Conduct an Ethnography

An ethnography is qualitative research method that is meant to describe a culture or an activity of a certain community. It is critical to the study of anthropology, because it helps answer many of the questions you may have about a certain community. Over the years, the practice of conducting an ethnography has changed, but the importance of the process will never decrease. In order to be a successful anthropologist, you have to be able to correctly conduct an ethnography.

Steps

Starting the Project

1. Figure out what question you want answered. This is the most important step when conducting an ethnography. You need to make sure that your question, or research findings, can be applied to more than one community. You also need to make sure that, by answering your question, someone will benefit from the knowledge. Basically, for whom is this research being conducted, and how will they benefit from this research?
   • An example of this would be: How does working with your family effect efficiency in the workplace in the United States?
2. Keep an open mind. One of the main concerns of anthropologists is being culturally insensitive to those who are being interviewed. You must remember that you are going to a new environment which has different values during the ethnography process.
   • One way to make sure that you are not being culturally insensitive is to do some research on the place that you are going to ahead of time. If you know some background information on the people and the location, then you will be able to be more open-minded towards their practices.
3. Secure funding if needed. Doing qualitative research can be very costly and often requires funding from outside sources. You may be able to get some financial backing from a university or other research organization by means of a grant.
   • What you need depends on your research. Most professionals who are conducting an ethnography apply for grants in order to get funding for their trips.
   • Doing research overseas can be pricey, and in order to get one's grant approved there are some hoops to jump through.
   • For example, you may have to present your research to a board of people who will decide if they will offer you funding for your project.
4. Pick your team. In most cases, you will be working with additional people to better understand the community that you are studying. When selecting team members, it is important to choose people who work well with others, since anthropology is the study of people. It is also important to pick people who are passionate about your chosen topic.
   • Try to select people you already have a good working relationship with and who are already somewhat familiar with the topic being studied.
5. Make plans to visit your research location. Once you choose your research project, you should pick a place that will allow the best analysis. Plan a trip to visit this location so that you can begin the process of starting your ethnography.
   • When choosing the location, you need to think about why you have chosen these cities/villages, and what the significance of interviewing people from these places is.
6. Locate a guide, if possible. It is difficult to be in a new place, especially if you are seen as an outsider. This is precisely why it is so important to contact someone who lives in the city/village that you are going to study. They will be able to take you to the "prime" locations for interviews, and will also be able to help with language barriers if there are any.
   • Your guide may be able to help you find appropriate interviewees, and navigate any cultural issues that may arise.

Completing the Interview Process

1. Construct interview questions. It is important to always link each question back to the overall research question. It is also important to make a list of questions, and stick to that list throughout the whole interview process. Changing questions to fit the answers of some interviewees can lead to biases in the data. The research process should be made as scientific as possible, therefore the questions need to be kept as constants.
   • Some examples of questions would be: How long have you been working with said family member? What members of your family do you work with? How is your relationship with that family member?
2. Select interviewees. When selecting interviewees, you have to keep in mind the biases that the person may have. For that reason, it would be wise to interview different people with different situations. For example, choose interviewees with different genders, ages, socio-economic status, religion, etc. By doing this, you will be getting a wider range of answers.
   • It should also be noted that there is no set number of people that you should interview; usually anthropologists say that they interview people until they stop hearing new things.
3. Prepare your interviewees ahead of time. Your interviewees should be aware of how much time the interview will take, whether or not their participation will be anonymous, and what they can expect during the interview process.
   • This is standard practice for ethnographic interviews, and should always be followed.
4. Make your interviewees comfortable. You should try to provide as many comforts as possible to help your subjects feel more at ease. Offer your interviewees something to drink, a comfortable place to sit, and show them where the restroom is in case they need it.
   • Try to engage with them in a friendly, yet professional, tone.
   • It is critical to remember to be culturally sensitive to all those that you interview. Do not make them feel out of place or ill at ease during the interview, as this could skew your results.
5. Ask a variety of questions. During the interview, you should try to ask mostly non-leading questions. This means that you should not tell the interviewee what you expect them to think or how to react through the wording of the question itself. Sometimes direct questions should be used, or even just repeating a word that seems significant that the interviewee mentioned.
   • An example of a leading question would be: “Tell me why Native Americans hate American settlers.”
   • An example of a non-leading question would be: “Tell me about the relationship between Native Americans and American settlers.”
6. Record the interviews. Since this is where you will be collecting all the data for your research, it’s important to have accurate records. Try bringing in a recording device to record all that is happening. During the interview, you should also jot down some notes about things that won’t show up in a recording – like facial expressions, body language, movements, and hand gestures.
   • Make sure you get permission from the interviewee to record the session before you begin.

Analyzing the Outcomes

1. Organize your data. When writing an ethnography, it is important to keep all of your field notes handy. You should make a point to write down your observations: what you saw, how you felt, how it impacted you and others involved, etc. Then organize the information in a way that can be understood by many.
   • Remember that it is your job to record the details, not to recommend a specific course of action or change that should be made. You are just an observer.
2. Analyze your findings. After organizing all the data, it is time to sit down and analyze what you have. Again, it is important to take your data and tie it back to your overall "big picture" question. Even if your data shows the opposite of what you thought or predicted, it is your responsibility to present all the data in an unbiased manner.
   • Try to combine all of the data into a comprehensive picture of the culture, behavior, or other aspect of life that you were trying to quantify with this research.
3. Present your findings. Once you have completed your research project and analyzed your final findings, you may need to present your finalized ethnographic report to the organization who sponsored or funded your research. This is how your information becomes available to a wider audience and how your work will begin to participate in the academic conversation regarding the topic.
   • It may also be worthwhile to attempt to publish some of your findings in a relevant academic journal or other type of publication. This will help you reach an even wider audience.

References

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