Soc 3322a Ethnographic Studies and Other Types of Field Research

Types of field research Ethnography, ethnomethodology, phenomenological studies, grounded theory studies are all different variants of what is called field research in sociology Often field research is a combination of two or more approaches, done along with interviewing. Case studies may also be done.

Ethnography A way of building an understanding the culture and behaviours of a group as a whole. Done in a setting or field site where a group of people share a common culture. In sociology, ethnography usually called a field study Uses: Participant Observation Interviews with Informants Examination of documents and cultural artifacts

More on Ethnography... Different definitions, broadly speaking, type of research associated with studying the natural setting. Has its roots in cultural anthropology, whereby the researcher examines a group’s observable and learned patterns of behaviour, customs, and ways of life by getting involved in the day-to-day lives of the people or by interviewing one-on-one members of a group. Can be used to study of ethnic collectivities. To study how members of ethnic groups identify themselves, how they give meaning to their ethno-cultural identity and how it has changed across generations.

New Ethnography “Extensive fieldwork of various types including participant observation, formal and informal interviewing, document collecting, filming, recording and so on.” As Berg states, a detailed examination of people and their social discourses and the various outcomes of their actions.

Ethnomethodology The study of commonsense knowledge How do individuals make sense of social situations and act on their knowledge? What are the tacit rules used by members of a culture? Detailed studies of interactions Breeching experiments (Garfinkel) To uncover hidden norms

Phenomenological Study Understanding an experience from a research participant's point of view Interview several participants as to their perceptions of an experience Try to build a picture of the experience through using a combination of theories, literature in the area, illustrated by anecdotes, to build a detailed portrait of the experience Use of Max Weber’s “verstehen”

Grounded Theory Study* Theories are empirically grounded into the data. Data collection and analysis are combined. Cycle – observe data, modify theory, observe data based on theory An “inductive” theory building process Developed 1960’s by Barney Glaser, Anselm Strauss (1968) Used for clinical sociology An important methodological breakthrough Def’n: The systematic generation of theory from data *is an experiential methodology

Grounded Theory (cont.) Main assumptions: Social life integrated and patterned All actions integrated with other actions Can discover pattern categories within which the action is integrated All social action is multivariate Inductive vs. deductive is an oversimplification of complex thinking processes (i.e. thinking up hypotheses actually an inductive process)

Validity in Field Research Problematic because of investigator subjectivity Can counteract by: using multiple sources of evidence, establishing a chain of evidence as in a grounded theory study and having a draft case study report reviewed by key informants (Yin, 1994)

Participant and Non-Participant Observation in Field Research Preparing for the field: 1. Background preparation and literature review 2. Talking to informants 3. Gaining entry into the group Gatekeepers Public vs. private settings

Entry to the Field: Gatekeepers Gatekeepers, Guides, Informants: you should learn who the “important” people are that can help you or hinder your research. How can they help you? How can they hinder/influence your research? Becoming Invisible: What does it mean? Is it advantageous and how can you become invisible?

The Various Roles of the Observer (Raymond Gold’s levels, 1983) A. Complete participant B. Participant-as-observer C. Observer-as-participant D. Complete observer

Ethnography: Considerations and Issues Access to Setting: careful planning; it varies depending on scope of research, the resources available, and whether the community is easily accessible or not. Reflexivity: acknowledging that your own subjectivity is part of the research and can influence outcome. In ethnography, reflexivity is not only encouraged, it is demanded. You must have a “dialogue” about not only what you know, but how you come to know –how did you arrive to your interpretations, and disclose that in your writing.

In the field... Field Note-Taking: a central component of ethnographic research. Must provide detailed accounts of observation of behaviour, conversations. You do this at various points throughout: Cryptic Notes: brief notes, statements, sketches. Detailed Notes: right after your observation. Analytic Notes: your own ideas, comments, application of theories to what you observed. Self-reflective notes. Next, you analyse by CODING. Each fieldwork is separately coded. You extract themes, issues, topics you have “uncovered”. Then, you look at recurrent patterns in themes.

Initial analysis of field notes Typologies- classify similar events, actions, and people into discrete groupings, by how they share similar “culture” in setting. McSkimming & Berg’s example of tavern patrons who were divided into 4 typologies So, after having spent time in the field, you look for patterns, similarities, and divide them into groupings that are exhaustive, mutually exclusive and have a significant meaning for differentiation. Can go back into the field and use your typology for further observation

Recording observations Field journal To record empirical data To record interpretations Guidelines for note taking Don't trust your memory Take notes in stages Record everything

Organizing and Writing Notes Make simple jotted notes at time of observation Rewrite your notes in full as soon as possible after making observations Best to do this on computer, using word processor

Notes (cont.) Creating files helps organize field notes for analysis. a. Chronological file as a master file. b. Background files (from literature review, and documentation of topic's history.) c. Biographical files on key subjects in the study. d. Bibliographical files of all references related to study. e. Analytical files to categorize what you are observing. f. Cross-reference files may be useful to retrieve data.

Using computers in field research some software programs (i.e. NVivo) are now available for field research notes Can save time, especially when analyzing data But can use Word, Word Perfect too

Advantages of field research High external validity Can study nonverbal behaviour Flexibility Natural environment Longitudinal analysis Relatively inexpensive

Disadvantages of field research Time consuming Not applicable to the investigation of large social settings Low internal validity (lack of control) Biases, attitudes, and assumptions of the researcher can be problem Selective perception and memory Selectivity in data collection Presence of the researcher may change the system or group being studied Virtually impossible to replicate the findings

Now, an exercise for you Conduct a brief ethnographic study : spend about 10 minutes in the “Living Room” at Brescia. Develop rough field notes and create a typology of the people and actions observed while in the field. Be prepared to share with the class ( I will call on a few of you) your typology and discuss what you observed.