The document discusses the topic of ethnography. It defines ethnography as writing about people and their culture through observation of a group in their natural setting over a prolonged period of time. The purpose of ethnography is to obtain a deep understanding of people and their culture by studying behaviors, practices, and social dynamics in context. Effective ethnography requires a researcher to embed themselves in the culture being studied in order to observe and describe cultural patterns without interfering.

1. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
ETHNOGRAPHY

2. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
ethno-graphy
ethno = people graphy = writing
ethnography = writing about people

3. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
“studies an intact cultural group in a
natural setting over a prolonged period
of time by collecting, primarily,
observational data”.
Creswell (2003)

4. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
• “It is a written description of a particular culture, custom,
belief and behavior based on information collected through
field work”. (Harris and Johnson 2000)
• The task is to document the culture, the perspective of
practices of the people in the settings, the aim is to get
inside the way each group of people sees the world.
(Hammersley 1985)

5. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
Ethnography is …
study of a particular group-in their natural setting, doing everyday
activities, practices and processes
embedding oneself into a culture to observe and describe patterns
cultural interpretation (Reimer, 2011)
finding the inner workings of social settings
cultural patterns of processes of a community

6. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
WHY ETHNOGRAPHY?
• Why do some cultures expect their daughters to marry before the age of 15?
• How does a person’s specific family values impact the way he or she acts in public with
friends?
• What are the origins of bullying in an all-male classroom?
These are complicated questions that cannot be answered through a simple survey or other
quantitative research design method. These and similar questions are best answered through
qualitative research methods of collecting, anaylzing, and interpreting observed information.
More specifically, these questions are best addressed through the use of ethnography.

7. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
PURPOSE
• The main purpose of ethnography is to obtain a deep
understanding of people and their culture.
• To understand the characteristics of a group and
compare them to other groups.
• To provide clues and current or potential sources of conflict
or other environmental threat.

8. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
CHARACTERISTICS
• Contextual
• Unobstrusive
• Longitudinal
• Collaborative
• Interpretative
• Organic

9. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
CHARACTERISTICS (Hammersley & Sanders)
• People’s behavior is studied in everyday contexts.
• It is conducted in a natural setting.
• Its goal is more likely to be exploratory rather than evaluative.
• It is aimed at discovering the local person’s or “native” point of view, wherein, a native may
be a consumer or an end-user.
• Data are gathered from a wide range of sources, but observation and/or relatively informal
conversations are usually the principal ones.
• The approach to data collection is unstructured in that it does not involve following
through a predetermined detailed plan set up at the beginning of the study nor does it
determine the categories that will be used for analyzing and interpreting the soft data
obtained. This does not mean that the research is unsystematic. It simply means that initially
the data are collected as raw form and wide amount is feasible.

10. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
RESEARCH METHODS
QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE
data can be measured data can be observed, but not measured
deals with numbers explores the experiences of participants
raw data is used to construct graphs or tables descriptive data
fails to capture human experience gathers information in a non-numerical
form (interviews, diary accounts, open
ended questionnaires, observations)

11. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
CHALLENGES:
Data Gathering/Collection of Data:
- Interviews
- Observation
- Documents
Ethical Considerations
-The need to protect research participants is so critical and challenging that all
ethnographers, even students conducting ethnographic research for a class, must abide
by this code of conduct” (Reimer, 2011, p. 171)

12. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
DO’s and DON’Ts
DO’s:
• Have an open mind, free of any kind of prejudice or bias.
• Participate as much as you can in the interactions.
• Keep a simple stature so that the people feel comfortable and act naturally.
• An ethnographer needs to be able to differentiate between interesting and actionable findings.
• A prior study and understanding of the group and the environment is vital for a good ethnographic study.
• Good understanding of social science theory, research methods and research design is important for
conducting ethnographic studies.
• Think about what you are going to ask beforehand and get familiar with the questions.
• During an interview try to put your respondents at ease and choose a setting where your interviewee will feel
safe and comfortable.
• Do figure beforehand how the observations are to be recorded.
• Conduct the study in a relaxed and stress free mood.
• Always keep in mind to respect the ethics and norms of the group under the study stress-free

13. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
DON’Ts DO’s
• Do not interrupt and simply observe.
• Never put pressure on the study subjects.
• Do not offend the culture, values and norms of the group under study.
• Do not over-dress and keep your actions limited.
• Never distort the facts to meet the research aim.
• Never go unprepared and without prior understanding of the group.
• Never cross the ethical boundaries to conduct the research.

14. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
EXAMPLE/SITUATION:
1. Observing a group of children playing
A researcher can observe a group of eight elementary school children playing on a playground
to understand their habits, personalities and social dynamics. In this setting, the researcher
observes one child each week over the course of eight weeks and notes their preferences, like
the toys and playground equipment they use the most. The researcher then observes their action
to determine any recurring behavior patterns.
Finally, the researcher may observe how the children interact with each other to learn who each
kid plays with the most, who they play with the least and if there any groups of friends among
them.

15. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
2. Observing an indigenous village
An ethnographer may study a village of indigenous people on an island to observe
their culture and customs outside of modern civilization. Using a translator, the
ethnographer uses overt ethnography to inform them of the purpose but observes
passively as to not interfere with their daily functions.
The ethnographer observes a variety of their practices, such as their prayer rituals,
the food they eat, how they deal with conflict and how they spend their
recreational time. The ethnographer also studies their social dynamics over several
months to identify any prevailing social groups and leadership figures.

16. UNIVERSITY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – RECOLETOS
RECOLETOS DE BACOLOD GRADUATE SCHOOL
51st Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City, 6100
TELEPHONE: 433-2449 Local NO. 152 OR 433-9835
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!