Ethnography essentials: designing, conducting, and presenting your research

Preface

The Author

Part 1. The Why and What of Ethnography

1. What is Ethnography?

Ethnography: The Engaged, Firsthand Study of Society and Culture in Action

A Brief History

How Ethnography Has Changed: Doing Contemporary Ethnography

Ethnography as Firsthand Research

Ethnographer as Research Instrument

Collaboration as Research Model: Ethnographer as Student

2. Choosing an Ethnographic Topic

Where to Look for Possible Topics

Ethnographic Topics: Studying Places, People, or Events

The Benefits of a Relatively Specific Focus

Thinking About the Nonobvious as Discoverable

Cultural Knowledge and Behavior in Action as Research Objects

Practical Concerns

Considering Ethics from the Start: Your Obligations to Potential Informants

Topics You Might Want to Avoid

3. Research Design

Turning an Idea or Topic into a Research Question

Linking Questions to Methods

Key Methods to Consider for the Ethnographic Project

What Is Practical or Feasible? Time, Availability, and Ethics

4. Writing a Proposal

Identifying and Reviewing Appropriate Literature

Statement of the Problem

A Clear Research Plan

Identifying Your Project's Larger Relevance

Human Subjects Review and Approval

Part 2. Ethnography in the Field: Collecting Data

5. A Guide to Collecting Data and Taking Notes

The Fleeting Nature of Ethnographic Data

"Should I Write it Down Immediately?"

The Importance of Detail in the Ethnographic Record

Writing Notes Versus Using Recorders

The Prospects of Transcription

What Is Important and What Is Superfluous: "What Do I Need to Write Down?"

The Ethics of Collecting Information

6. Participant-Observation

The Apparent Paradox: Participation and Observation

Balancing Participation and Observation

The Importance of Time

Depending on Informants as Teachers and Guides

Getting Started

Regular Versus Extraordinary Behavior and Conversations

7. Interviews

Starting with Informal Interviews and Conversations

Informal Conversation as an Avenue to "Real" Culture

A Good Interviewer Is a Good Listener

How to Record Interview Data

Using an Interview Schedule

How to Start an Interview

Good Versus Bad Interview Questions

When to Conduct Formal Interviews

8. Analyzing Along the Way

Identifying Key Themes and Questions: Paying Attention to Your Data

How to Organize Your Notes

What Have You Learned?

What Do You Still Need to Do?

Has the Research Question Changed?

Tweaking the Research Design

Getting Feedback from Your Informants

Writing at the Midway Point

9. Ethnographic Maps

Space and Movement as Key Components of Culture

The Importance of Space, Shape, and Distance

Large- and Small-Scale Geographic Maps

Mapping Interior Spaces

Cognitive or Conceptual Maps

Representing Movement and Behavior on a Map

10. Tables and Charts

Ethnographic Tables

Interpersonal Relationships as a Manifestation of Culture

Kinship as an Organizing Principle

Other Organizational Charts

11. Archives and Secondary Data

Cultural Artifacts as Sources of Information

Making Ethnographic Use of Archives

Contemporary Cultural Artifacts

Evaluating and Analyzing Cultural Artifacts

Analytical Sources Versus Popular or Primary Sources

Part 3. Analyzing and Writing

12. Sorting and Coding Data

Writing from Your Research Data

Identifying Key Themes and Questions

Identifying Important Research Moments and Experiences

Coding and Sorting the Ethnographic Record

Dealing with Apparent Contradictions: The Messiness of Ethnographic Data

13. Answering Questions and Building Models

Fitting the Pieces Together

Moving from Data to Theory: The Inductive Process

Remembering the Big Picture and the Big Questions

Infusing Theory in Ethnography

14. Choosing the Appropriate Presentation Style

Common Ethnographic Conventions

The Importance of Ethnographic Detail

Matching Style to Audience, Subject, and Analysis

A Formal to Informal Continuum of Style

15. Putting the Whole Ethnography Together

The Hourglass Shape as a Model

Alternative Models for Organizing an Ethnography

Incorporating Relevant Literature

Incorporating Maps, Charts, and Photographs

Demonstrating the Project's Relevance

Evaluating and Revising Ethnography

Sharing the Ethnography

Incorporating Responses and Critiques

Glossary

References

Index