Ethnography : Principles in Practice

Now in its fourth edition, this leading introduction to ethnography has been thoroughly updated and substantially rewritten. The volume offers a systematic introduction to ethnographic principles and practice, and includes a new chapter on ‘Ethnography in the digital world’. The authors argue that ethnography is best understood as a reflexive process. This requires recognition that social research is part of the world that it studies, and demands that researchers reflect on how they shape both data and analysis. Starting in Chapter 1 with an outline of the principle of reflexivity, against the background of competing research philosophies, the authors go on to discuss the main features of ethnographic work, including: the selection and sampling of cases the problem of access field relations and observation interviewing the use of documents recording and organizing data the process of data analysis and writing research reports. There is also consideration of the ethical issues involved in ethnographic research. Throughout, the discussion draws on a wide range of illustrative material from classic and more recent studies, within a global context. The new edition of this popular textbook will be an indispensable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and for all researchers using ethnographic methods in the social sciences and the humanities. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of figures Acknowledgements Preface to the fourth edition Chapter 1: What is ethnography? What ethnographers do Positivism versus naturalism Constructionist and political critiques of naturalism Reflexivity Conclusion Chapter 2: Research design: problems, cases, and samples Foreshadowed problems The development of research problems Selecting settings and cases Settings and cases Cases and generalization Sampling within the case Conclusion Chapter 3: Access Approaching the field Gatekeepers Covert or open? Conclusion Chapter 4: Field relations Initial responses Impression management Providing goods and services Building relationships The personal characteristics of the researcher Field roles Managing marginality The strains and stresses of fieldwork Leaving the field Conclusion Chapter 5: Oral accounts and the role of interviewing The value of accounts as data Unsolicited and solicited oral accounts Ethnographic interviewing: selecting informants Interviews as participant observation The interview as process Types of question Conclusion Chapter 6: Documents and artefacts, real and virtual Documents The social life of documents Artefacts Conclusion Chapter 7: Ethnography in the digital world Ethnography’s multimodal character Ethnography in digital spaces Managing data in a digital environment Conclusion Chapter 8: Recording and organizing data Documents and other materials Recording observations and interviews: fieldnotes Digitally recording observations and interviews Analytic notes and fieldwork journals Data storage, indexing, and retrieval Conclusion Chapter 9: The process of analysis Progressive focusing: problems, descriptions, explanations, theory An emphasis on action Generating ideas and ‘coding the data’ Constant comparative method: developing the central categories Developing typologies and models Theories and the comparative method Types of theory Concepts and indicators ‘Respondent validation’ or ‘member checking’ Triangulation Conclusion Chapter 10: Writing ethnography Chapter 11: Ethics Informed consent Consequences for future research The issue of ethical regulation Conclusion Epilogue: a distinctive analytic sensibility Conclusion References Index "Now in its fourth edition, this leading introduction to ethnography has been thoroughly updated and substantially rewritten. The volume offers a systematic introduction to ethnographic principles and practice, and includes a new chapter on 'Ethnography in the digital world'. The authors argue that ethnography is best understood as a reflexive process. This requires recognition that social research is part of the world that it studies, and demands that researchers reflect on how they shape both data and analysis. Starting in Chapter 1 with an outline of the principle of reflexivity, against the background of competing research philosophies, the authors go on to discuss the main features of ethnographic work, including: the selection and sampling of cases the problem of access field relations and observation interviewing the use of documents recording and organizing data the process of data analysis and writing research reports. There is also consideration of the ethical issues involved in ethnographic research. Throughout, the discussion draws on a wide range of illustrative material from classic and more recent studies, within a global context. The new edition of this popular textbook will be an indispensable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and for all researchers using ethnographic methods in the social sciences and the humanities."-- Page 4 de la couverture This edition has been expertly updated to reflect the important developments in digital and mobile technologies and social media. The ease with which recordings, audio or video, as well as photographs, can be produced via the use of mobile devices has opened up new tools and foci for ethnographers.