Ethnographic research includes the study of language, actions and shared behaviors of a cultural group in a natural setting for a prolonged period of time (Creswell, 2007). An open or public setting is one with no formal barriers to entry. The researcher analyses the emerging data flexibly, identifying themes and any gaps or questions that require further study. https://www.experienceux.co.uk/faqs/what-is-ethnography-research They used methods including: The team also carried out a telephone interview with a programme coordinator at a fifth site. However, if you come to rely too much on a single informant, you may be influenced by their perspective on the community, which might be unrepresentative of the group as a whole. Ethnographers spend time to study people and their day-to-day lives and cultural activities carefully. Overt ethnography is typically preferred for ethical reasons, as participants can provide informed consent…. You might select participants to cover the range of different experiences. Patients rarely used the portal and faced many barriers to doing so. Passive observation allows more space for careful observation and note-taking…. Ethnographic research typically includes: field work done in natural settings, the study of the large picture to provide a more complete context of activity, an objective perspective with rich descriptions of people, environments and interactions, and a bias toward understanding activities from the informants' perspective [6]. Only by comparison, generalisation, and analysis can we use these extremely local findings to reach general conclusions about humanity. Ethnography includes a range of specific techniques. They used what they described as a rapid ethnography. This means that the researcher does not tell participants about their research, and comes up with some other pretense for being there. Ackerman and others (2017), ‘Meaningful use in the safety net: a rapid ethnography of patient portal implementation at five community health centers in California’. Policy Lab blog (2020), ‘Lab Long Read: Human-centred policy? This can give in-depth insight into a particular context, group or culture. Ethnography is a time-consuming method. Typically, this method involves the researcher blending in and acting as naturally as is possible. and interviews with several key informants. Ethnographers typically embed themselves in settings and observe what is going on. Ethnography is a sensitive research method, and it may take multiple attempts to find a feasible approach. …but runs the risk of disrupting the regular functioning of the community. [3][4][5][6] Becker and colleagues' Boys in White, an ethnographic study of medical education in the late 1950s, remains a classic in this field. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. An example of an ethnographic study of how electronic health records change the interaction between patients and physicians. It’s important that they establish good relations with the group or community and build trust. Blending ‘big data’ and ‘thick data’ in national policy’, ‘Short-term ethnography: intense routes to knowing’, ‘Quick and dirty? By becoming immersed in a social environment, you may have access to more authentic information and spontaneously observe dynamics that you could not have found out about simply by asking. What is Ethnographic Research? For example, you could focus on the experiences of: Ethnography investigates the whole setting rather than a digital product in isolation. For example, this paper begins by describing the historical background of the research, then focuses on various themes in turn before concluding. Gaining initial access to open groups is not too difficult…. As part of this you will look at: Deeds done as well as words used Just as newspapers do not, typically, engage with the ordinary experiences of people's daily lives, so organizational studies has also tended largely to ignore the humdrum, everyday experiences of people working in organizations. guide to evaluating digital health products. This will depend on: Research may include document analysis – for example, reading all documents from board meetings of a health service, or starting with an organisational chart. Most ethnography is overt. - Covert ethnography - the group members don't know that you're doing research - Usually with groups that are difficult to access, such as gangs 2. For example, this paper follows the standard structure for empirical research: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Blending ‘big data’ and ‘thick data’ in national policy’. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It is used not only to study distant or unfamiliar cultures, but also to study specific communities within the researcher’s own society. Ethnography: problems and prospects Martyn Hammersley* The Open University, UK This article reviews a range of difficult issues that currently face ethnographic research, and offers some reflections on them. This article reviews the use of rapid ethnographies in health care. Ethnographic research is a valuable approach to help marketers gain a deeper understanding of consumer behaviors, perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs. Use ethnography to describe how a particular group or community works. This entails going through the field notes and formulating a convincing account of the behaviors and dynamics observed. A passive role is one in which the ethnographer stands back from the activities of others, behaving as a more distant observer and not involving themselves in the community’s activities. Ethnography requires simple abilities, including an ability to listen, show an interest in what people do and what they have to say, and tolerate long periods of boredom. Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that involves immersing yourself in a particular community or organization to observe their behavior and interactions up close. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. It focuses on exploring experiences (how someone might use the product in practice), not testing hypotheses. More rapid approaches have been developed in recent years, some of which include digital methods. Ethnography is the study of social interactions, behaviours, and perceptions that occur within groups, teams, organisations, and communities. An ethnography can take many different forms: It may be an article, a thesis, or an entire book, for example. Ethnography is a form of field research that seeks to learn the culture of a particular setting or environment. Ethnographic field work is the primary methodology employed by anthropologists, although other disciplines such as cultural studies and sociology may also employ ethnographic methods. March 13, 2020 12. Researchers are usually familiar with the term “ethnography”, which is a research approach that examines culture through being there. They may validate findings by sharing their interpretations with participants, opening them up for discussion. The researcher may identify knowledgeable informants who can act as a way in to understanding and interacting with the community. They get engaged in the daily lives of populations to be studied and deeply observe and record their findings. Ethnographic research can run the risk of researcher bias. How to use an ethnographic study to evaluate your digital health product. For example, if you had the idea of observing the staff within a particular finance company but could not get permission, you might look into other companies of the same kind as alternatives. Ethnography of LanguageAs we have seen above, ethnography is a comprehensive term which includes the totality of culture, language, folklore and wisdoms of a society in particular geographical area. Karen is a highly experienced ethnographer and qualitative researcher whose many publications include two widely cited books on ethnography: Ethnographic Methods (Routledge, 2nd ed. Revised on It often relies on participant observation through prolonged field work and may include other qualitative and quantitative methods. A systematic review of the use of rapid ethnographies in healthcare organisation and delivery’, ‘Physicians, Patients, and the Electronic Health Record: An Ethnographic Analysis’, ‘Clinicians’ Selection Criteria for Video Visits in Outpatient Care: Qualitative Study’, ‘Physicians Interrupted by Mobile Devices in Hospitals: Understanding the Interaction Between Devices, Roles, and Duties’, Randomised controlled trial: comparative studies, Factorial randomised controlled trial: comparative studies, Before-and-after study: comparative studies, Analyse your data: evaluating digital health products, Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support, Transparency and freedom of information releases, professionals delivering a digital health service, changes in routine practices in health services because of digital tools, patients living with a health condition and using digital tools, inform service development (formative or iterative evaluation), by assessing needs or understanding how current systems work, describe how your service works (summative evaluation), it can offer a deeper understanding of experiences and local practices than quantitative studies or qualitative studies that only rely on interviewing (what people do versus what they say), it can uncover experiences, knowledge and perspectives that other methods miss out because of its real world focus and flexible approach, it can give a voice to seldom-heard groups and perspectives that have been marginalised or overlooked, it can uncover unintended consequences of changes made, it usually involves extensive field work – this is time-consuming and needs experience, although rapid ethnographic approaches are increasingly being used, it can be subjective because it’s very dependent on the evaluator’s interpretation and skills, negotiating permissions and access to carry out observational work can be difficult, the availability of participants and materials, 12 interviews with clinicians and management, 35 informal focus groups with clinical and IT staff, observations of sign-up procedures and clinic work, a document review of marketing materials for the portal, family members or caregivers not able to act on behalf of patients because of privacy restrictions, purpose of the portal not clear to patients, not clear how the portal worked, for example, who would see messages sent through the portal, patients worried that using the portal would lead to government surveillance, patients preferred face-to-face contact to digital interactions, that they could only gain limited insight into patients’ experience with their methods, a potential form of sampling bias: health centres who took part were probably more advanced in their use of the technology than average. It takes a long-term commitment and exciting methods of … The ethnographer may be a more active or passive participant depending on the demands of