The document provides an overview of ethnography and participant observation methods. It discusses key concepts in ethnography including emic and etic perspectives, roles of overt/covert and open/closed studies, and building rapport. Methods of data collection are outlined including participant observation, interviews, and analysis approaches like triangulation. Steps in participant observation are described from descriptive observation to categorization and focused observation. Examples of microethnography studies on effective teaching and facilitating learning for gifted students are summarized.

1. 1
A METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW
Amelia W. Cole, Ph.D. Student, SLAIS
Ethnography and
Participant Observation

2. 2
Ethnography
Study of human behaviour in a
natural setting in which a
population lives.
Macroethnography
Broadly defined groups
(e.g., New Yorkers)
Microethnography
Narrowly defined groups
(e.g., Remote Project Managers)

3. EPISTEMOLOGY AND BIAS
Constructivist - realities are co-created between the observed and
observer.
Interpretation bias - the researcher is biased in their own
interpretation, meaning they have to re-examine their own belief
system and biases.
3

4. WHAT MAKES A STUDY ETHNOGRAPHIC?
Methods (usually fieldwork)
Open-ended emergent learning process
Daily field notes
Written Output
Case studies
Duration
4

5. PERSPECTIVES
5
Emic perspective
how members of a given culture
perceive their world
Etic perspective
how non-members of a group
interpret behaviour of a given
culture

6. ROLES WITHIN ETHNOGRAPHY
6
Overt vs.
Covert
Overt: Known that you are a
researcher
Covert: Do NOT disclose you are a
researcher
Open vs.
Closed
Open: available to the public
(e.g., pro-anorexia online community)
Closed: specific group member
(e.g., police force)

7. BUILDING RAPPORT IN STUDIES
"The most important thing you can do to stop being a freak is to speak the
language of the people you're studying—and speak it well" (Bernard, 1994, p.145)
Building Rapport
• active listening
• showing respect and empathy
• being truthful
• showing a commitment to the well-being of the individual or community.
7

8. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
8
CLASSICAL / ACADEMIC
• Participant Observation
• Open ended interviewing
• Text and discourse analysis
• Informal interviews
• Semi-structured interviews
NON-CLASSICAL / INDUSTRY
• Focus Groups
• Rapid Assessments
• Computer-assisted methods
• Think-aloud protocols*
• Shadowing*
• Show-and-tell*
• Tracking (e.g., Diaries)*
*https://uxmag.com/articles/ethnography-in-industry-methods-overview

9. ETHNOGRAPHY: A PROCESS
9
OBSERVATION
INTERVIEWS
or
DOCUMENTS
ANALYSIS ANALYSIS
• Generate hypotheses
• Establish categories
• Increases validity

10. 10
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONPARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

11. 11PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

12. WHY CHOOSE PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION?
PROS
• Orients researcher to community perspectives.
• Reduces reactivity
• Develop questions that make sense to the
community
• Enriches validity of the study
• Richly detailed description
• Unique opportunities to observe or participate
in unscheduled events.
12
CONS
• Reliance on informants
• Potential bias if the informants share
similar views to the researcher
• Multiple interpretations.
OBSERVATION
Bernard, H. Russell (1994). Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches (second edition). Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.

13. STEP 1: DESCRIPTIVE OBSERVATION
Descriptive Information
• Field notes can contain information on all the senses (e.g., sight, hearing,
smell, taste, and feel).
• Large descriptions are written, and generally put into categories.
Reflective Information
• Record thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns.
Preliminary Analysis
• During observation, much like in grounded theory.
13
Tony L. Whitehead
OBSERVATION

14. STEP 2: CATEGORIZE
Typical Categories
1. People of interest
2. Behaviours enacted, activities, and events
3. Space or environment occupied by the people of interest
4. The objects in the space, including arrangement
5. The time of the observations
6. What the goals might be of the behaviours
7. Do the behaviours seem to be associated with emotion or intensity of emotion?
8. Language used
9. Interaction patterns between people
10. Discourse content
11. Presence of other actors that may influence the behaviour of people of interest.
14
Tony L. Whitehead
OBSERVATION

