"Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study."
The study of a culture through fieldwork or firsthand observation.
Participant observation: A research method that involves immersing oneself in the culture being studied to gain a deep understanding of its norms and values.
Reflexivity: The process of reflecting on one's own biases and assumptions while conducting research.
Thick description: The practice of using rich, descriptive language to convey the details of cultural phenomena being studied.
Cultural relativism: The idea that cultural practices must be understood within their own cultural context, rather than being judged by the standards of one's own culture.
Ethnocentrism: The tendency to view one's own culture as superior to others, leading to biased interpretations of other cultures.
Symbolism and meaning-making: The importance of understanding the significance of symbols and rituals in a culture, and how they are used to create meaning and reinforce social norms.
Power dynamics: The ways in which power is distributed within a culture, and the impact of power imbalances on social relations and cultural practices.
Agency and resistance: The ways in which individuals and groups within a culture may resist or challenge dominant cultural norms and structures.
Emic and etic perspectives: The distinction between understanding a culture from the perspective of insiders (emic), versus an outside observer (etic).
Postmodernism and postcolonialism: Critiques of traditional approaches to anthropology that emphasize the importance of acknowledging the role of power and historical context in shaping cultural practices and meaning.
Classic or Traditional Ethnography: It is the most common type of ethnographic research which involves a long-term, immersive study of a single culture or society.
Life History Ethnography: This type of ethnography focuses on the experiences of a single individual, tracing the changes in the individual's life and their relationship with their society, culture, and historical context.
Collaborative Ethnography: This is a type of research where the anthropologist collaborates with members of the community to gather data and analyze it. It is a participatory research method.
Multi-sited Ethnography: This type of ethnography is useful in studying transnational or global phenomena that occur in multiple locations. Ethnographers follow the movement of people, things or ideas across different cultures, institutions or communities.
Visual Ethnography: Visual ethnography uses film, photography, and other visual media to record people and their cultures.
Autoethnography: This type of ethnography explores the ethnographer's own experiences and connections with different cultures.
Digital Ethnography: It is a type of research that investigates online communication practices, social media, and virtual worlds to study how new technologies shape social interaction and cultural practices.
Institutional Ethnography: This type of research seeks to understand how social institutions and their technologies shape people's everyday lives.
Feminist Ethnography: This type of research is concerned with gender relations in society and explores the politics of gender, power, and representation.
Urban Ethnography: It is a type of research that focuses on urban communities and their cultural practices, including the way they construct social relationships, spaces, and identities in the context of urbanization.
"Ethnography is [...] a type of social research that involves examining the behavior of the participants in a given social situation and understanding the group members' own interpretation of such behavior."
"Ethnography relies heavily on participant observation—on the researcher participating in the setting or with the people being studied, at least in some marginal role, and seeking to document, in detail, patterns of social interaction and the perspectives of participants."
"It had its origin in social and cultural anthropology in the early twentieth century, but spread to other social science disciplines, notably sociology, during the course of that century."
"Ethnographers mainly use qualitative methods, though they may also employ quantitative data."
"The typical ethnography is a holistic study and so includes a brief history, and an analysis of the terrain, the climate, and the habitat."
"A wide range of groups and organizations have been studied by this method, including traditional communities, youth gangs, religious cults, and organizations of various kinds."
"While, traditionally, ethnography has relied on the physical presence of the researcher in a setting, there is research using the label that has relied on interviews or documents, sometimes to investigate events in the past such as the NASA Challenger disaster."
"There is also a considerable amount of 'virtual' or online ethnography, sometimes labeled netnography or cyber-ethnography."
"Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study."
"Ethnography relies heavily on participant observation—on the researcher participating in the setting or with the people being studied."
"Ethnography seeks to document, in detail, patterns of social interaction and the perspectives of participants, and to understand these in their local contexts."
"Ethnography had its origin in social and cultural anthropology but spread to other social science disciplines, notably sociology."
"A wide range of groups and organizations have been studied by this method, including traditional communities, youth gangs, religious cults, and organizations of various kinds."
"There is research using the label that has relied on interviews or documents, sometimes to investigate events in the past such as the NASA Challenger disaster."
"The typical ethnography is a holistic study and so includes a brief history, and an analysis of the terrain, the climate, and the habitat."
"There is also a considerable amount of 'virtual' or online ethnography, sometimes labeled netnography or cyber-ethnography."
"Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study."
"Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study."
"Ethnographers mainly use qualitative methods, though they may also employ quantitative data."