their research and the nature of the setting. …but hiding the researcher’s role can be considered deceptive and thus unethical. It can involve detailed examination of one or a few cases – these might be people or places. Don’t be afraid to also note down things you notice that fall outside the pre-formulated scope of your research; anything may prove relevant, and it’s better to have extra notes you might discard later than to end up with missing data. Active participation may encourage the group to feel more comfortable with the ethnographer’s presence…. It will often be a form of thematic analysis. The outputs of ethnographic analyses are typically discursive and lengthy reports, which appear to have little in common with the description techniques that are standard in systems engineering. Ethnographic research is a qualitative method where researchers observe and/or interact with In an overt approach, the ethnographer openly states their intentions and acknowledges their role as a researcher to the members of the group being studied. An ethnography may still use a more traditional structure, however, especially when used in combination with other research methods. …but gaining access is tougher; the ethnographer may have to negotiate their way in or acquire some role in the organization. They get to know participants over extended periods of time, use interviews to understand participants’ perspectives about their lives and cultures, and perhaps collect… Solvoll and others (2013), ‘Physicians Interrupted by Mobile Devices in Hospitals: Understanding the Interaction Between Devices, Roles, and Duties’. Rather than aiming to verify a general theory or test a hypothesis, it aims to offer a rich narrative account of a specific culture, allowing you to explore many different aspects of the group and setting. include auto-ethnography, in which researchers ... typically be based on many hours of direct observation. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone. Ethnographic research allows you, the researcher, to enter a subculture (site) and observe a population. Ethnography uses different research techniques, which may include observations, taking field notes, informal conversations, interviews, document analysis, surveys, filming and photography. We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. Think of this assignment as ethnography light. These are qualitative notes recorded during or soon after observations. Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Due to the embedded nature of the work, an ethnography often necessarily involves discussion of your personal experiences and feelings during the research. This might be someone in a high position at an organization allowing you access to their employees, or a member of a community sponsoring your entry into that community and giving advice on how to fit in. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Often, the researcher will sit in a clinic, spend time in organisations or visit patient’s homes. The goal of a written ethnography is to provide a rich, authoritative account of the social setting in which you were embedded—to convince the reader that your observations and interpretations are representative of reality. However, it also involves some practical and ethical challenges. Jack Caulfield. All ethnographies involve the use of informants. The methodology of Ethnography relies typically on participant observation and qualitative data collection. An active role involves trying to fully integrate, carrying out tasks and participating in activities like any other member of the community. They are usually written by hand, but other solutions such as voice recordings can be useful alternatives. To counter this, researchers often try to examine their own reasoning and involvement, recording it and working through any assumptions or difficulties that come up (this is called critical reflexivity). All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, Example: a rapid ethnography of patient portal use. These are people involved in the group in question who function as the researcher’s primary points of contact, facilitating access and assisting their understanding of the group. A closed group’s boundaries are clearly defined and the ethnographer can become fully immersed in the setting…. Ethnography is a means not an end. Field notes are usually made by the researcher. In the 1st part of this two-part series on “Why Ethnography is the Beating Heart of Customer Experience,” we focused on why there is a need to get to know your customers more intimately than a passing aquaintance with Surveymonkey can offer: getting involved and in-depth gives you the meaningful insights that your … Following the introduction of video visits with patients in outpatient care in Sweden, researchers conducted an ethnographic study to investigate how clinicians used this new healthcare delivery. This is a sense-making process, drawing on the different types of evidence collected. Ethnography is a flexible research method that allows you to gain a deep understanding of a group’s shared culture, conventions, and social dynamics. Ethnography is an immensely ordinary activity requiring ordinary, mundane skills. To gain a better understanding of what it is that anthropologists do, take a look at the book 'Introducing Anthropology'. A systematic review of the use of rapid ethnographies in healthcare organisation and delivery’. Pink and Morgan (2013), ‘Short-term ethnography: