PSY-850 Lecture 4 Read chapters 3 and 4. Objectives: Differentiate between ethnography and phenomenology. Contrast data collection and analysis methods employed in ethnography and phenomenology. Approaches to Qualitative Research: Ethnography and Phenomenology Introduction Ethnographic studies are considered a special case of phenomenological study when the phenomenon observed is a specific culture (Geertz, 1973). Their use ranges from the study of remote primitive cultures by participant-observers to urban marketing studies of the nature of demand for products using focus groups. Ethnography The ethnographic approach studies the social interactions of a group to learn the mechanisms by which individuals develop understanding of their everyday life-world. This is the identification of the ways and means used to create dynamic social equilibrium in their group (Garfinkel, 1967). These ways and means enable group members to have fairly accurate expectations of others' behavior and a basis for comprehending expected and unexpected behavior. The product of an ethnographic study is an explicit description of these ways and means. With this knowledge, researchers can begin to understand how the group's members make sense of the world in which they exist. If successful, it may be possible to determine what events (e.g., the immigration of foreigners or the gain of a new local industry) and conditions (e.g., prolonged drought or growth in incomes over a couple of decades) to which the group may adapt well and to what they may have difficulty adapting. Two key variables here are the expectation (from fully expected to unexpected) and the comprehensibility (from fully comprehensible to incomprehensible). Thus, the idea of making sense of everyday life is decomposed into two properties (expectation and comprehensibility) that give a richer description of what ethnographers seek. This is an example of increasing the richness of a description, another goal of ethnographic studies (Geertz, 1973). Another example is a study of fire prevention strategies for the National Science Foundation, where Armstrong and Vaughn (1974) replaced housing stock (number of residential units) in New York City with average persons per unit and total population. The data from two sources instead of one were used, enriching the study by this same method of decomposition. Increasing descriptive variables, where logical, is only one way of enriching a study. There is no simple or formulaic way to achieve richness, but Geertz (1973) provides excellent and detailed guidelines. Review of data, reconsideration of findings, discussions of meaning, or use of the Delphi procedure (Dalkey, 1969) can all be used. Delphis are not just for ethical review, but for study of any complex issue. Denzin and Lincoln (2005) recommend certain actions of the ethnographer: 1. Combine symbolic meanings with patterns of interaction. 2. Observe the world from the point of view of the ...

1. PSY-850 Lecture 4
Read chapters 3 and 4.
Objectives:
Differentiate between ethnography and phenomenology.
Contrast data collection and analysis methods employed in
ethnography and phenomenology.
Approaches to Qualitative Research: Ethnography and
Phenomenology
Introduction
Ethnographic studies are considered a special case of
phenomenological study when the phenomenon observed is a
specific culture (Geertz, 1973). Their use ranges from the study
of remote primitive cultures by participant-observers to urban
marketing studies of the nature of demand for products using
focus groups.
Ethnography
The ethnographic approach studies the social interactions of a
group to learn the mechanisms by which individuals develop
understanding of their everyday life-world. This is the
identification of the ways and means used to create dynamic
social equilibrium in their group (Garfinkel, 1967). These ways
and means enable group members to have fairly accurate
expectations of others' behavior and a basis for comprehending
expected and unexpected behavior. The product of an
ethnographic study is an explicit description of these ways and
means.
With this knowledge, researchers can begin to understand how
the group's members make sense of the world in which they
exist. If successful, it may be possible to determine what events
(e.g., the immigration of foreigners or the gain of a new local
industry) and conditions (e.g., prolonged drought or growth in
incomes over a couple of decades) to which the group may

2. adapt well and to what they may have difficulty adapting. Two
key variables here are the expectation (from fully expected to
unexpected) and the comprehensibility (from fully
comprehensible to incomprehensible).
Thus, the idea of making sense of everyday life is decomposed
into two properties (expectation and comprehensibility) that
give a richer description of what ethnographers seek. This is an
example of increasing the richness of a description, another
goal of ethnographic studies (Geertz, 1973). Another example is
a study of fire prevention strategies for the National Science
Foundation, where Armstrong and Vaughn (1974) replaced
housing stock (number of residential units) in New York City
with average persons per unit and total population. The data
from two sources instead of one were used, enriching the study
by this same method of decomposition.
Increasing descriptive variables, where logical, is only one way
of enriching a study. There is no simple or formulaic way to
achieve richness, but Geertz (1973) provides excellent and
detailed guidelines. Review of data, reconsideration of findings,
discussions of meaning, or use of the Delphi procedure (Dalkey,
1969) can all be used. Delphis are not just for ethical review,
but for study of any complex issue.
Denzin and Lincoln (2005) recommend certain actions of the
ethnographer:
1. Combine symbolic meanings with patterns of interaction.
2. Observe the world from the point of view of the subject,
while maintaining the distinction between everyday and
scientific perceptions of reality.
3. Link the group's symbols and their meanings with their
social relationships.

