What is ethnography? Imagine yourself as an ethnographer arriving in Aberdeen.

What cultural practice would you want to write about and what ethnographic

methods would you use?

Ethnography is the firsthand study of a particular society and its cultural

differences. To quote the grandfather of anthropology, Malinowski, the purpose

of the ethnographer is “to grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, to

realize his vision of his world” (Malinowski cited in Kottak, 1996:10). In this essay

I shall expand upon Malinowskis’ quote, describe the main field techniques and

demonstrate how I would apply ethnographic methods to the study of oil rig

workers.

What is ethnography then?

Ethnography is looking at the culture from the inside; seeing things through other

peoples’ eyes. It is the analysis of field notes made while studying the group.

Each society has its own set of traditions and cultural practices that are learned

by the children as they grow up in that environment. Growing up in a particular

society shapes one’s values, religious beliefs, and ways of behaving and are

therefore learned practices rather than biological inheritance.

(Richards,Audrey.I:1957:16) This study can be either sweeping, such as religion,

or microscoping such as the seal sharing practice in an Inuit community that

Barbara Bodenhorn (2000: 134) writes about. It is important to avoid

ethnocentrism, that is interpreting strange customs on the basis of

preconceptions derived from ones own cultural background (Wachowich:2005).

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There are various techniques that an ethnographer may employ in making a

study. The first is Participant observation whereby the ethnographer totally

immerses themselves in the cultural setting being studied. Clearly this is the most

useful method for seeing things from the inside. To live with the people, to

experience their lifestyle and share some sort of camaraderie gives a good view

of their perspective on life. The ethnographer has direct, firsthand observation of

daily behaviour and this includes participant observation. They become more

accepted into the community by being actively involved with the group and are

able to reflect on their experience of cultural practices. There are many nuances

in any cultural setting which are difficult to find out from any other method than

participant observation. The participating ethnographer will build up relationships

of trust which may be necessary to accurately record cultural perspective, and

indeed to glean much information from daily conversations; such was the case

when Judith Okely studied The Traveller Gypsies (1983: 41). Much of this is

recorded in a personal format, such as a diary, with the ethnographer sharing

their feelings about events. Some of these notes are reflexive and they are

indispensable.

Conversation is another technique used in ethnography; this can be in the form

of daily chit chat or interviews. Interviews may be structured or unstructured this

will depend on the requirements of the situation. Often it will be necessary for the

ethnographer to learn key words in a foreign language in order to really be

accepted, and to progress their study. Some meaning can be lost in translation

and it is therefore necessary and desirable to record important phrases exactly

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as they are spoken,” corpus inscriptionum“, this is again explained by Malinowski

(1961: 24). The ethnographer needs to record their findings in writing for

reflection.

It can be useful for the ethnographer to look at the genealogy of the group and

examine this to make sense of the kinship and political system. It helps them to

understand what is valued in a community and explains many beliefs and

customs.

Some detailed work will be required with knowledgeable informants about

particular areas of community life and often life histories or in depth interviewing

will be done with the elders in the community. (Metcalf, Peter. 2005:13)

(Ellen, Roy.F.1984; Malinowski, Bronislaw.1961)

Imagining that I am an Ethnographer arriving in Aberdeen I would look at what

type of industry is prevalent, and as Aberdeen is known the “Oil Capital of

Europe” I would choose to make a study of a group in this field.

The nature of the industry is such that many employees go to work on oil rigs

which are almost islands of society, and while their hierarchies are similar, there

would be differences as the communities are made up of different people and run

by different companies. It would be intriguing to compare experiences between

these rigs. Their work is often in a shift pattern such that they are flown out to an

oil rig for a few weeks at a time and then flown home for time off work. This

pattern of work would be interesting to study as it provides two distinct localities

for cultural practice, one on the rig and one off the rig. I would develop the study

into areas such as social relationships compared to hierarchical position;

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religious differences; healthy eating and lifestyle messages whilst offshore and

any subsequent impact onshore; leisure time; networking between workers and

their families onshore; I would feel compelled to study the impact on the

employees and their families, whether they have to make adjustments to two

different lifestyles i.e. different social rules and use of language, catering and

cleaning arrangements.

