challenge to teacher self-efficacy posed by students with learning disabilities in Australian education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 364 193)

The authors evaluate the use of the NUDIST (Non-numerical, Unstructured Data Indexing, Searching and Theorising) computer program to organize coded, qualitative data. NUDIST was used in the authors' study to develop a theoretical understanding of the challenge that students with learning disablities pose to neophyte teachers' newly-formed images of effectiveness.

Collier, J., & Collier, M. (1986). Visual anthropology: Photography as a research method. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

This work discusses the benefits and possibilities of including photography in anthropological and ethnographic research. The book includes sections on the role of the photographer in documenting a culture or group, how photographs function in the interviewing process, analyzing images, and the psychological significance of photography and visual images in conveying meaning.

Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19 (5), 2-14.

This article is a theoretical work on conducting narrative inquiry that focuses on the issues of transferability and generalizability in this field of research.

Coulon, A. (1995). Ethnomethodology (J. Coulon & J. Katz, Trans.). London: Sage.

This text covers the history and issues related to ethnomethodology.

Cross, G. (1994). Ethnographic Research in Business and Technical Writing: Between Extremes and Margins. Journal of Business and Technical Communication ; v8 n1 p118-34 Jan.

Explores the phenomenal context, the site's cultural context, the research community context, and the researcher's interior context in business and technical writing.

Doheny-Farina, S. (1986). Writing in an emerging organization: An ethnographic study. Written Communication, 3, 158-85.

This article, gleaned from the author's doctoral dissertation, discusses his study of collaborative writing among executives at a new software firm. His methods included participant-observations, open-ended interviews, and Discourse-Based interviews.

Doheny-Farina, S. & Odell, L. (1985). Ethnographic research on writing: assumptions and methodology. In L. Odell &D. Goswami (Ed.), Writing in nonacademic settings. New York: Guilford, 503-535.

With a caution that researchers in English need to understand ethnography's basis in anthropology, this article outlines theoretical assumptions, methodologies, and the uses and limitations of ethnographic research.

Dyson, A. Haas. (1984). Learning to write/learning to do school: Emergent writers' interpretations of school literacy tasks. Research in the Teaching of English, 18, . 233-264.

This article is the report of an ethnographic study of kindergarten children which examined the relationship between their learning to write and their adapting to the culture of school. Data was collected several times per week over a fourteen week period. The researcher was a participant-observer who selected three case study children during the first phase of observation and studied them in context.

Ember,C. R., & Ember, M. (1973). Anthropology. New York: Appleton, Century, Crofts.

Fetterman, D. M. (1989). Ethnography: Step by step. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

As the title suggests, this is a how-to book on ethnographies and ethnographic research. The book answers the question: what is ethnographic research and outlines a step by step approach to conducting this type of research. Chapter subjects include methods and techniques of ethnographic fieldwork, equipment needed for ethnographic research, how to analyze your findings, the writing process, and ethics in ethnographic research.

Fielding, N. G., & Lee, R. M. (Ed.). (1991). Using computers in qualitative research. London: Sage.

This anthology contains 11 essays on computers and qualitative research. The topics include general information about types of qualitative research and software, implications for research, and qualitative knowledge and computing. This text provides valuable information on both the positive and negative aspects of using computers for qualitative research.

Filstead, W. J. (Ed.). (1970). Qualitative methodology: Firsthand involvement with the social world. Chicago: Markham.

This text is a collection of essays on qualitative methodologies.

Firestone, W. A. & Dawson, J. A. (June 1981). To ethnograph or not to ethnograph? Varieties of qualitative research in education. Philadelphia, PA: Research for Better Schools, Inc. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 222 985)

This paper addresses the advantages and disadvantages of using ethnographic studies and outlines six criteria for successfully using ethnographies in education studies. The authors also discuss five ways in which qualitative approaches can vary in terms of data collection.

Fitch, K. (1994). Criteria for Evidence in Qualitative Research. Western Journal of Communication ; v58 n1 p32-38 Win.

Contributions and limitations of conversation analysis and postmodernism toward the enterprise of ethnographic research. Criteria for qualitative data as evidence for claims about social life and for a qualitative study to count as evidence.

Flake, C. (1992). Ethnography for Teacher Education: An Innovative Elementary School Social Studies Program in South Carolina. Social Studies ; v83 n6 p253-57 Nov-Dec 1992.

Describes a teacher education program that utilizes an internship that includes an ethnographic research project. Explains that the teacher intern is required to conduct an in-depth analysis of the social studies being taught in their school as contrasted to that described in their textbooks. Includes resulting suggestions for improvement in the curriculum.

Gilbert, R. (1992). Text and context in qualitative educational research: Discourse analysis and the problem of contextual explanation. Linguistics and Education, 4, 37-57.

This article discusses methods of improving qualitative research in education.

Gilmore, D.D. (1991, Fall). Subjectivity and subjugation: Fieldwork in the stratified community. Human Organization, 215.

