DREaM Event 2: Paul Lynch

Introduction to Ethnography Paul Lynch Department of Management University of Strathclyde

Definition
The study of people
in cultures; also the
text that is written
based on that study
( Sunstein and Chiseri-Strater, 2007)

Culture
An invisible web of behaviors, patterns,
rules, and rituals of a group of people
who have contact with one another and
share common languages
(Sunstein and Chiseri-Strater, 2007: 3)

Hortense Powdermaker

William Whyte

Fieldworking

Sub-cultures
Computer interest groups
Online discussion groups
Listservs
Library user groups
Volleyball teams
Dogwalkers
DREaM workshop participants
Group characteristics
Rituals
Insider phrases
Behaviours

Research Methods
Participant observation
Observation
Library and archival research
Cultural artefacts
Fieldnotes
Interviews and transcripts
Reflective memos
Freewriting
Photographs

Naturally Occurring Data
Allows investigation of the phenomena in their natural setting
Provide data which is an ‘enactment’ of social behaviour in its own social setting
Of value where behaviours & interactions need to be understood in ‘real’ world contexts

“ There’s a hair on my plate. Should I mention it?”
Detachment
Subjectivity
Insider
Involvement
Objectivity
Outsider
DREaM project launch conference  British Library Conference Centre 19th July 2011

Naturally Occurring Data Issues and Challenges
Access to the natural setting & ‘fitting in’
Avoid contamination of the social setting
Researcher’s bias in interpretation
Need to surface social politics of the research
Example:
A 45 year old male teetotal academic observing the alcohol drinking habits and social behaviours of 18-21 year old females in a night club

Reflexivity
Who am I?
Politics of identity?
Values?
Assumptions?
Worldviews?

Generated Data
Involves reconstruction
Requires re-processing & retelling of attitudes, beliefs, behaviour or other phenomena
The experience, thought, event, behaviour etc. is mentally re-processed & verbally recounted by study participants
Gives insight into people’s own perspectives
Example: What are your alcohol drinking habits and social behaviours when you are out with your friends at a night club

Generated Data Issues and Challenges
Accessibility to research participants that meet sample criteria
Is the recounting of the research phenomenon likely to be sufficiently detailed, accurate or complete?
What version of the ‘story’ does the research participant want to make public? Ethics
Example: A focus group of 18-21 year olds talking in front of a researcher of similar socio-demographic profile to their mothers about their alcohol drinking habits and social behaviours when out with friends at a night club

Data Analysis
Analysis is open to emergent concepts & ideas
Multiple readings - immersion
Various styles: Documentary analysis; Conversation analysis; Discourse analysis; Thematic; Line-by-line coding…

Writing Up
Outputs: focus on the interpretation of social meaning through mapping & re-presenting the social world of research participants
Multiple versions
Thick description (Geertz, 1973)
Audiencing

Key Elements
Purposive selection
How do you know what is important to study?
Aims to provide an in-depth & interpreted understanding of the social world
Data collection methods usually involve close interaction researcher/research participants
Data is detailed, information rich & extensive

References
Bishop, W. (2011) Ethnographic Writing Research: Writing it Down, Writing it Up, and Reading it, Heinemann
Bryant, J. (2009) What are students doing in our library? Ethnography as a method of exploring library user behaviour, Library and Information Research, 33(102): 3-9.
Clark, D. The Raw and the Rotten: Punk Cuisine. In C. Counihan and P. Van Esterik, Food and Culture: A Reader, Routledge, London, pp. 411-422.
Davies, B. (2003) Reflexive Ethnography: A Guide to Researching Selves and Others, Routledge, London.
Ethnography.com, http://www.ethnography.com/
Fetterman, D. (1998) Ethnography: Step by Step, Sage, London.

Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures , Basic Books, New York.
Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (1995) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, Routledge, London.
Laurier, E., Whyte, A. and Buckner, K. (2001) An Ethnography of Neighbourhood Café: Informality, Table Arrangements and Background Noise. Journal of Mundane Behavior , 2, 1-30 Available at: http://www.mundanebehavior.org/issues/v2n2/laurier.html
Lynch, P.A. (2005) Sociological Impressionism In A Hospitality Context, Annals of Tourism Research, 32(3): 527-548.
Miles, M., Huberman, A. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis, Sage, London.

Sunstein, B. and Chiseri-Strater, E. (2007) FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research, Bedford/St Martin’s, Boston.
Whyte, W. F. (1943) Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum, Chicago University Press, Chicago.

DREaM Event 2: Paul Lynch

by Library and Information Science Research Coalition on Oct 24, 2011

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