In order to really appreciate what it feels like to work in this way I would try to

take a job on an oil rig as a cleaner or a catering assistant. This would be

participant observation and would provide much firsthand knowledge and

experience of life on an oil rig. There may well be issues arising from this as I am

a female and the workforce is predominantly male. It would be valuable to build

friendships and so discover how people feel working in a close environment

where they are separated from their own families, as they are then reliant on

other employees for safety, companionship and many basic needs taken for

granted such as preparation of food etc. The corporate employer now acts as

head of the community rather similar to elders in the family analogy. It is they

who set the values and customs and the employees who interpret and practice

them. An interesting angle to study would be whether peoples’ behaviour differed

significantly between their work and home environment as the oil rig community

values may differ from their personal ones.

Before going out to the rig it would be useful to look at the structure of the society

in much the same way that genealogy is useful, to determine the lines of

communication and the political system. It may well be useful to talk to managers

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and industrial psychologists, as knowledgeable informants, in order to find out

background information that has already been documented about such working

patterns.

I would want to study family issues, such as homesickness, the impact on

bonding with children when employment takes you away for weeks at a time, and

the effect of the frequent lifestyle adjustment on childrens’ education as well as in

the home. In order to do this I feel I would need to study some home life

scenarios as well, which means I would try to befriend employees and their

families. While many employees do live in Aberdeen and surrounding area they

do not tend to live in the same community and therefore this aspect would be

more difficult to study in any quantity. It may be possible to devise thoughtful,

sensitive questionnaires which would provide some information but this aspect

would be less personal than participant observation and conversations. It may be

possible in these days of technology to set up discussion forums on the internet

for the families to access and share their experiences and this could provide

some valuable insight into the family cultural practice of working on an oil rig. It

may also be possible to set up some family day events and do some informal

interviewing. In my previous work experience as a play leader I have firsthand

knowledge of some of the difficulties very young children have to cope with when

Dad goes offshore and how this then affects their confidence and security in the

classroom environment for a few days while they adjust to a new home routine.

This would be an example of prior learning experience that I would bring to the

study.

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Just as when Judith Okely studied The Traveller Gypsies (1983: 39) she

encountered difficulties in the society trusting her enough to confide their ways

and beliefs I believe that there might be difficulties in a predominantly male

industry to encourage conversations of a more personal nature and that their

wives may be more revealing to me as a source of information because I am

female.

To summarize the techniques I would use to make a study of “Offshore Oil

Workers” would be participant observation i.e. taking a job on the rig myself and

hopefully in a capacity that would enable me to then conduct conversations in

which a mutual feeling of trust and empathy could be established. Genealogy in

the form of career structure within the oil rig society, shift patterns and the

resulting working relationships, and whether these remain constant, would

provide a framework for the study. To try to establish if any “kin “are reckoned i.e.

working partners in a similar way that the Inuit have hunting partners. I would

Ask Questions both informally through the development of friendships with co-

workers and their families and possibly internet discussion forum; and more

formally through questionnaires. By writing field notes to record my own

experiences both in the form of a diary following day to day experiences and

more formal notes such as summaries of any questionnaires I would create a

qualitative, reflexive record. I feel it would also be important to try to get to know

a few families better and use participant observation by actually befriending them

and being involved in their lives.

I have already had some experience of being involved with families where a shift

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pattern of work away from home is in operation but never from the perspective of

being the person away from home and employment in the “oil rig” community

would provide immersion into this cultural practice.

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Bibliography
Bodenhorn, Barbara. 2000. “Cultures of relatedness: new approaches to the
study of kinship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ellen, Roy.F. 1984 “Ethnographic Research: a guide to general conduct”.

London; Orlando: Academic Press.

Firth, Raymond; Richards, Audrey. I. et al.1957 “Man and Culture” An evaluation

of the work of Bronislaw Malinowski. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.

Kottak, Conrad Phillip. 1996 “Chapter One: The Exploration of Cultural Diversity.”
In Mirror for Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology,. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1-20.

Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1961 (1922) “Subject, Method and Scope.” In Argonauts

of the Western Pacific, 5-25. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, 4-25

Metcalf, Peter. 2005 “Anthropology, The Basics”. Routledge.

Monaghan, John & Just, Peter. 2000 “ Social and Cultural Anthropology, A very
short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Okely, Judith. 1983 “Methods of Approach.” In The Traveller Gypsies,.

Cambridge University Press, 38-48.

Wachowich, Nancy. 2005. Lectures at Kings College, Aberdeen University.

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