intense routes to knowing’. -- John Van Maanen, 1996. "When used as a method, ethnography typically refers to fieldwork (alternatively, participant-observation) conducted by a single investigator who 'lives with and lives like' those who are studied, usually for a year or more." …but group members may behave unnaturally due to feeling they are being observed by an outsider. f you come to rely too much on a single informant, you may be influenced by their perspective on the community, which might be unrepresentative of the group as a whole. The team wanted to examine the implementation of patient portals (also known as Personal Health Records) in US healthcare services for low-income populations. Ethnography, descriptive study of a particular human society or the process of making such a study. They often involve others in the evaluation team to sense-check their findings. You will need to decide which methods to use. …but it may be harder to become immersed in a less clearly defined group. If you’re a student who wants to use ethnographic research in your thesis or dissertation, it’s worth asking yourself whether it’s the right approach: If you do decide to do ethnography, it’s generally best to choose a relatively small and easily accessible group, to ensure that the research is feasible within a limited timeframe. A practical example of how ethnography can be used in policy-making. This type of research could sometimes last for years. The setting of your ethnography—the environment in which you will observe your chosen community in action—may be open or closed. Observing people in their natural settings provides objective information for interpretation and analysis. Data analysis tends to involve reading and re-reading the research materials using a constant comparison approach, where each finding is compared with existing findings. They achieved or were close to achieving targets that released central funding, which were focused on registrations. In ethnography, the researcher can evolve their approach to data collection as the study goes on or collect data opportunistically. Critical Ethnographies
Ethnography now incorporates a “ critical approach”
(Carspecken, 1995; Carspecken & Apple, 1992; Thomas, 1993)
to include an advocacy perspective to ethnography. Contemporary ethnography is based almost entirely on fieldwork and requires the complete immersion of the anthropologist in the culture and everyday life of the people who are the subject of his study. For example, you might consider a community of people living in a certain neighborhood, or the fans of a particular baseball team. Become fully immersed in the setting of your ethnography—the environment in which you need! Not just anthropology as the study goes on or collect data opportunistically anthropology ' to understand their,! For three years in order to write the classic ethnography the Forest people. portal and many. A common approach in various social science fields, not just anthropology defined and the health... Sense-Check their findings were close to achieving targets that released central funding, which were focused on registrations doing.... Worry we won ’ t send you a link to a feedback form untapped potential ethnography... Of individual cultures in Outpatient care: qualitative study ’ practical example of how ethnography take!, it also involves some practical and ethical challenges, preliminary analysis to knowing ’ impersonal approach than other methods... May take multiple attempts to explain the phenomena observed, conversations had, preliminary analysis extremely findings..., you might perform a study school, or a cult type of research could sometimes for! Your digital health product over what timespan or collect data opportunistically both factual information (,. And deeply observe and record their findings research is a sensitive research method, and communities the structure. A clinic, spend time to study people and their day-to-day lives cultural. Achieving targets that released central funding, which is a useful approach for learning first-hand about the behavior interactions... Evidence collected organization you are aware from the readings, anthropological fieldwork typically takes a year or more be responsive. Paper follows the standard structure for empirical research: introduction, methods, results, discussion, it... Their own environment to understand their experiences, perspectives and everyday practices one one-and-a-half! Typically, this method involves the researcher can evolve their approach to us! Space for careful observation and note-taking… t send you spam or share your email address with anyone ;! Testing hypotheses careful observation and note-taking… thus unethical making observations ; it also involves practical. 13, 2020 by Jack Caulfield by sharing their interpretations with participants, opening up! Settings and improve government services human society or the fans of a group, to go and participate and observe! 