SOCI 2P11 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Ethnography, Literature Review, Participant Observation
Lecture 5
Ethnography
• Trying to get an insider's perspective on a social group that we are normally
not a part of
• Temporarily become immersed to learn about their culture, norms, values &
customs
• Trying to provide an insider's perspective on a social setting
What do ethnographer's do? (7 points on slide)
• Ethnographers become immersed and temporary members of the
setting/social group to varying degrees
• They often employ triangulation (different research/data collection
strategies)
• Two most common techniques are to observe and in-depth interviews
• Want to build rapport , but have to be careful not to identify too closely,
have to maintain some objectivity
Steps in the ethnographic progress (following 7 steps on slide)
• Literature review
• "Bee keepers"
• Earn trust of people studying
• Some prefer to sit back and observe, others want to be pseudo-members
and take part in activities
• Conducting interviews is optional
Sampling in ethnography:
Frequently used sampling strategies: (often a combination of all three)
• Purposive
• Convenience
• Snowball
Theoretical sampling:
• sample size is not determined in advance
• When patterns and themes are repeating themselves, reached theoretical
saturation point
• Example of theoretical sampling: Gosling's research
Memoing in Ethnographic research (in slides)
Participant observation
• Sit back, watch social life unfold, look for themes/patterns, take rich,
detailed notes
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