This article outlines an anthropologist's efforts to maintain scholarly neutrality in an agricultural town in Franco Spain where class conflict was severe.

Greenberg, J. H. (1954). A quantitative approach to the morphological typology of language. In R. F. Spencer (Ed.). Method and perspective in anthropology . Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

The author compares and contrasts typological methods of languages against the genetic-historical method.

Hammersley,M., & Atkinson, P. (1983). Ethnography: Principles in practice. London: Taveston.

This work deals with what ethnographic research is, what its strengths and weaknesses are, and how to go about conducting the research for your own project.

Hammersley, M. (1990). Reading ethnographic research: A critical guide. New York: Longman.

This book is a how-to manual on ethnographic research emphasizing understanding within unspoken contexts.

Hasselkus, B. R. (1995). Beyond ethnography: Expanding our understanding and criteria for qualitative research. Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 15, 75-84.

Hasselkus discusses the different methods of qualitative research.

Hathaway, R. (1995). Assumptions underlying quantitative and qualitative research: Implications for institutional research. Research in higher education, 36 (5), 535-562.

Hathaway says that the choice between using qualitative or quantitative approaches is less about methodology and more about aligning oneself with particular theoretical and academic traditions. He concluded that the two approaches address questions in very different ways, each one having its own advantages and drawbacks.

Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Heath studies two communities; one Black and one White, to analyze the citizens' language development.

Heath, S. B. (1993). The Madness(es) of Reading and Writing Ethnography. Anthropology and Education Quarterly ; v24 n3 p256-68 Sep.

Describes how these reactions have led the author to see things in the work that she had not seen before. Strengths and weaknesses of the book she identifies have implications for the conduct of future ethnographic research.

Hinsley, C. M. (1981). Savages and scientists: The Smithsonian Institution and the development of American anthropology. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Hornberger, N. (1995). Ethnography in Linguistic Perspective: Understanding School Processes. Language and Education ; v9 n4 p233-48 .

Perspectives and methodologies that sociolinguistics brings to ethnographic research in schools. Methodological contributions arising from linguistics that interactional sociolinguistics and microethnograpy share, such as the use of naturally occurring language data, the consultation of native intuition, and discourse analysis.

This short Web site briefly describes qualitative research and gives an example of how it can be used to supplement quantitative studies in health care.

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography (formerly Urban Life ). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

This is a quarterly publication containing recent ethnographic studies and what's new in ethnography. This publication is a good source of information on and examples of how other researchers are conducting their own ethnographic studies

Kamil, M. L., Langer, J. A., & Shanahan, T. (1985). Ethnographic methodologies. Understanding research in reading and writing. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 71-91.

The chapter defines ethnographic research, examines its theoretical underpinnings, and contrasts it with experimental research. It includes an extended example from Heath's "Questioning at Home and at School: A Comparative Study."

Kirk, J. & Miller, M. (1986). Reliability and validity in qualitative research . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

This book investigates how realiability and validity in qualitative research help to evaluate the objectivity of particular studies. The authors assert that given the true meaning of validity, many studies, including "scientific" ones, are not really valid. Also included are guidelines for maintaining reliability in qualitative studies.

Lancy, D. E. (1993). Qualitative research in education. White Plains, NY: Longman.

This text explores the many issues of qualitative research.

Lauer, J. M., & Asher, J. W. (1988). Ethnographies. Composition research: Empirical designs. New York: Oxford University Press, 39-53.

This chapter provides an overview of ethnographic research applied to English. It includes examples from two studies, Florio and Clark's "The function of writing in an elementary classroom" and Lemke and Bridwell's "Assessing writing ability--an ethnographic study of consultant-teacher relationships."

Lawless, E.J. (1992, Summer). I was afraid someone like you...an outsider...would misunderstand: Negotiating interpretive differences between ethnographers and subjects. Journal of American Folklore, 302.

This article looks at the role of the ethnographer in the collection of field research and writing. A new approach called "reciprocal ethnography" allows for interaction with the ethnographer.

Lazerfeld, P. F. (1972). Qualitative analysis: Historical and critical essays. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This text deals with the issues of qualitative research.

LeCompte, M. D., Millroy, W. L., & Preissle, J. (Ed.). (1992). The handbook of qualitative research in education. San Diego: Academic Press.

This anthology contains 18 essays on qualitative research in education. The topics range from the future of qualitative research to issues of validity and subjectivity in qualitative research. This text is a good source for those interested in current theories about and research on qualitative research itself.

Lier, L. (1988). The classroom and the language learner. New York: Longman.

The author argues for collecting and interpreting of classroom data (L-2 learning) in the presence of only limited knowledge of the process of teaching and learning in second language classrooms. This book sets out to define problems of classroom research within second language acquisition study and within social science. And, it offers a well documented guide for conducting research in the context of the classroom.

Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

This text outlines the positivist and naturalist research paradigms.

Linstead, S. (1993, Jan.). From postmodern anthropology to deconstructive ethnography. Human Relations, 97.