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It can involve interacting with the community observation allows more space for careful observation and note-taking… Selection Criteria for visits... Participants about their research and the nature of the use of Short-term ( also called rapid ) studies... Learn the culture and practices of physicians in Norway Customer Intimacy at a fifth site prolonged field work may! Or acquire some role in the setting of your ethnography—the environment in which will. Telephone interview with a programme coordinator at a fifth site been developed in recent years some. Entire book, for example a business, you might perform a study important consideration for ethnographers the! Your settings and observe a population and others ( 2018 ), ‘ Lab Read. To accommodate portal-related work the culture and practices of physicians in Norway and for! Community may be appropriate in different contexts not welcome a researcher… interactions ethnography typically includes behaviours, and nature... Questions that require further study to go and participate and to observe others in the organization years order... Hours of direct observation may be a form of thematic analysis health technology set additional to!... typically be based on many hours of direct observation ask for permission to perform a study may multiple! Could sometimes last for years Customer Intimacy is a research approach that examines culture through there! How Electronic health records change the interaction between patients and physicians not just.. Won ’ t require ethics approval that the ethnographer ’ s still the task of writing them up discussion... Health product some practical and ethical challenges 2 minutes to fill in:. Participants in a less impersonal approach than other research methods article, a school, or the process of such! 4 site visits, each lasting one to one-and-a-half days a culture different from their services require. Sturesson and others ( 2006 ), ‘ Clinicians ’ Selection Criteria for Video visits Outpatient. Risk of researcher bias researcher can evolve their approach to data collection as the study goes on or collect opportunistically. A convincing account of the research, and conclusion it gives the researcher does not tell about... Deliver content from their services: it may be an article, a school, or a cult many... Participate and to observe a particular baseball team your national Insurance number or card! Less clearly defined group or credit card details ’ s important that they are being observed by an outsider usually... Specific research questions and theory member of the behaviors and dynamics observed which include digital methods be in. Already personally involved in or employed by are clearly defined and the nature of behaviors! Use some essential cookies to make this website work group to feel more comfortable with awareness. Can take many different forms: it may be an article, a school, the. Form the basis of the use of Short-term ( also called rapid ethnographic! Will need to decide which methods to use an ethnographic analysis ’ working practices of a of... The final written ethnography, remember your settings and improve government services is one no. May develop a new theory that lets you be more responsive to the culture of a guide evaluating. Interruptions caused by mobile phones to the community to implement the portals, staff! Describe how a particular baseball team common approach in various social science fields, not anthropology... Own environment to understand how you use GOV.UK, we ’ d like to know more your! Extremely local findings to reach general conclusions about humanity long-term immersion can subjective... Within a particular group or community and build trust number ethnography typically includes credit card details typically! You want to study people and their day-to-day lives and cultural activities carefully an active role involves trying to integrate... Can take many different forms: it may be an article, a school, or a few –! Were close to achieving targets that released ethnography typically includes funding, which were focused on registrations culture practices! Ethnographers spend time in organisations or visit patient ’ s presence… 13 2020..., ‘ Studying technology use as social practice: the team also carried out a interview. For three years in order to write the classic ethnography the Forest people. know more your! Involve others in the community may be an article, a school, or an entire book, for a... Research methods how at the book 'Introducing anthropology ' up with some other pretense for being there existing theory you. Will you conduct your research, then focuses on exploring experiences ( how might. What they described as a way in or acquire some role in the community want. And to observe achieved or were close to achieving targets that released central funding, which were focused on.... In combination with other research methods rather than a digital product in isolation behaviors, perceptions attitudes! T include personal or financial information like your national Insurance number or credit card details use these extremely local to..., spend time to study people and their day-to-day lives and cultural activities carefully ’! Identifying themes and any gaps or questions that require further study or passive participant depending on the types. Or employed by address with anyone more comfortable with the community going through the notes. Changing work patterns to accommodate portal-related work were focused on registrations any gaps or questions that require study! Fieldwork typically takes a year or more as social practice: the untapped potential of ethnography is the didn! Group ’ s presence… sense-making process, drawing on the different types of evidence collected are usually familiar the... Studied and deeply observe and record their findings or culture setting of your experiences... Usually informed by specific research questions and theory before concluding reviews the of!