A taste of ethnography

Dr. Robin Pharoah

Sophia Parker

Hello

What is ethnography?

Ethnography

Comparison

Contextualisation

Theory / Anthropology

Ethnography

fieldwork

MORE THAN FIELDWORK

Writing / narrative

Theory

Fieldwork / data collection

Embedded analysis (comparison, contextualisation etc.)

Ethnography broken down

WITHIN AND WITHOUT ACADEMIA

Commercial ethnography (Microsoft, Intel, Procter and Gamble etc.)

Policy (Central government)

Local policy (Local government)

Third sector (User and community groups)

Where is ethnography?

WITHIN AND WITHOUT ANTHROPOLOGY

Can you do ethnography without being an anthropologist or having a grounding in anthropological theory? How do you train to be an ethnographer? The ‘third eye’?

Anthropological fieldwork and anthropological goals

Sociology and psychology

The rite/right of passage (the pain… the hurt…)

Where is ethnography?

Migrants in Westminster EXPLORING MIGRANT LIFESTYLE AND CHOICES…

4 migrant groups (Chinese, Arab, Australian, Polish)

Cut through all theoretical problems - make assumptions - why get bogged down?

Four anthropologists/ethnographers

One week with each ‘community’. Various routes in.

The Butchers

The Gardeners

Put yourself in their shoes

Building personas

Building personas

What problems might this family face?

Building personas Building personas

What strategies might these families use to cope?

Culture of poverty

Reflections, comments, thoughts

BROADENING WHAT COUNTS AS ‘EVIDENCE’

Beyond individualised data

Beyond behavioural perspectives

Beyond consultation

New ways of seeing

MONEY IS A DAILY CHALLENGE

the ‘milky bar’ economy

money costs more when you’re poor

daily juggling act - compare to benefits system

range of strategies for managing - including ‘going without’

Families are expert budget managers

FAMILIES WILL DENY THEY NEED HELP

families distinguish themselves from those ‘in need’

trust in individuals rather than services

value placed on volunteers as ‘genuine’

fear of judgement and consequences of admitting need for help

Level of trust in services varies

But did this make any difference?

We worked out our stakeholders

We were ruthless about our team

We involved the people that mattered

We turned insights into action

“I wouldn’t have thought of doing it that way had I not been involved with this work.”

“I thought we worked on the ground, but this has shown me that we really don’t … the approach here has challenged our assumptions about what’s needed.”

“I’ve never done anything like this before - and from now on I’ll do things differently.”

”This is more thinking than I've done in the last 6 months."

"Thanks for making us put ourselves in other people's shoes and think."

Impact of the work

robin.pharoah@esro.co.uk

sophia.parker@mac.com

Thanks and goodbye