This article studies the effects of ethnography and postmodern influences on organizations. Derridian deconstruction theory is applied in order to get a new angle on social interactions within organizations.

Manwar, A., Johnson, B. D., & Dunlap, E. (1994). Qualitative data analysis with hypertext: A case of New York City crack dealers. Qualitative Sociology, 17, 283-292.

The authors describe some of the problems of data management and analysis faced by a team of ethnographers researching cocaine and crack distributuion in New York City. The researchers used FolioVIEWS, a hypertext software program, which proved to be more effective than other available programs in solving managment and analytical problems.

Marshall, C. & Rossman, G. (1995). Designing qualitative research . (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This book explains different types of qualitative studies and provides thorough instruction on how to design, conduct and evaluate a qualitative study. It also includes helpful information on managing time, personnel and financial resources for qualitative research.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This text covers data analysis issues related to qualitative research.

Minnich, R. G. (Ed.). (1987). Aspects of Polish folk culture. Bergen, Norway: Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen.

This text is a good source of examples for work done in the field of ethnography dealing with culture and literature. The work is a compilation of ethnographic studies by different authors done on topics ranging from the role played by gifts in Polish weddings to the role of art in Polish society. Through the reports included in this work, Minnich draws a clearer picture of Polish folk culture.

Minnis, J. R. (1985). Ethnography, case study, grounded theory, and distance education research. Distance Education, 6, 189-198.

Minnis explores the possibility of expanding the research base through the use of accepted qualitative methodologies.

Moores, S. (1993). Interpreting audiences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This text characterizes features of ethnography as a method of cultural investigation. It provides a discussion of the opposing, alternative perspectives on various forms of media reception and how ethnographic practice best equips researchers to map the media's varied uses and meanings for particular social subjects in particular cultural contexts.

Mortensen, P. & Kirsch, G., Eds. (1996). Ethics and Representation in Qualitative Studies of Literacy. Urbana, IL: ERIC .

Fourteen essays address questions faced by qualitative researchers today: how to represent others and themselves in research narratives; how to address ethical dilemmas in research-participant relations; and how to deal with various rhetorical, institutional, and historical constraints on research.

Narayan, K. (1989). Storytellers, saints, scoundrels: Folk narrative in Hindu religious teaching. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

The author relates hindu stories and their significance to education, both moral and religious.

Newkirk, T. (1991). The politics of composition research: The conspiracy against experience. In R. Bullock & J. Trimbur (Eds.), The politics of writing instruction: Postsecondary. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 119-135.

The author argues for the importance of ethnographic research in English education from a political perspective. He cites its key strengths over experimental research--particularity, involvement of the researcher, underlying ideology--the very characteristics which experimentalists criticize. Newkirk asserts that ethnographic research empowers practitioners.

Patton, M. Q. (1992). Ethnography and research: A qualitative view. Topics in Language Disorders, 12, 1-14.

This article describes the functions of ethnography in the fields of education and communication disorders.

Patton, M. Q. (1980). Qualitative evaluation methods. Beverly Hills: Sage.

This book is an in depth study of qualitative research from conceptual issues to data analysis.

Rice-Lively. (1994). Wired Warp and Woof: An Ethnographic Study of a Networking Class. Internet Research ; v4 n4 p20-35 Win.

Describes an ethnographic study of the electronic community comprised of masters and doctoral students involved in a seminar on networking. Ethnographic research facilitated observation and description of the networked learning community. The exploration of the cultural meaning of class events led to enhanced understanding of online education and the applicability of ethnographic research.    

Richards, L., & Richards, T. (1993). Qualitative computing: promises, problems, and implications for research process. Qualitative data analysis resources Home Page. [On-line]. Available WWW: address http://www.qsr.com.au/ftp/papers/qualprobs.txt.

Based on their experience with qualitative research software, the authors examine both the positive and negative aspects of this technology.

Rosen, M. (1991, Jan.). Coming to terms with the field: Understanding and doing organizational ethnography. Journal of Management Studies, 1.

Ethnography is not well understood or applied as a methodology for studying organization culture. This article highlights problems and offers tools for effective research in this arena.

Sanday, P. R. (1979). The ethnographic paradigms(s). Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 527-538.

Three styles of ethnography are examined: holistic, semiotic, and behavioristic.

Saville-Troike, M. (1989). The ethnography of communication (2nd ed.). Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

This text is a synthesis of the field of ethnography of communication, which studies the norms of communicative conduct in different communities and deals with methods for studying these norms.

Schmid, T. (1992). Classroom-Based Ethnography: A Research Pedagogy. Teaching Sociology ; v20 n1 p28-35 Jan.

Discusses difficulties of classroom-based research and obstacles to conducting classroom-based ethnographic research. Identifies temporal obstacles, personnel, safety, and traditional classroom orientation. Suggests experiential approaches for fieldwork instructors such as individual projects, a choice of group projects, or a single designated class project. Describes a cooperative project on homelessness.

