Ethnography in Research (Essay Sample)

ETHNOGRAPHY IN RESEARCH.
ETHNOGRAPHY
Introduction
Ethnography, as the empirical data on human societies and cultures, was pioneered in the biological, social, and cultural branches of anthropology but has also become popular in the social sciences in general-sociology, communication studies, history-wherever people study ethnic groups, formations, compositions, resettlements, social welfare characteristics, materiality, spirituality, and a people's ethno-genesis (Greertz, 1973; Philipsen, 1992). The typical ethnography is a holistic study and so includes a brief history, and an analysis of the terrain, the climate, and the habitat. In all cases it should be reflexive, make a substantial contribution toward the understanding of the social life of humans, have an aesthetic impact on the reader, and express a credible reality. It observes the world (the study) from the point of view of the subject (not the participant ethnographer) and records all observed behavior and describes all symbol-meaning relations using concepts that avoid casual explanations.
Definition
The word ethnography is from Greek ἔθνος denoting ethnos "folk, people" and γράφω denoting grapho "to write". It is a qualitative research design for exploring cultural phenomena. According to Greertz, (1973), and Philipsen, (1992) ethnography reflects the knowledge and the system of meanings embedded in lives of a cultural group. Ethnography graphically represents and in writing, the culture of a people).
History
According to Ember, (2006) ethnography as a concept was developed by a professor of history and geography, Gerhard Friedrich Müller, as a separate discipline whilst participating in the Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733-43). It is during that expedition that he differentiated Völker-Beschreibung as a distinct area of study. It became known as ethnography. In an attempt to reform the contemporary understanding of world history, the term was introduced into the academic discourse by August Ludwig von Schlözer and Christoph Wilhelm Jacob Gatterer of the University of Gottingen.
Methodology
According to Brewer, (2003) "data collection methods are meant to capture the ‘social meanings and ordinary activities’ of people (informants) in ‘naturally occurring settings’ that are commonly referred to as ‘the field.’" He further adds that
the goal is to collect data in such a way that the researcher imposes a minimal amount of their own bias on the data. Multiple methods of data collection may be employed to facilitate a relationship that allows for a more personal and in-depth portrait of the informants and their community." These can include participant observation, field notes, interviews, and surveys. Interviews are often taped and later transcribed, allowing the interview to proceed unimpaired of note-taking, but with all information available later for full analysis. Secondary research and document analysis are also employed to provide insight into the research topic. In the past kinship charts were commonly used to "discover logical patterns and social structure in non-Western societies". However anthropology today focuses more on the study of urban settings and the use of kinship charts is seldom employed CITATION Bre \l 1033 (Brewer, 2000).
According to Nightingale, (2008) if the data collection and interpretation is to be transparent, researchers creating ethnographies often attempt to be "reflexive." He add that "reflexivity refers to the researcher's aim ‘to explore the ways in which the researcher's involvement with a particular study influences, acts upon and informs such research’." He says that no researcher can be totally unbiased despite these attempts of reflexivity, which has provided a basis to criticize ethnography.
Garsen, (2008) adduces that "traditionally, the ethnographer focuses attention on a community, selecting knowledgeable informants who know the activities of the community well. These informants are typically asked to identify other informants who represent the community, often using chain sampling." He says that "this process is often effective in revealing common cultural denominators connected to the topic being studied." Furthermore "ethnography relies greatly on up-close, personal experience. Participation, rather than just observation, is one of the keys to this process. Ethnography is very useful in social research" CITATION Gar08 \l 1033 (Garson, 2008).
Differences across disciplines
The ethnographic methods will differ across a range of different disciplines. The method used by anthropologist will differ from that used by sociologists. Equally varying disciplines such as cultural studies, social work, education, economics, ethnomusicology, folklore, geography, history, religious studies, linguistics, performance studies, advertising, communication studies, usability, psychology, and criminology will use different ethnographic approaches Chavez, (1997).
Cultural and social anthropology
According to Chavez, (1997) "the typical ethnography is a document written about a particular people, almost always based at least in part on emic views of where the culture begins and ends. Using language or community boundaries to bind the ethnography is common." He says that "ethnographies are also called ‘case studies.’ Ethnographers study and interpret culture, its universalities and its variations through ethnographic study based on fieldwork.”
According to Chavex, (1997) "ethnography is a specific kind of written observational science which provides an account of a particular culture, society, or community. The fieldwork usually involves spending a year or more in another society, living with the local people and learning about their ways of life. Ethnographers are participant observers. They take part in events they study because it helps with understanding local behavior and thought.
Heider, (2001) and Ember, (2006) a typical ethnography attempts to be holistic and typically follows an outline to include a brief history of the culture in question, an analysis of the physical geography or terrain inhabited by the people under study, including climate, and often including what biological anthropologists call habitat. Folk notions of botany and zoology are presented as ethno-botany and ethno-zoology alongside refere...