QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

After you have defined your research questions, aims, or goals, the next step is to identify your research design. Your research questions or goals inform the type of research design that you will use. There are some research designs that are informed by a particular field of study and expanded to other settings and disciplines. Other research designs are informed by theory.

Ethnography

What is it? Ethnography is a research methodology that provides an in-depth understanding of a culture or sub-culture, and entails an immersion in a culture through direct interaction with the people that you are studying.

Some aspects of culture that ethnographers study include, but are not limited to, rituals, daily routines, norms, gender, beliefs about health and healing, food practices, family relationships, technology use, political and economic practices, language practices, and symbols. Ethnography can be applied to understanding a variety of cultural settings, such as Mayan women living in the rural Western highlands of Guatemala, to corporate culture at an organization in San Francisco, to an online community support group for parents of children who have a rare disorder.

Ethnographers attempt to understand and present descriptions of a culture from the standpoint of a native member of the cultural group being studied, also known as an emic perspective. To achieve this in-depth level of understanding, researchers often draw upon a data collection technique called participant-observation, where the researcher participates in everyday activities of the culture, while also observing them. This often requires a prolonged period of time in the field.

This rich exploration of a culture or a smaller group within a culture through ethnography can provide valuable information about a presenting problem or a phenomenon that may not be captured by other approaches that do not allow for a holistic and immersive understanding of a culture. Our consultants can help you prepare for an ethnographic study, including guidance on appropriate data collection and analysis that aligns with gaining an in-depth understanding about a culture.

How can we help you?

• Identify the best type of ethnographic design that aligns with your research questions
• Prepare for participant-observation, a key feature of ethnography
• Provide feedback on your ethnographic data analysis

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