Shanahan, T., Ed. Teachers Thinking, Teachers Knowing: Reflections on Literacy and Language Education . Urbana, IL: ERIC.

Thirteen essays share the insights of leading scholars and teacher-researchers regarding the re-emergence of teacher education as a central focus in the field of English education. Discusses methods of supporting teacher development such as the study of cases, teacher groups, ethnographic research in the classroom and community, and teacher lore.

Smith, G.W. (1990, Nov.) Political activist as ethnographer. Social Problems, 629.

Two studies that use Dorothy E. Smith's reflexive materialist method of sociology are presented; the studies examine the social organization of ruling regimes with an aim toward changing them.

Snyder, I. (1995). Multiple perspectives in literacy research: Integrating the quantitative and qualitative. Language and Education, 9 (1), 45-59.

This article explains a study in which the author employed quantitative and qualitative methods simultaneously to compare computer composition classrooms and traditional classrooms. Although there were some problems with integrating both approaches, Snyder says they can be used together if researchers plan carefully and use their methods thoughtfully.

Tallerico, M. (1992). Computer technology for qualitative research: Hope and humbug. Journal of Educational Administration, 30 (2), 32-40.

The author describes how computer technology offers new options for the qulitative researcher in education. Tallerico also identifies both the potential benefits and limitations of research software, drawing on a study of local educational governance. She also decribes the ETHNOGRAPH, a data analysis program.

Tesch, R. (1991). Software for qualitative researchers: Analysis needs and program capabilities. In N. G. Fielding & R. M. Lee (Ed.), Using computers in qualitative research. London: Sage, 16-37.

Tesch begins by explaining the different types of qualitative research. She goes on to define the general categories of computer software available to qualitative researchers and gives advice on what functions and features to look for when choosing software.

Thornton, S. & Garrett, K. (1995). Ethnography as a Bridge to Multicultural Practice. Journal of Social Work Education; v31 n1 p67-74 Win.

Ethnographic research method taught as a way of studying different cultural groups in a social work curriculum.

Turner, E. (1992). Experiencing ritual: A new interpretation of African healing. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

This text reports an anthropology, the story of a "visible spirit" from among the Ndembu of Zambia. This work gives an account of the ethnographer's experience living with the Ndembu and attempting to parallel Ndembu life.

Van Maanen, J. (1979). The fact of fiction in organizational ethnography. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 539-550.

Van Maanen discusses the need to distinguish whether the point of view reported is that of informant or of researcher.

Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

In this book, the author provides an informal introduction to ethnography addressed to fieldworkers of sociology or anthropology.

Weitzman, E. A., & Miles, M. B. (1995). Computer programs for qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Weitzman and Miles discuss the different functions of qualitative research software. They also categorize the software currently available and explain and review each program. This text provides valuable information for any researcher who is choosing software for qualitative research.

Wu, R. (1994). Writing In and Writing Out: Some Reflections on the Researcher's Dual Role in Ethnographic Research. Paper presented at the Annual Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition (University Park, PA, July 13-16).

Proposes "a more fluid, process-oriented definition of the ethnographer's role based on feminist standpoint theories to acknowledge the complexity of multicultural observers and observed."

Zaharlick, A. (1992). Ethnography in anthropology and its value for education. Theory into Practice, 31, 116-125.

This article examines the role of ethnography in anthropology.

Citation Information

Rolly Constable, Marla Cowell, Sarita Zornek Crawford, David Golden, Jake Hartvigsen, Kathryn Morgan, Anne Mudgett, Kris Parrish, Laura Thomas, Erika Yolanda Thompson, Rosie Turner, and Mike Palmquist. (1994-2024). Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry. The WAC Clearinghouse. Colorado State University. Available at https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/writing/guides/.

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Ethnographic Research – Complete Guide with Examples

Published by Carmen Troy at August 14th, 2021 , Revised On August 29, 2023

What is Ethnographic Research?

Ethnography is a  type of research where a researcher observes people in their natural environment.

Ethnographers spend time studying people and their day-to-day lives and cultural activities carefully. It takes a long-term commitment and exciting methods of data collection .

It has two unique features

• The researcher carries out ethnographic research in a natural environment.
• A researcher acts as a participant and researcher at the same time.

History of Ethnographic Research

During the period of colonialism, anthropology emerged as a formal and notable discipline. Anthropologists started to study traditional people and their cultures. There are many types of ethnographic studies used for various purposes.

Uses of Ethnographic Research    

Ethnographic research has the following uses;

• Documentation of endangered cultures
• Studying distant or new cultures.
• Studying and observing people’s behaviour in a specific society or community over a more extended period with changing circumstances.

Example: Malinowski’s six years of research on the people of Trobriand islands in Melanesia.

Today ethnographic research is also used in social sciences.

Examples:                                                                                                                                  Investigations done by detectives, police officers to solve any criminal mystery.        Investigations are carried out to learn the history and details of culture, community, religion, or games. The research was performed to understand the social interactions of the people.                Research to understand the roles of families and organisations.