15. STEP 2: SELECTIVE OR FOCUSED OBSERVATION
The second stage involves a detailed look at a specific category, or focused observations
based on participant insights.
This could be carried out through:
• Additional observations
• Interviews
• Document or artifact reviews.
15
Tony L. Whitehead
OBSERVATION

16. 16
Research Articles

17. SHOWING THEM I WANT TO LEARN.
17Dillon, D. R. (1989). Showing Them That I Want Them to Learn and That I Care about Who They Are: A Microethnography of the Social Organization of a Secondary Low-Track
English-Reading Classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 227–259
PURPOSE
To understand what makes a teacher
effective with low track students
1

18. SHOWING THEM I WANT TO LEARN.
18Dillon, D. R. (1989). Showing Them That I Want Them to Learn and That I Care about Who They Are: A Microethnography of the Social Organization of a Secondary Low-Track
English-Reading Classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 227–259
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1. What is the nature of the social organization in the observed classroom?
2. What verbal and nonverbal actions/patterns of action does the teacher display as he
interacts with students that have low-reading ability? How does the context of the learning
situation/social organization influence the teacher's actions/patterns of action?
3. How does the teacher perceive and interpret his own actions in various contexts involving
students that have low-reading ability? Does the teacher perceive his actions changing when
working with students that have average or above average reading ability?
4. How do the students in the observed class and administrators of the school perceive and
interpret the actions of the teacher during lesson interactions
1

19. SHOWING THEM I WANT TO LEARN.
19
Overt Closed Etic (mainly)
Dillon, D. R. (1989). Showing Them That I Want Them to Learn and That I Care about Who They Are: A Microethnography of the Social Organization of a Secondary Low-Track
English-Reading Classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 227–259
PERSPECTIVE
STUDY
1 Teacher
17 Grade 11 Students
3 Student Informants
Teaching students
with learning
difficulties
One Year
Participant-observer
1

20. SHOWING THEM I WANT TO LEARN.
20Dillon, D. R. (1989). Showing Them That I Want Them to Learn and That I Care about Who They Are: A Microethnography of the Social Organization of a Secondary Low-Track
English-Reading Classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 227–259
METHODS
In-depth observation
Formal and informal
interviews
Student artifacts
ANALYSIS
1.Triangulation
2.Inductive behaviour
coding strategy
1
Phase 1 Phase 2

21. SHOWING THEM I WANT TO LEARN.
21Dillon, D. R. (1989). Showing Them That I Want Them to Learn and That I Care about Who They Are: A Microethnography of the Social Organization of a Secondary Low-Track
English-Reading Classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 227–259
RESULTS
Establishing an open, risk-free environment with personal involvement with
each student.
• Visited with students after school and in their homes.
• Conferred with social workers
• Emphasized making every student feel important.
• Open and approachable in dress and through actions
Planning and structuring lessons
• Based lesson plan on student interest
• Set clear expectations for both his role and the students’.
• Allows for some freedom of behaviour (e.g., chatting and socializing)
1

22. SHOWING THEM I WANT TO LEARN.
22Dillon, D. R. (1989). Showing Them That I Want Them to Learn and That I Care about Who They Are: A Microethnography of the Social Organization of a Secondary Low-Track
English-Reading Classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 227–259
RESULTS
Implementing lessons in which students can actively participate.
• Freely call out answers (no raised hands)
• Supported culturally congruent behaviours so the classroom environment
mimicked their outside environment. (e.g., use of dialect)
• Adaptation of own language style to meet those of the students.
• Sense of humour
• Act out literature; use common language.
1

23. FACILITATOR OF LEARNING
Discover the patterns of behaviour in selected teachers of the
gifted as they guide children’s independent studies.
23
2
PURPOSE
Story, C. M. (1985). Facilitator of learning: A micro-ethnographic study of the teacher of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(4), 155–159.

24. FACILITATOR OF LEARNING
24
2
Overt Closed Etic (mainly)
PERSPECTIVE
STUDY
6 Teachers
Leadership
Teaching gifted
students
Four Months
Overt Observer
Story, C. M. (1985). Facilitator of learning: A micro-ethnographic study of the teacher of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(4), 155–159.

