1. Ethnography

2. In ethnography, the researcher  Participates in people's daily lives for an extended period of time  Watches everyday happenings  Listens to the participants in their setting  Elicits participants’ meanings and nuances  Collects whatever may throw light on the central theme

3. Why is ethnography useful?  It has close semblance with routine ways of making sense in everyday life  It involves making sense to the meanings that give form and content to social processes  It evolves around accounts of human behavior and the social meanings that inform it

4. Shared patterns that include:  Common social interaction patterns that stabilizes as tacit rules  The interactions patterns are what the group expects of every participant  The group shares any one combination of behaviors, beliefs or language

5. Behaviors, beliefs, and language  Behaviors refer to actions taken – how did the committee in Wolcott’s study act  Beliefs refer how the individuals think about or perceive things  Language – how the individuals talk e.g. code switching

6. Characteristics of a culture sharing group  A group of individuals  Interacts on a regular basis  Has interacted for some time – the longer the more tacit rules  The individuals represent a larger group  Shared patterns have been adopted in behavior, talking and thinking – e.g. certain rituals

7. “subtractive schooling” as cultural theme:  This theme does not narrow the study  The ethnographer looks for evidence that forms the manifestation of the theme  In Valenzuela’s study see how subtractive schooling informs both hidden and overt curriculum, school activities, teachers/students interactions  She captures the cultural theme in the interviews and observations both direct and participant

8. Research as a process of exploration  Investigate perspectives of the social actors or the “emic” data i.e quotes from the subjects that construct their perspective  Explore how meanings guide particular behavior  Researchers use the “etic data” to interpret the perspectives of participants  “Etic” typically is the language used by educators or social scientist to refer to the phenomena mentioned by the study subjects

9. Natural settings  Units that frame a way of thinking on social and political life – e.g. a ghetto  Natural settings are constituted and maintained through cultural definition and social strategies  Schools, hospitals, shopping centers are other social institutions are maintained through a cultural definition  The ethnographer constructs a cultural theme to approach her/his study

10. The truth  Accounts are interpreted in terms of the context in which they are produced  Rather than ask if the informant is telling the “truth” consider what his/her statements reveal feelings or perceptions  The goal is to discover the correct manner of interpreting whatever data,  There is no such a thing as “pure” data without bias

11. Stranger: Metaphor for a researcher  Gradually the stranger acquires an insider’s knowledge  Is forced to understand the culture of the host society  Maintains some objectivity not available to the “native”  Eventually is aware of fundamental assumptions of the host culture

12. Reflexivity  Reflexivity is the researcher’s awareness of his/her own biased views  Researchers share their own experiences  As a researcher you do not have a privileged authority over other interpretations (which you can name)  The reflexive researcher’s conclusions are often tentative and might include questions  These conclusions may even beg for answers, multiple perspectives or viewpoints

13. Informants  Look for participants that are especially sensitive to the areas of concern e.g. a rookie,  Willing participants are likely to be: the naïve, the frustrated, the outs, fixture, a needy person a subordinate  Researchers decide on who should be interviewed as the investigation begins

14. Observed behaviors  Human behavior has an expressive dimension (clothes, gestures, manner) that convey messages about people  Expressive dimension indicate gender, class, occupation role, personality  Expressive power of language provides the most important resource of accounts

15. Expressive power of language  People continually provide linguistic accounts  They discuss one another’s motives and abilities  They provide details of “what happened” on some occasion  They makes disclaimers and offer excuses  Disclaimers and excuses indicate misalignment of perceived value, rules, or expectations, normal course of events

16. Ethnographic interviewing  Mainly open-ended (conversational) aimed at triggering a talk about a particular broad area  The researcher is an active listener, constantly assessing if what he hears is related to the research focus  The researcher uses structured questions if he/she needs to verify data ( case for multiple sources for validation)

17. Other forms of data collected  Interview guide approach or semi-structured  Projective techniques  Survey  Structured interviews  Focus group interviews  Elicitation technique (looking at scrapbook abd talking about memories)  Observation (non-participant and participant)

18. Subjects reveal latent identities  Participants invoke certain identities for themselves  Attribute to one another identities that may not be obvious in other methodologies

19. Accounts or stories  Ask questions informally  Use formal interviews  In some groups asking questions may lead you to dead ends – use strategies such as the following: a) Would you like to review this questionnaire with us? b) Solicit comments about statements made in the setting; it is human nature to try to justify and explain their actions/words