Advantages of Conducting Ethnographic Research

There are various  methods of research  based on the requirements and aim of the investigation. Here is the list of the key features of  ethnographic research

• You can conduct ethnographic research alone.
• It allows you to observe the changes in people’s behaviour and culture over time and record it.
• You can conduct it in any place.
• It allows you to be a part of the community as a participant and take a close look at their lifestyle.
• You can gather a piece of detailed information with abundant experience, which helps you in further research.
• It provides the opportunity and pleasure of adventure as well as research.
• You don’t need to spend anything on the setup and equipment.
• You can learn to use any language of your choice during the research.
• You can find out about historical  changes and events.
• You can use and enhance your skills and knowledge.
• You are solely responsible for experimenting.
• You get the opportunity to get to know the underlying realities and opinions of the people.
• You get the chance to focus on the verbal and non-verbal behavior of the people.

Disadvantages of Ethnographic Research

• It requires a lot of time.
• It is challenging to conclude the results.
• The researcher needs to work alone.
• It requires patience, skills to interact with people, and staying within the community as a community member.
• Personal safety and privacy would be at risk.

Does your Research Methodology Have the Following?

• Great Research/Sources
• Perfect Language
• Accurate Sources

If not, we can help. Our panel of experts makes sure to keep the 3 pillars of Research Methodology strong.

What to do Before Starting your Ethnographic Research?

You need to identify your  research question(s)  and decide the mode of data collection. It’s better to choose a small group of people and aim to complete your studies within a short period. 

It would help if you asked a few questions to yourself.

• Who will be your target participants?
• Do you have enough time to conduct the research?
• What’s the purpose of your study?
• What kinds of resources do you have?
• Do you have enough funds to conduct your research?
• Do you have access to the community you want to study?

Types of Ethnographic Research

Realistic ethnographic research.

It is unbiased documentation written in the third person. You can use the collected notes for interpretations. 

A  case study is a documented history and detailed analysis of a situation concerning organisations, industries, and markets. It aims at discovering new facts of the condition under observation. 

It includes data collection from multiple sources over time.

Critical Ethnographic Research

It focuses on the marginalised community to study inequality and dominance.

How to Conduct Ethnographic Research?

Step 1: problem formulation.

Before conducting any research, the essential step is selecting the problem  you want to carry out your study.

Step 2: Select a Research Setting

After Selecting a research problem, you need to select the location of your research. It will help if you prefer a familiar place and community in which you can fit comfortably.

Step 3: Get Access to the Community

You need to get access to the community you want to study. How do you reach the community you want to study? 

You need to get official permission to conduct your research on a specific group of people. You can also join the community as a volunteer instead of a researcher.

There are two types of access, such as:

Open access: You don’t need to seek permission to conduct your research and  collect data in this type of access. You can observe the population. You need to get accepted by the group to proceed with your research.

Example: Public in market places, parties, concerts, etc., are regarded as open-access groups.

Closed-access:  In this type of access, you need to get permission from the gatekeeper of the community you want to study. 

Example:  Schools, colleges, corporations, etc.

Step 4: Represent yourself to the Group

It would help if you asked yourself a few questions before introducing yourself to the group members.

• How will you introduce yourself to the community you want to study?
• What would be your role in the group?
• How actively do you want to participate in the group’s day-to-day activities?
• Will the group accept you as a researcher and allow you to conduct your research?

You can either inform the participants about the experiment, and it’s called the overt approach. You can hide the research and oversee people’s behaviour. It’s called a covert approach.

You can also act as a participant of the community performing the activities like the group, called active observation. It allows the community to feel more comfortable with the researcher.

Similarly, you can keep yourself away from the group without performing any activities like them and observe them as a researcher. It is called passive observation.

It would help if you tried various approaches until you find a suitable method to proceed with your research.

Step 5: Collecting and Recording the Information

You can collect the data by the following methods;

Observation: You can participate in the group activities or observe the group’s behavior, either informing them about the experiment or keeping them unaware of the investigation.

Interviewing:  You can carry out direct conversations with all group members or obtain information from a specific member of the group. It’s better not to rely on the informants as they may interpret the data according to their perception rather than delivering in its actual context. 

Archival Research:  You can also use existing information stored in the previous researchers’ records to proceed with your research.

It becomes difficult to gather and record the information at the same time. 

What should you do in this situation?

You can maintain a notepad to record your observation immediately or sometimes wait until you leave the setting to record your observation. It’s better to note down your observations as soon as possible before you forget them and struggle to recall them. You can write down your field notes or record the people’s audios or videos while talking to them.

Your notes should include the following features:

Running/Field Notes:  these are the observations that you note down daily. The idea is to record your observation immediately after observing it. It would help if you observed the individual activities of the group members and perspectives.

How to describe Ethnographic Research?

Ethnographic research involves immersing in a community or culture to understand its nuances. Researchers observe, participate, and interview to grasp social practices, beliefs, and behaviors. It provides rich insights into how people experience and interpret their world.

