Which of the following is a disadvantage of using ethnography as a method of social research?
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What is ethnographic research?Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method involving the systematic study of people in their natural environment to understand their way of life, including how they see and interact with the world around them. The aim of an ethnography study is to produce a rich, comprehensive account of a social setting from the participants’ point of view. Researchers conducting an ethnographic study spend time with the participants, have an up-close experience with them to gain insights into their social interactions, and collect data through participant observation, face-to-face interviews, etc. Ethnography in qualitative research is also called thick description as it involves an up-close observation of the participants and a detailed description of their cultures, behavior, mutual differences, and practices. Ethnographic research has its root in anthropology, the study of human societies and culture. Social scientists use this qualitative research methodology in health care, education, cultural studies, etc. Read on to learn more about ethnographic research, including how to collect data for your ethnographic field work, the pros and cons of ethnographic research, and examples of ethnographic research. What are ethnographic methods?Ethnographic methods are the techniques used to collect data for an ethnographic study. They are the means researchers utilize to acquire knowledge about the social settings under investigation and tap into the participants' points of view. The three main ethnographic methods are participant observation, interviews, and archival research. Usually, researchers use all or a mix of all these ethnographic methods to collect data for their study. Ethnographic observationThere are two types of ethnographic observation: active participant observation and passive participant observation. The first one involves becoming a member of the study group, partaking in their daily activities, and working directly with them to get hands-on experience and understand their perspective. The latter involves observing and taking notes only. You do not get involved in the group’s activities. Learn more about qualitative observation here. InterviewsInterviews in ethnographic fieldwork involve observing the participants in their natural environment and asking them questions to gain more insights. Researchers utilizing this ethnographic method interact with the study group to understand the participants' actions and thought processes. An advantage of collecting data through interviews when conducting ethnographic fieldwork is that the researcher gets to ask questions directly linked to participants’ experiences and unearths insights that you may not uncover if the interview happened outside the subject’s natural environment. Archival researchArchival research is an ethnographic method in which you collect and analyze existing research data, websites, annual reports, and other relevant written documents to learn more about the people and place you are investigating. When archival research is used alongside other methods, it helps the researcher become more prepared as they know about the participants’ demographics, economic status, education levels, cultures, interests, etc., before conducting the ethnographic fieldwork. How to conduct ethnographic researchAre you thinking of conducting an ethnographic study? Below are the main steps involved in conducting ethnography qualitative research.
Ethnographic research examplesHere are two real-life ethnographic research examples to help you better understand this methodology and how you can implement it in your work. 1. Ethnographic research among drinking youth cultures; reflections from observing participants.In this ethnographic example, Briggs, Golobov, and Ventsel investigated the drinking cultures of youth groups in the UK, Germany, and Russia. First, the researchers collected data using interviews and field observations. Afterward, they analyze their collected data and list the insights they uncovered about the drinking culture of the research participants. 2. An ethnographic study of an engineering community: Mentoring as a tacit rule and its implication of how people learn.Here, Ayar and Yalvac employed ethnographic research to investigate the cultural characteristics of an engineering research center. The researchers used interviews and participant observations to collect data. After analyzing the collected data, the researchers identified the cultural practices of the center. Qualitative analysis doesn't have to be overwhelmingTake Delve's free online course to learn how to find themes and patterns in your qualitative data. Get started here.
Advantages of ethnographic researchThe advantages of ethnographic research include:
Disadvantages of ethnographic researchSome of the disadvantages of ethnographic research are:
When to use ethnographic research?You can use Ethnography in sociology, health sciences, education, and other cultural studies when you are trying to:
Should you employ ethnographic research for your study?Are you wondering if ethnographic research is the right qualitative method for your thesis, dissertation, or other work? Below are some questions that can help you decide if ethnographic research is the right approach.
Answering these questions can help you decide whether to use ethnographic research. Try Delve Qualitative Analysis ToolThe Delve qualitative analysis tool can streamline the code for your qualitative data and help you to analyze data. Start a free trial of Delve today! References:
What is a disadvantage of using ethnography as a method of social research?Ethnographic research has several disadvantages to consider as well. Ethnography is time consuming and requires a well-trained researcher. It takes time to build trust with informants in order to facilitate full and honest discourse. Short-term studies are at a particular disadvantage in this regard.
Which of the following is an advantage of ethnography as a research method?One of the main advantages associated with ethnographic research is that ethnography can help identify and analyse unexpected issues. When conducting other types of studies, which are not based on in-situ observation or interaction, it can very easy to miss unexpected issues.
Which of the following is a limitation of the ethnographic method?Another limitation of ethnographic research is that it is usually a field study from a particular setting so that the result might only be applicable for that single setting. Therefore, it is difficult to generalize the findings of the ethnographic research.
What are the disadvantages of sociological research?These disadvantages are as follows: 1) research vs. survey, 2) sociological propaganda, 3) the effect of the crowd, 4) fear from the reader, 5) unrecognition of snobbery towards reading and the books, 6) connotations of the word „reading”, 7) literature vs.
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