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Wednesday, 2 October 2013

How to Conduct an Ethnographic Study

Ethnography is a method to conduct social science research that depends mostly on personal experiences and likely participation, not on observation. It is actually a science that aims to comprehend the customs, ethos and belief systems of diverse groups of people or institution. Therefore, an ethnographer who is conducting a research looks for mixing with a group of people or institution. 

The research’s focal point tend to cover rigorous language and culture education, exhaustive study of a particular domain and implementation of different historical and interview methods. Usually, the researcher gathers interviews and documentation during the research, which in turn, generates descriptions, quotations, and excerpts to creating a storyline including visuals and additional artefacts. Depending upon the ethnographic methods employed, various new paradigms are formed, which facilitates further experimental testing. 

One of the best ways to conduct ethnographic research is to explore the culture of the targeted people by living among them. Keep in mind that ethnographic study is not essentially the examination of the effect of a specific event on the targeted group. Therefore, the research might need you to live for years even in rough conditions while observing what happens. It is quite common to make such sacrifices while conducting the study.

It is required to spend maximum time with the people you are examining. For example, in case they are at a workplace, it is advisable to go there daily just as they do. Even more useful will be to do some tasks that they do so that you can easily co-relate to their work life. You may even consider taking a survey or interviews apart from only observing them to come up with a comprehensive ethnographic research on their beliefs. 

Interviewing people who have something in common, including yourself, is another way to perform an ethnographic research. This is quite handy because not all have the same feelings towards a particular event. When you study those who resemble you in a few ways such as social status and race, you can easily come to know how events leave an impact on everyone. It is better to do so without assuming that you are aware of things. Such research often has a period. 

Always track back for changes in the study environment. This is useful when you are studying in a workplace. You can always ask the same queries at different time intervals to find out whether their responses have changed or not. 


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