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Ethnography Made Easy OER

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Collecting Data and Taking Notes

Mary Gatta. PhD

In this chapter, we explore the heart of ethnography—collecting data and taking fieldnotes. Ethnographic data is collected in a variety of ways that involve the researcher being embedded in the field in a variety of ways Ethnographers collect data by observing in the field.  This includes both structured and unstructured observations, along with participant observations.  In addition ethnographers engage in formal and informal interviews and focus groups with subjects. Often researchers will engage in a variety of methods for one research project and this data collection will occur over a period of time. An ethnographer may spend days, months or even years in one field site to observe and interview research subjects. A field site is the location or environment an ethnographer is studying. It can be virtually any place—a school, workplace, community, home, street, and even in the online world.  This triangulation of ethnographic methods-using a variety of methods in a field site— helps the researcher to gather as much data as possible to identify trends, patterns and nuances of the field they are studying.

As a result of the intensive data collections methods that ethnographers engage, researchers often end up with a good deal of data to analyze.  It is therefore important for ethnographers to have a plan on exactly how they will collect their data before they head into the field.  How will they collect data?  Will they take notes in the field or when they leave the field?  Will they record interviews via audio or video means?  How will they capture pictures?  How will they organize notes?  Where will they store notes?  In this chapter, we will get a sense of these and other questions.

What Are Fieldnotes? [1]

A staple of ethnographic data collection are field notes .  Field notes are the notes created by the researcher to remember and record the behaviors, activities, events, and other features of an observation. Field notes are intended to be read by the researcher as evidence to produce meaning and an understanding of the culture, social situation, or phenomenon being studied. (Schwandt, 2015)

As you begin your research using ethnographic methodologies, including the writing of fieldnotes, you need to be keenly aware that this kind of research, represented through the written word, is subject to personal interpretation.  You are choosing what to write about, you are making decisions about what to include and what to omit.  You, as the researcher, come to the field with a particular set of values and beliefs and those values and beliefs will affect what you see and how you see it. Ethnographic writing is always, in some ways or others, a representation of the ethnographer.

This doesn’t mean that some ethnographic writing isn’t better than other ethnographic writing, that the primary data itself isn’t valid or truthful.  This may be the first primary data collection experience for you.  This means that this is a learning experience, and your fieldnote writing will, over time, improve, shift, become more dense, and appear more like primary data and less like a journal writing.  Many ethnographers write fieldnotes as well as journals, the principle difference being the degree to which the writing serves to analyze what is being observed.

One of the stumbling blocks in writing fieldnotes for the first time is that, in the end, fieldnotes are only for you. They are the primary data you will use to write your final piece, your larger representation of your research. But, though it seems this would be low-stakes writing (writing only for you, without an immediate purpose), understand that your final project is greatly affected by the time and care and attention you give to these notes. Therefore, while any one set of notes may be low-stakes, collectively, they are high-stakes, in indeed. Together all of the notes are the foundation of this project; they are the point of it all.

To start, it is helpful to listen to some ethnography students at the University of Southern California talk about the basics of fieldnotes.

Basics of Fieldnotes [2]

The students in the video point to several important aspects of fieldnotes.  First, we need to be sure what we are doing is ethical.  If we are interviewing someone, did we get their consent for an interview and to be recorded?  How will the ethnographer protect the confidentiality of the interviewee?  If we are observing a worksite, how will we let the workers know and protect their identities?  This is discussed in the ethics chapter of this text, and it is important to ensure you are ethically collecting data.

Once you have ensured ethical data collection, you want to begin collecting data. What does it mean to “do fieldwork,” to “take fieldnotes”?  The answers to these questions are at once simple and complicated.  Simply stated, one “does research” by hanging out in your research site, observing what goes on and participating in the activities and conversation going on around you.  This process is understood as participant-observation research methodology. However, simply participating and observing isn’t enough.  You need to record your observations and thoughts on paper.  You need to record what people in the site say and do. You need to “take fieldnotes” and write down what you see, feel and think about your research.  When you write these observations, thoughts, feelings and analyses, you are creating primary data.

Your first visit to your site presents the opportunity to “see” the site for the first time as an ethnographer. Make sure that you some device (pen, paper, phone, laptop) available to record in writing everything that you see, hear, taste, smell, touch, and feel. You’re going to try to capture the atmosphere and mood.  You want to gather the kind of information that will make it possible to bring your site alive through your writing. In your first visit to the site, you also want to walk away with a good idea of how you see the site .  Your primary data set—your fieldnotes—will evolve over time. (http://www.engagingcommunities.org/writing-fieldnotes/)

Jottings and Notes [3]

Our observations are recorded in the form of jottings and notes .  When we are in the field we make write down (or type into our phones/tablets) jottings about what we are seeing, feeling and observing.

At the site, you should try to take notes that address all five senses:

VISION: What is this place? Who are the people? What do they look like? What are they doing? In what order do people do things? What artifacts and objects do you see? What do people do with them?

