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