Rapid Ethnographies

Based on real case studies, this is the first practical guide to rapid ethnographies, exploring their history, design and implementation.

Quick Ethnography (QE) is an easy-to-read guide to the rapid collection of high quality ethnographic data for use in research, policy analysis, and decision-making. It addresses the needs of social scientists grappling with complex cultural social interactions and cultural change occurring in communities around the globe by offering a comprehensive, integrated multi-method approach that will increase research productivity. Handwerker provides step-by-step procedures for producing lots of data very quickly, outlining how ethnographers must control field preparation, data collection, and methods of data analysis. The rigorous QE approach allows greater precision and subtlety of ethnographic description and explanation that is not always possible in applied contract work (known as Rapid Assessment Procedures). The author, an anthropologist who has been teaching and consulting on fieldwork methods for over 25 years, includes extensive examples of research design and management that are valuable for the novice as well as for experienced researchers in all social science disciplines. Visit the author's web site.

Please see the website of author Thurka Sangaramoorthy for extra resources and material related to this book, at thurkasangaramoorthy.com. Click on the book’s cover and be sure to check back for updated content This book provides provides a practical guide to understanding and conducting rapid ethnographic assessments (REAs) with an emphasis on their use in public health contexts. This team-based, multi-method, relatively low-cost approach results in rich understandings of social, economic, and policy factors that contribute to the root causes of an emerging situation and provides rapid, practical feedback to policy makers and programs. Using real-world examples and case studies of completed REAs, Sangaramoorthy and Kroeger provide readers with a logical, easy-to-follow introduction into key concepts, principles, and methods of REAs, including interview and observation techniques, triangulation, field notes and debriefing, theoretical saturation, and qualitative analysis. They also provide a practical guide for planning and implementing REAs and suggestions for transforming findings into written reports and actionable recommendations. Materials and detailed tools regarding the conduct of REAs are designed to help readers apply this method to their own research regardless of topic or discipline. REA is an applied approach that can facilitate collaborative work with communities and become a catalyst for action. Rapid Ethnographic Assessment will appeal to professionals and researchers interested in using REAs for research efficiency and productivity as well as action-oriented and translational research in a variety of fields and contexts.

This textbook explores practices, first-hand experiences and emerging ideas within organizational ethnography, providing a toolkit that prepares ethnographers for the uncertainties and realities of fieldworking. Students faced with the complexities of qualitative observational techniques and considerations, such as the scope of the research, the personal and professional intertwined life of the qualitative research or the decision of when to leave the field, will find the book an extremely useful, practical guide. A range of experiences from a variety of academics at different stages of their career, to highlight the differences in practices, approaches and encounters, are presented. The themes of the individual chapters cover three main areas: aspects to consider and reflect on before undertaking an ethnography, the process and experiences of conducting ethnographic work and considerations for after the fieldwork. Particular attention is given to appreciating the complexity and practicalities of ethnographic work, providing a more experience-driven text, and understanding perspectives from a range of different approaches to organizational ethnography. This book should be a recommended text for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying research methods within Business and Management. It is particularly important for all students and academics undertaking qualitative research, especially ethnography.

If you are working in a time-sensitive context, need to deliver research findings so they can be used to inform decisions, or are finding it difficult to access research funding for long-term qualitative research, this book will help you. Introducing ‘rapid qualitative research’, it demonstrates how you can conduct high quality qualitative research within time, access and resource constraints. The book uses real world examples to illustrate the benefits and challenges of using rapid qualitative research designs. Focusing on the when, why and how, it explains the difference between cutting corners and making quick, well-informed research choices that support rigorous, credible research. Key features of the book include discussion questions and exercises for you to reflect on and apply your learning, as well as two case study chapters of real-world research so you can see rapid research in action. Written by the world’s leading expert on this subject, this book contains the theoretical and practical nuts and bolts you need to reframe existing qualitative methods, speed up your research, and make tangible contributions to your field. It is the perfect companion for any researcher, final-year undergraduate or postgraduate student looking to conduct rapid, but rigorous, qualitative research.

Temporality in Qualitative Inquiry explores the relationship between time and qualitative research and unpacks some of the conceptual, methodological, practical, and pragmatic areas of qualitative inquiry related to time and temporality. This book advances the understanding and re-evaluation of research practice by examining the passage of time, temporal feeling, and conceptualising of time/temporality in research practice with participants. It provides theoretical and practical insights into how to navigate the concepts of time and temporality in qualitative inquiry. With authors from across the globe and from an array of social sciences including cultural studies, education, health, management and business, psychology, sociology, and sport and exercise, the book explores theoretical, methodological, and practical discussions of time and temporality in order to unpack and elicit meaning and understanding. The editors champion the call for the existence of slow and quick qualitative methodologies and methods. As such, this book is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in qualitative inquiry, and in disciplines such as education, health research, management, psychology, sociology, and communication studies. Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003083504-3

This is Book 1 of 7 in the Ethnographer's Toolkit, Second Edition. The Ethnographer's Toolkit series begins with this primer, which introduces novice and expert practitioners alike to the process of ethnographic research, including answers to questions such as who should and can do ethnography, when it is used most fruitfully, and how research projects are carried out from conceptualization to the uses of research results. Written in practical, straightforward language, this new edition defines the qualitative research enterprise, links research strategies to theoretical paradigms, and outlines the ways in which an ethnographic study can be designed. Use Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research as a guide to the entire Toolkit or as a stand-alone introduction to ethnographic research. Other books in the set: Book 2: Initiating Ethnographic Research: A Mixed Methods Approach by Stephen L. Schensul, Jean J. Schensul, and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122017 Book 3: Essential Ethnographic Methods: A Mixed Methods Approach, Second Edition by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122031 Book 4: Specialized Ethnographic Methods: A Mixed Methods Approach edited by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122055 Book 5: Analysis and Interpretation of Ethnographic Data: A Mixed Methods Approach, Second Edition by Margaret D. LeCompte and Jean J. Schensul 9780759122079 Book 6: Ethics in Ethnography: A Mixed Methods Approach by Margaret D. LeCompte and Jean J. Schensul 9780759122093 Book 7: Ethnography in Action: A Mixed Methods Approach by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122116