HEARING: What do people say? What noises do you hear? How loud is it?  How quiet?  Are is the sound from voice or other activity?

TASTE: Is there food involved in this setting?  Does the space taste like anything you know?  Is taste important in this site?

SMELL:  What odors do you encounter here?  Do people reference smell?  Does it smell like other places you know?  Does the smell remind you of other places?

TOUCH: Is there anything here to touch or feel?  Are bodies close to each other?  Is this place sexually charged?  Is it intellectually charged?  What does the place make you feel like?  Where and how and when do people here touch each other?  Are you engaged in this touch?  Is the touch ritualistic or random?

You should also note how you feel about being present at the site. Are you comfortable? Do you feel out of place? Are you interested in what you see? Are you comparing this context with a similar context in your own culture? Is this your own culture? What, specifically, makes you feel that way?

Keep in mind that these notes are just notes. They don’t have to be complete sentences or beautiful words. If your native language is not English and you are more comfortable writing quickly in your native language, these on-site notes, or “jottings,” don’t even have to be in English. What they do have to do is provide enough information for you to expand on them when you revisit the notes to begin to write.  In several weeks, when you have recorded many, many pages of fieldnotes, you will read through them carefully, looking for patterns. What actions/behaviors/words/thoughts reoccur?  What did you find to be of extreme interest to you as you conducted your research? You will use those things to frame and write your final ethnography paper, but in the meantime, you’ll be working with your fieldnotes to produce quite a bit of writing. http://www.engagingcommunities.org/writing-fieldnotes/4a-rhetorical-strategies-for-writing-observations/

You want to be sure to think about the best way to record your notes.  Maybe carry a notebook or journal, or use a computer to type them up in the field.  You want to decide whether you will take notes in the field or carve out time after. Also, you want to think about what photos and recordings you can take that will help you remember what you are observing.

Characteristics of Field Notes [4]

The ways in which you take notes during an observational study is very much a personal decision developed over time as you become more experienced in observing. However, all field notes generally consist of two parts:

Descriptive information, in which you attempt to accurately document factual data [e.g., date and time] and the settings, actions, behaviors, and conversations that you observe; and,

Reflective information, in which you record your emotions, thoughts/theories, ideas, questions, and concerns as you are conducting the observation.

Field notes should be fleshed out as soon as possible after an observation is completed. Your initial notes may be recorded in cryptic form and, unless additional detail is added as soon as possible after the observation, important facts and opportunities for fully interpreting the data may be lost

So what do our fieldnotes look like.  Here are some guidelines to help you.

• Be accurate. You only get one chance to observe a particular moment in time so, before you conduct your observations, practice taking notes in a setting that is similar to your observation site in regards to number of people, the environment, and social dynamics. This will help you develop your own style of transcribing observations quickly and accurately.
• Be organized. Taking accurate notes while you are actively observing can be difficult. It is therefore important that you plan ahead how you will document your observation study [e.g., strictly chronologically or according to specific prompts]. Notes that are disorganized will make it more difficult for you to interpret the data.
• Be descriptive. Use descriptive words to document what you observe. For example, instead of noting that a classroom appears “comfortable,” state that the classroom includes soft lighting and cushioned chairs that can be moved around by the study participants. Being descriptive means supplying yourself with enough factual evidence that you don’t end up making assumptions about what you meant when you write the final report. Others may not reach the same conclusions you do (ie. comfortable), but if you have detailed field notes, they can at least see what you did.
• Focus on the research problem. Since it’s impossible to document everything you observe, include the greatest detail about aspects of the research problem and the theoretical constructs underpinning your research; avoid cluttering your notes with irrelevant information. For example, if the purpose of your study is to observe the discursive interactions between nursing home staff and the family members of residents, then it would only be necessary to document the setting in detail if it in some way directly influenced those interactions [e.g., there is a private room available for discussions between staff and family members].
• Record insights and thoughts. As you observe, be thinking about the underlying meaning of what you observe and record your thoughts and ideas accordingly. This will help if you to ask questions or seek clarification from participants after the observation. To avoid any confusion, subsequent comments from participants should be included in a separate, reflective part of your field notes and not merged with the descriptive notes.

Here are some general guidelines for taking descriptive notes:

Describe the physical setting.

Describe the social environment and the way in which participants interacted within the setting. This may include patterns of interactions, frequency of interactions, direction of communication patterns [including non-verbal communication], and patterns of specific behavioral events, such as, conflicts, decision-making, or collaboration.

Describe the participants and their roles in the setting.

Describe, as best you can, the meaning of what was observed from the perspectives of the participants.

Record exact quotes or close approximations of comments that relate directly to the purpose of the study.

Describe any impact you might have had on the situation you observed [important!].

And here are some general guidelines for the reflective content:

Note ideas, impressions, thoughts, and/or any criticisms you have about what you observed.

Include any unanswered questions or concerns that have arisen from analyzing the observation data.

Clarify points and/or correct mistakes and misunderstandings in other parts of field notes.