25. FACILITATOR OF LEARNING
25
METHODS
ObservationInterviews
ANALYSIS
Triangulation
2
Phase 1
Leadership
2 teachers
2 months
Phase 2
4 teachers
2 months
Observation
Story, C. M. (1985). Facilitator of learning: A micro-ethnographic study of the teacher of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(4), 155–159.

26. FACILITATOR OF LEARNING
26
RESULTS
Identify categories of teaching behaviour:
(1) Physical behaviour
(2) Verbal interaction
(3) Temporal relationships
(4) Environmental/Instructional modes
(5) Knowledge/Involvement patterns
2
Phase 1
Leadership Interviews
(1) professional commitment
(2) skills in facilitating learning
(3) knowledge in both general subject areas as well as in the
theory of education of the gifted
(4) Personality factors.
Interviews
Story, C. M. (1985). Facilitator of learning: A micro-ethnographic study of the teacher of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(4), 155–159.

27. FACILITATOR OF LEARNING
27
RESULTS
2
Phase 2
Observation
Teachers of the gifted provide positive and close physical
relationships which support learning for gifted children.
• Four foot distance from the child in discussions of independent study
• Disciplines most often at eight feet
• Maintains eye contact
• At the same eye level during discussions
• Touches child to emphasize enthusiasm
Quality of Interactions is a key factor
- Verbal motivational patterns
- Sense of humour
- Helps child focus and clarify research/study
Flexible with use of their time and scheduling
- spends more time with students on their studies vs. Check-ins
- Allows for a variety of response times to questions
- Allows for alternatives in scheduling
- Students dominance of time during independent study process
Story, C. M. (1985). Facilitator of learning: A micro-ethnographic study of the teacher of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(4), 155–159.

28. FACILITATOR OF LEARNING
28
RESULTS
2
Phase 2
Observation
Process-oriented with children’s creative productivity as ultimate goal
- Independent study based on child’s own interests
- Provides for cognitive, affective, and creative development
- Encourages responsibility
- Maintains record of progress
- Build awareness between interrelationship of ideas
- Involves themselves in direct teaching during independent study
- Encourages creative productivity
Provide or suggest environmental supports
- Encourages multiple and varied resources
- Accesses both human and physical resources
Display their own “gifted behaviours”
- wide range of knowledge
- Accepts his/her own limitations
- Possesses and academic and personal knowledge of students
- Becomes personally involved with students
- Involved in many activities professionally and personally
- Strives to provide more for the students
- Feels isolated because of the unique role
- Creative in developing curriculum and ideas for creative productivity.
Story, C. M. (1985). Facilitator of learning: A micro-ethnographic study of the teacher of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(4), 155–159.

29. OBSERVATION IN ACTION
29
http://www.africam.com/wildlife/video-more-lions-arrive-and-have-drink-following-first-one-away

30. REFERENCES
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. Oxford ; New York: Oxford Univ Pr.
Dillon, D. R. (1989). Showing Them That I Want Them to Learn and That I Care about Who They Are: A Microethnography of
the Social Organization of a Secondary Low-Track English-Reading Classroom. American Educational Research Journal,
26(2), 227–259. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163032
Geertz, C. (1973). Thick description: Towards an interpretive theory of culture. In Clifford Geertz (Ed.), The interpretation of
cultures (pp.3-32). New York: Basic Books.
Russell, B.H. (1994). Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches (second edition). Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Story, C. M. (1985). Facilitator of learning: A micro-ethnographic study of the teacher of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly,
29(4), 155–159.
Whitehead, T. L. (2004). WHAT IS ETHNOGRAPHY? Methodological, Ontological, and Epistemological Attributes. Cultural
Ecology of Health and Change.
Wolcott, H. F. (1990). Making a Study More “Ethnographic.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 44–72.
30

31. TRIANGULATION
31
THEORETICAL MEMOS
1

32. ETHNOGRAPHIC CONTENT ANALYSIS
1. Research Question
2. Context of the documents
3. Determine the unit of analysis (document, or something within the document)
4. Generate categories to guide data collection
5. Draft, test, and revise the protocol for data collection.
6. Define sampling strategy
7. Collect data
8. Conduct data analysis (usually includes refining and developing categories)
9. Make notes about extreme cases
10. Combine the summary of cases
11. Merge findings and summarize your interpretation.
32