3. 4. Record all behavior.
5. Focus on phases of process, change, and stability.
6. Interpret behaviors through the lens of symbolic
interactionism.
7. Use concepts that would avoid imprecise, ambiguous, or
highly arguable explanations.
Regarding item 6 above, Herbert Blumer (1969) set out the
three basic premises of the symbolic interaction perspective:
· People base their actions on the meanings they give to
the objects of those actions.
· The meanings a person gives to objects originate in that
person's social interactions.
· These meanings are interpreted and modified by the
person through their actions on those objects.
Richardson (2000) gives criteria for evaluating an ethnographic
study, which could be applied to any qualitative study:
1. Substantive contribution to understanding of social life
2. Aesthetic merit
3. Reflexivity
4. Emotional and intellectual impact
5. Credible expression of a reality

4. Roots in Phenomenology
A review issue in the Journal of Consciousness Studies presents
papers on the difficulties of understanding consciousness and
the communication of direct experience (O'Hara & Scutt, 1995;
Varela, 1996). It is that interpersonal communication which the
ethnographer seeks to understand and summarize in
ethnographic studies.
A new development in the phenomenology of psychology is the
embodied cognition (EC) movement, which posits that the mind
is inextricable from the entire body (Borghi & Cimatti, 2010;
Glenberg, Havas, Becker, & Rinck, 2005; Varela, Thompson, &
Rosch, 1991). This is a much broader association than the
classic mind-body problem because it encompasses the entire
body, not just the brain. The insights from the EC movement
cue the researcher to pay attention to the entire set of
participant actions, not just the words uttered: volume,
intonation, accent, body language, affect, frequency of
repetitive motions, and socio-physical setting.
Data Collection and Coding
The same methods for data collection used by other qualitative
approaches are used in ethnographic research. Table 1 presents
these methods. Technology now makes surreptitious recording
of sound and video inexpensive and rapid. This may be highly
unethical, though it can reduce intrusiveness greatly. In any
case, the investigator must avoid misleading participants. This
makes researcher reflexivity (Young, n.d.) essential to
published reports as well as to the design and analysis of
studies. For more detailed discussion of technique and
considerations, see Beebe and Cummings (1995), Kwan-Gett
(1995), and LeCompte and Goetz (1982).
Table 1
Types of Data Collection

5. Research type
Data collection
Participant and non-participant observation
Watching or being part of a social context
Semi-structured interviews
Open and closed questions that cover identified topics
Unstructured interviews
Open questions that enable a free development of conversation
Collected material
Anything from artifacts to letters, books or reports
Note. Adapted from "Ethnographic data collection." By D.
Straker, 2012. Retrieved from
http://changingminds.org/explanations/research/measurement/et
hnographic_data_collection.htm
The ordinary language philosophy of John Searle (1975) is
important to understanding others' speech, particularly when
more is meant than is said. Expectation and comprehensibility
are factors in the communication of unspoken meanings. Spoken
at a dinner table during a meal, "Where is the butter?" implies a
desire to have the butter as well as to locate it. Sarcasm and
irony are examples of meaning beyond the words spoken, as is
much humor. Illocution (suggesting, warning, promising, or
requesting) is an important dynamic in any language. One
cannot understand the function of a statement if not aware of
and knowledgeable about illocution in that language.
Coding is the process of reducing textual information to
variables and values, making the search for patterns and
relationships easier (Atkinson & Hammersley, 2007; Gobo,
2008). Variables should be mutually exclusive, each
representing something different than all the others. The values
of each variable should be exhaustive; each possible level of a
variable should be identified, even if a level does not appear in
the sample texts. The coding process is often done iteratively;

6. the more one learns, the better one may recognize coherent
categories, variables, and values. When there are over a hundred
respondents, a factor analysis of the codings may develop
categories that are not accessible by unaided review, but are
immediately recognizable once identified.
When coding, omissions can be as revealing as occurrences.
One must consider whether the researcher is likely to clearly
interpret a speaker's intentions, or more likely to guess at
unspoken intentions. The speaker or the investigator may also
have a personal interest in the value of a particular variable. It
is helpful to pay attention to these properties as the coding
process unfolds. Here, reflexivity of the investigator becomes
doubly important because it can influence interpretations of
shades of meaning, among other things (Young, n.d.). Coding
may improve if participants are included in the process.
Coding spoken and written language can be assisted by content
analysis (Krippendorff & Bock, 2008; Stemler, 2001). Software
for content analysis is cited in Hill (2008) and Romppel (2012).
Of the software items mentioned in both sources, ATLAS.ti is
one of the most widely used. Anyone intending to become an
expert in ethnographic research must become competent at
content analysis.
Basit (2003) considers manual versus electronic coding, while
Johnson and Christenson (2007) discuss coding using rich
samples of text collected during a real study. The general
consensus is that if one has the time and money, electronic
content analysis is a powerful and useful assistant in coding
ethnographic data. However, it is never a replacement for
iterative review of data and manual coding of findings by
researchers.
Conclusion
Some knowledge of the related fields of ordinary language

7. philosophy, content analysis, ethics and reflexivity, and
symbolic interactionism are helpful to ethnographers. For a very
large study with hundreds of respondents, the mathematical
technique of factor analysis may identify patterns and
relationships that cannot be detected by the unaided human
mind.
References
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