Include insights about what you have observed and speculate as to why you believe specific phenomenon occurred.

Record any thoughts that you may have regarding any future observations.

Templates for Fieldnotes

So how to you actually capture your notes.  There are lots of templates and ways that ethnographers use. You want to find the one that is best for you.  Here are some examples to check out.

Here is a blog that shares one ethnographer’s process- https://anthropod.net/2013/08/14/a-template-for-writing-fieldnotes/

And here is another template that you can take into the field- https://www.silearning.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ethnographic-fieldnotes.pdf

Storing your Notes

Once you collect your data (be it in words, pictures and videos), you want to find a safe and secure way to store it.  If you save your notes and pictures electronically be sure that they are password protected and backed-up.  For written notes, find a secure and locked file cabinet to keep them in.  Remember the notes are your data—without them you do not have an ethnographic research project.

In this chapter we learned the ways that ethnographers gather data when they are in field sites to conduct research.  We explored how ethnographers collect their data, the role of field notes, and guidelines to create and store your field notes.

Field sites

Triangulation

Field notes

Chapter Questions

• What are some examples of field sites that you would be interested in studying using ethnography?
• What are some key things you should do as an ethnographer before you enter a field site to conduct research and prepare for collecting field notes?
• What are ways researchers engage all five senses in a field site to collect field notes?
• What are some guidelines researchers use to collect field notes?
• What are some guidelines researchers follow to store their fieldnotes ethically and safely?

Schwandt, Thomas A.(2015) The SAGE Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry. 4th edition . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

[1] This section is taken from Engaging Communities by Suzanne Blum Malley and Ames Hawkins is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://www.engagingcommunities.org.

[2] This section is adapted from Engaging Communities by Suzanne Blum Malley and Ames Hawkins is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://www.engagingcommunities.org

[3] This section is adapted from Engaging Communities by Suzanne Blum Malley and Ames Hawkins is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

[4] This section is adapted with permission from the author, Robert Labaree of Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/fieldnotes

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

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Home > Sociology and Anthropology > Selected Anthropology 380 Photo Essays

Outstanding Ethnographic Research Projects

Submissions from 2022 2022.

People, Not Symptoms: A Visual Ethnography of Ayurvedic Doctor Ashlesha Raut , Elizabeth Baranski

Submissions from 2019 2019

Laurie Bergner: A Bloomington-Normal Community Educator Shaped by Her Values , Jessica Bugayong

Community Lawyering and the Immigration Project: An Ethnographic Study of Charlotte Alvarez , Kathryn Jefferson

It’s about more than reproduction: a visual ethnography about Jennifer Sedbrook , Sommer Martin

Nine Months in One Day: A Visual Ethnography with Caroline and Elizabeth Fox-Anvick , Kayla Ranta

Submissions from 2018 2018

Colleen Connelly: Taking the First Step towards Improving Food Accessibility , Michelle Rekowski '19

Submissions from 2016 2016

“Don’t Cross Momma!” A Visual Representation of LGBTQI Woman Leader Jan Lancaster , Lucy Bullock '17

Sacred Partnership: A Visual Ethnographic Study of Rabbi Rebecca L. Dubowe , Anna Kerr-Carpenter '17

Women Leaders as Change Agents: Mary Campbell’s Story of Academic and Community Leadership , Raelynn Parmely '17

Submissions from 2013 2013

American by Citizenship or American at Heart? An analysis of becoming an “American” as seen through the eyes of an Indian-American immigrant , Helen Brandt '14

Pierogies to Hamburgers: An immigration story , Madeline Cross '13

The Long Road to Becoming American: One Kenyan’s Immigration Journey Filled with Perseverance, Discrimination, and Student Visa Restrictions , Katelyn Eichinger '14

Bicultural Living: Maria Luisa Mainou’s Experience with Immigration and Cultural Change , Alicia Gummess '13

Russian-Jewish Immigration and the Life Experiences of Dr. Marina Balina: A Photo Essay , Lauren Henry '14

Snapped into Focus: Addressing the Challenges Faced by Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in the United States , Nora Peterson '14

An American who Emigrated from Poland: The Significance of Education and Family Support in the Acculturation Process , Stephanie Pierson '13

Submissions from 2012 2012

Smile and Style: An Ethnographic Analysis of ISU's Gamma Phi Circus , Sarah Carlson '13

Building Christ-based Relationships, Disciples, and Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Illinois State University , Cassandra Jordan '12

When Words Fail, Music Speaks , Hannah Williams '12

Submissions from 2011 2011

Exploring Acupuncture in the American Midwest , Shuting Zhong '11

Submissions from 2010 2010

Luck Be A Lady: An Exploration of the Bloomington Bingo Community Through Visual Ethnographic Methods , Monica Simonin 11

Getting High: An Inside Look into College Students' Lives with Type 1 Diabetes , Amber Spiewak 11

Twin City Chess Club: a Visual Ethnographic Examination of Chess , Morgan Tarbutton 11

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