Ethnography and participant observation
4th February 2008Marta Trzebiatowska
Lecture outline What is ethnography? Gaining access to the research site Overt/covert research Doing fieldwork: the researcher’s roles Sampling How to take fieldnotes and what to do
with them Leaving the research setting Bryman (2004), Ch 14
Definitions Ethnography – an umbrella term for a family of
qualitative research methods Often used interchangeably with ‘participant
observation’ The ethnographer immerses herself in a
chosen setting for a prolonged period of time Watching, participating, asking questions Ethnography is both the method and the
outcome F.ex. An ethnography of a primary
school/convent/nightclub etc.
Ethnography and fieldwork: getting ‘out there’
1. Developing a research problem (what will you study and why?)
2. Choosing a setting (where?)3. Participants (who?)4. Access (how?)5. Fieldwork: observation, field notes
interviews, and focus groups (what?)
Access
Why it may be hard to get in: Personal attributes (age, gender,
skin colour, nationality, class, sexual orientation)
Research topic First impression Covert, overt, or semi-overt
research?
Access (cont.) Adjusting to the field Power relations ‘Fairy Godmother’ (O’Reilly) – is it always a
blessing? The power of neutral information Learning from own mistakes and trying again Official/unofficial route Time Learning the language
N.B. The process of gaining access never stops
Gaining access: an example Whyte (1955) Street
Corner Society A study of young
men in ‘Cornerville’ A public
setting/difficulties getting in
Whyte befriended Doc, who turned into his key informant and gatekeeper
Covert/overt research Most ethnography nowadays is
semi-overt Covert – the ethnographer does
not reveal their ‘true’ identity Overt – the participants are aware
of the researcher’s motives and they grant their consent for the data to be used
Covert research: an example Humphreys, L. (1970)
Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places. Chicago: Aldine
Participant observation in public toilets
Humphreys was a ‘watch queen’
Obtained the men’s personal details and subsequently interviewed them
Doing fieldwork: the researcher’s roles Feeling strange and insecure
I was afraid of everything at the beginning. It was just fear of imposing on people, of trying to maintain a completely different role than anyone else around you. […] Am I going to be rejected? Am I really getting the data I need?’ (Wintrob (1969) cited in Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995: 114)
Different roles (Gold, 1958)
Complete participant (covert) Participant as observer (overt) Observer as participant (overt) Complete observer (overt)
This distinction is not always useful – you are never simply an observer
‘Going native’ When the ethnographer becomes a
member of the studied group/ loses the sense of being a researcher
May be dangerous but it happens Religious conversion, romantic
involvement with a research participant, taking on the views of the group studied
Hunter Thompson (1967) Hell’s Angels
By the middle of summer (1965) I became so involved in the outlaw scene that I was no longer sure whether I was doing research on the Hell’s Angels or being slowly absorbed by them. I found myself spending two or three days each week in Angel bars, in their homes, and on runs and parties. In the beginning I kept them out of my own world, but after several months my friends grew accustomed to finding Hell’s Angels in my apartment at any hour of the day or night. Their arrivals and departures caused periodic alarm in the neighbourhood and sometimes drew crowds. (Thompson, 1967: 283)
Research bargains Fieldwork = constant interaction
Impossible to sail through without any problems
‘Fronts’ – what you say, how you dress etc.
Mistakes and ‘close calls’ are part of the process and your data – use them to learn and enhance your research experience
Humility is the key
Examples of ‘uncomfortable research’ Fielding, N. (1981) The National Front An ethnography: Fielding befriended several
activists, conducted participant observation and analysed the ideology of the movement
Patrick, J. (1973) A Glasgow Gang Observed. London: Eyre Methuen
Patrick joined a gang but left when the level of violence escalated
Ethnographic fieldnotes When? What? How? When? ASAP, best during an
observation but not always possible How? Rushed and fragmented, key
words, pictures and drawings, even elaborate notes need refining
CONSISTENCY! ‘If in doubt, write it down’
Ethnographic fieldnotes (cont.)What? Impossible to record everything
Sophistication comes with time
Detailed can be good
Especially if we are dealing with conversations and emotional situations
Types of fieldnotes Jottings – brief phrases to be
developed Description – everything you recall
about the occasion (time, place, people, surroundings, animals, smells, sounds etc.)
Analysis – what have you learned so far?
Reflection – what was it like for you?
Sampling Whatever is available or Convenience and snowball samplingOr Theoretical sampling – gathering data
in accordance with the emerging theory
From a general research question to a hypothesis
When does the ethnographer stop? Data saturation OR the field disintegrates Can be difficult because:a) Your participants do not wish you to leaveb) You find it hard to leave the setting
You may feel relieved, Or sad, Or guilty…
Oritz, S. (2004) Leaving the Private World of Wives of Professional
Athletes, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 33(4) Hunter Thompson (1965) Hell’s Angels
Aftermath Keeping in touch: a moral
obligation?
Feeding the data back to the participants
Follow-up research