Ethnography
What is ethnography?
Ethnography is a holistic form of research that involves living in a culture or subculture and learning that culture’s symbols, rituals, and values. Originally and form of anthropological research, the goal of an ethnography is to describe and interpret the culture in ways the host culture can affirm.
What techniques are used in the common ethnography?
Wikipedia (post date Oct 14, 2007) does a good job of listing common ethnographic techniques:
- Direct, first-hand observation of daily behavior. This can include participant observation.
- Conversation with different levels of formality. This can involve small talk to long interviews.
- The genealogical method. This is a set of procedures by which ethnographers discover and record connections of kinship, descent and marriage using diagrams and symbols.
- Detailed work with key consultants about particular areas of community life.
- In-depth interviewing.
- Discovery of local beliefs and perceptions.
- Problem-oriented research.
- Longitudinal research. This is continuous long-term study of an area or site.
- Team research.
- Case studies
Not all of these techniques are used by ethnographers, but interviews and participant observation are the most widely used.
Greatest Strength of Ethnography: An In-Depth Look
Ethnography thrives in communicating the complexity of culture. The combination of analytical techniques allows for in-depth qualitative study. As a holistic form, ethnography strives to understand people within their context, instead of indiscriminately applying theory.
Understanding people on their terms takes patience and persistence. Quantitative research tools provide quick feed back because questions are bound by a particular answer set. Standard questionnaires with a typical likert scale leave no room for creative input or rabbit trails. The ethnographic style sees creativity as the life-blood of culture, and every rabbit trail is an opportunity to find the rabbit’s hole. In the tradition of Alice and Neo, the ethnographer is compelled to see how deep the rabbit hole goes — regardless of how long it takes.
Greatest Weakness: The Duality of Symbolic Transference
The symbols that define a culture are not static and atemporal, but instead they evolve as people within the culture interact. The ethnographer steps into this cultural flow at the risk of being swept away or obstructing its current path.French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan would be the first to point out that the presence and observation of an outsider impact regular cultural practices and symbolic transference. Dilan Evans quotes Lacan in his Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis:
In its essence, the efficacious transference which we’re considering is quite simply the speech act. Each time a man speaks to another in an authentic and full manner, there is, in a true sense, transference, symbolic transference — something which takes place which changes the nature of the two beings present. (Lacan as quoted by Evans)
Depending on the context being studied, the ethnographer can be placed at serious risk if he or she becomes a full member of the culture. For example, a researcher investigating the drug use among the homeless must setup boundaries to avoid personal addiction, while at the same time maintaining approachability. One tool researchers use for their emotional protection is bracketing.
Similarly, the culture must be protected from the researcher. Historically, ethnography emerged as a response to the tragedies of social Darwinism. To avoid imposing an outside perspective on the host culture, the research must contextualize interpretations and conclusions by cross-checking them with reliable cultural informants.
Protecting the Ethnographer: Bracketing
Before beginning research, ethnographers typically take time out to review personal biases and the experiences that may interfere with his or her ability to listen and observe. Through journaling and conversation with third parties, the ethnographer must establish internal emotional boundaries to separate personal experience from interactions with the host culture.
The practice of bracketing is seen every day on the TV, where newscasters report tragic news from around the world without crying or revealing their anger. These professionals must bracket off this constant influx of devastating information so it does not overflow into their personal lives and ruin family life. By internally compartmentalizing the individual experience from the social, bracketing maintains continuity between the personal identity from before the research and the identity that emerges at the end of the research’s execution.
Protecting the Culture: Contextualization
The host culture is protected as interpretations and conclusions of the research are cross-checked with experts in the community. If the results of the research cannot be affirmed by the community, then the ethnographer has done a questionable job of listening and observing the culture. If after further research and review, the conclusion remains the same, then the ethnographer must explain the discrepancy between his or her conclusions and the outlook of the community.
To argue a contrary position, the ethnographer is expected to first clearly describe both his or her position and that of the community. This description of the community’s perspective must be approved by the cultural experts. Only after giving a contextualized description of the cultural symbols and the rituals can the ethnographer logically argue a contrary interpretation. The commitment to efficaciously communicate the community’s understanding of itself protects the culture’s integrity from the subversive potential of contrarian interpretations.
Conclusion
The give and take between between the host culture and the ethnographer limits the credible objectivity of the study. Conclusions derived from ethnographic study are therefore considered highly contextual and cannot be considered universally applicable. Because the goal of an ethnography is to understand people first and theory second, the studies are usually remembered as case studies instead of axioms.
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