Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aim
History
Methodology
Examples
Strengths &
Weaknesses
Historical-Comparative
Research
What is an Ethnography?
It documents
routine daily lives
of people
(Fetterman,1998)
Explores a cultural
group
Lives with people,
or spends a lot of
time with them
Has a guiding
question that
evolves during the
study (Hall, 2003)
Where is it Used?
Cultural
Anthropology
Sociology
Business
Organizational
Psychology
Aim of Ethnography
Aim
Unobtrusive
Identifies geographical
and temporal coordinates
Makes visible lives of
those not normally told
(Williams, 2000)
Tries to obtain insiders
view of how a group
manages and organizes
their time (Viller, 2004)
Understands the point
of view from inside the
group (McCleverty, 1997)
Aim
To identify behavior
patterns and
anticipate; to make
the reader
understand the
perspective of the
native to the culture
studied (Fetterman,
1998)
Understand context,
complexity, and
politics of social
processes (Warren,
2004)
History of
Anthropology/Ethnography (USA)
Morgan
Lawyer and
anthropologist
In 1851 he published
an ethnography
about Indians in the
USA. He didn't
gather the
information himselfwas a sofa
anthropologist
Malinowskis Methods
I consider that only such
ethnographic sources are
of unquestionable scientific
value, in which we can
clearly draw the line
between, on the one hand,
the results of direct
observations and of native
statements and
interpretations, and on the
other hand, the inferences
of the author, based on his
common sense and
psychological insight
(Malinowski, 1922, p. 3)
Evans-Pritchards Methodology
Malinowskis student
Did research among the Azande
1926-1930
1930 published his ethnography
Witchcraft, oracles, and magic
among the Azande
Used informants
Native language
Length of stay 1-2 years
Get to know natives through the
children
Live like the natives (EvansPritchard, 1988)
Social phenomena as
effects of external
power structures (e.g.
political and
economic institutions
at the national and
international level)
Influenced by the rise
of new perspectives
such as critical theory
and neo-Marxist
ideology
Methodology
Outline of Process
Identifying
problem or topic of
interest
Fieldwork Data
collection and
analysis
Participant
Observation
Individuals and
groups
Analysis Holistic
Report (Fetterman,
1998)
Methodology
Ethnographers Jargon
Methodology
Characteristics of
Ethnographies
Holistic
Data collection
and analysis
occur together
Data collection
oscillates
between
individuals and
groups (Fetterman,
1998)
Negotiate Access
Methodology
Fieldwork (Morse and
Richards, 2002),
(Fetterman, 1998)
Stages
Negotiating entry the
Gatekeeper, Key Actors,
Key Informants
Introductory period
routines, roles,
relationships
Participatory observation
important! (Hall, 2003)
Methodology
Fieldwork Methods
Selection and sampling
Participant observation
Interviewing
Autobiographical
interviewing
Questionnaires
Projective techniques
Participants classification
Outcropping
Existing documented
information
Proxemics and kinesics
Folktales
Notes, notes, notes!!!
(Fetterman, 1998)
Methodology
Analysis
Evaluating relevance
Looking for patterns
Considering
phenomena through
the cultural
perspective
Thick description
(Morse and
Richards, 2002)
Classifications,
parameters, etic
observations
Maps, drawings,
charts (Fetterman,
1998)
Methodology
A few words on
writing
Writing must be
good from the
field notes to the
final product
Write for your
audience
Write for the
objective to
make the etic
perspective see
the emic
perspective
Examples
Sense of Place
By Keith Basso
AnarchoEnvironmentalism
Study
By Nicole Shepherd
Gaining Access
Historical-Comparative
Historical-Comparative
Deals with countries and
history
Powerful tool for
addressing big questions
Switzerland and the U.S.
have been compared in
terms of the use of
democracy and womens
right to vote
Causes of Societal
Revolutions: China,
France and Russia
Need to have a
knowledge of the past or
other cultures to fully
understand H-C studies
Historical-Comparative
Organized along 3
dimensions:
Focus on one nation, small
set of nations, or many
nations
Focus on single time
period or across many
years
Focus analysis based on
quantitative or qualitative
Uses case-studies to
elaborate historical
processes and specify
concrete historical details
Researchers focus on
culture
Historical-Comparative
Relies on indirect evidence
Reconstructs what occurred
from the evidence
Types of evidence:
Primary: Archival data:
found in museums,
archives, libraries, private
collections
Secondary: What other
historians have/are writing
Running-Record:
Documentaries maintained
by private or non-profit orgs
Recollections:
Autobiographies, memoirs,
oral histories
http://faculty.ncwc.edu/tocon
nor/308/308lect09.htm
Historical-Comparative
Strengths:
Prevents heroworship
Creates understanding
among outsiders
Raises concerns about
old explanations and
finds support for new
ones that are context
specific
Weaknesses:
Need to have a grasp
of the past and about
other cultures to be
able to fully understand
H-C studies
Reconstructs the past,
may be inaccurate
Any Questions?