Doing Ethnography

With regular exercises, lists of key terms and points and self-evaluation checklists, Doing Ethnography systematically describes the various phases of an ethnographic inquiry and provides numerous examples, suggestions and advice for the novice ethnographer. Ethnography seeks to understand, describe and explain the symbolic world lying beneath the social action of groups, organizations and communities. This book clearly sets out the coordinates and foundations of this increasingly popular methodology. Giampietro Gobo discusses all the major issues, including the research design, access to the field, data collection, organisation and analysis, and communication of the results.

This book provides a systematic introduction to ethnographic methods for data collection, analysis and representation. It takes you through the art and the methodological practicalities of ethnographic research, covering research design, choosing and accessing research settings and participants, data collection, field roles, analysis and writing. The book concludes with a bold assessment of the challenges, innovations and futures facing ethnography.

Doing Sensory Ethnography responds to a recent an explosion of interest in the senses across the social sciences. Sarah Pink suggests re-thinking the ethnographic process through reflexive attention to what she terms the 'sensoriality' of the experience, practice and knowledge of both researchers and those who participate in their research. The book provides an accessible discussion and analysis of the theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of doing sensory ethnography, drawing on examples and case studies from the growing literature on sensory ethnographic studies, and from the author's own work. Doing Sensory Ethnography is the first book to concentrate on outlining a sensory ethnographic methodology. It will be of great interest to researchers and students from all disciplines interested in enriching their ethnographic work through a focus on the senses.

Doing Ethnographies is an introductory and applied guide to ethnographic methods. It focuses on those methods - participant observation, interviewing, focus groups, and video/photographic work - that allow us to understand the lived, everyday world. Informed by the authors′ fieldwork experience, the book covers the relation between theory, practice and writing, and demonstrates how methods work in the field, so preparing the first-time ethnographer for the loss of control and direction often experienced.

This uniquely in-depth book offers a blow-by-blow account of the sometimes problematic dynamics of conducting collaborative fieldwork in ethnography. Tracing the interplay between co-researchers at various points of contact in both professional and personal relations, the analysis draws out the asymmetries which can develop among team members nominally working towards the same ends. It details the often complex dialogues that evolve in an attempt to navigate conflicting interests, such as team members’ resistances to particular methodological ‘recipes’ or research protocols. The authors show that such debates can create an open forum to negotiate new practices. A key element of this publication is that it goes beyond an analysis of more traditional power relations in research teams comprising members at different academic pay grades. As well as drawing attention to gender-related dynamics in research collaborations, the authors use themselves as an exemplar to demonstrate how differences in age, experience, knowledge, professional skills and background can be exploited to generate positive outcomes constituting much more than the apparent sum of their parts. In doing so, the authors reveal the delightful, surprising and yet challenging aspects of research collaboration that are often absent from the qualitative literature.

Doing Ethnography is invaluable reading for anyone collecting data through observation. Innovative and thought provoking, it is a refreshing take on ethnography stressing both academic rigor and practical necessity. It combines theoretical perspective with tangible action plans and walks you step-by-step through designing, conducting, and evaluating ethnographic research. The book skilfully introduces the varied tasks and decisions you need to consider before entering the field—helping you to avoid common mistakes and to conduct safe, ethical research. The redesigned Second Edition has cutting edge case studies and examples from across the social sciences and has an embedded awareness of the importance of digital research tools and social media. It also includes a detailed discussion of: Autoethnography Digital Ethnography Visual Ethnography Feminist Ethnography Managing and Analysing data Supported by a companion website with real world case studies, journal articles and essay questions this is an ideal companion to every novice researcher.

In this volume, Thomas unites two traditions in social science - critical theory and qualitative research - in an attempt to apply a critical worldview to the conventional logic of cultural inquiry. Rather than standing in opposition to traditional ethnography, it offers a style of considering the direct relationship between knowledge, society, and political action. Thomas addresses the question: If the duty of the researcher entails the righting of social wrongs as well as producing valid research results, how is it possible to juxtapose the two goals? He defines the rules and guidelines for a praxis-oriented ethnographic tradition, one both ideologically engaged and scientifically valid. In addition, he outlines the various types of critical ethnography, explaining the tenets of each and how research can be carried out under these frameworks.

This unique volume first considers the merits of qualitative research, profiles interviewing strategies and discusses the relationship to respondents and how to write about social life. The later portion of 'Doing Ethnography' contains three essential sections: constructing perspectives, constructing identities as well as doing and relating. Harrowing case studies and original research are featured throughout.