Pachaeds, E (2003) Que lh bee, py tn TESOL. Basingstoke: Rulgrave 1 Macon lan The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry Preview Two days ago [ was in a meeting held to discuss» submiston forthe ‘ard of 4 PHD by published work when one of ty fellow commitee ‘members refered tothe qualitative nature ofthe work under consider ation a ‘soft research, We exchanged ftendly words, but I don think flther of us left the meeting with any greater respect forthe ote’ postion, ‘The accusation that qualitative inquiry (Ql) doesn’t mesure up to the more demanding standards of "hat! or scientific’ research fs 9 ‘common one, drawing stength from a fund of prejudices that aise ftom our everyday exposure tothe word ‘researc’. This chapter sels ‘out to examine the roots of those prejudices and to identify the Aistinetive contabtion that QI can make to our undestanding the social word. tt introduces research traditions particularly associated with QL and examines the intellectual foundations of 2 qualitative “Lev! 1 identiesesential characterises of any research and shows how uninformed assumptions about its nature ca Tea toa distorted peception of Ql, The evel ends by showing what i distinctive aout and highlighting wher its eontabution ies ‘The best way of geting to ripe withthe isos that mater in QU isto become thoroughly acquainted with a particular tation and Level 2, designed to facttate this tt comprises descriptions of seven ey tad lions, and to fcitat ease of comparison each description follows the ‘same pattern, beginning with the tadltion’s basi postion, moving to methods sed, typical outcomes, key concepts, potential relevance to TESOL and challenges tobe overcome2 ati uty TESOL Lael 3 probes more deeply into the philosophical foundations of Ql something that has more than mere abstract relevance, The diewsion| hows tow 1 misunderstanding of the thinking behind this sot of Inguty can letd to serous distortions in approach and methodology and ilstates how everyday decisions reflect ontological and epstero logical exentations The level ali includes» bie sommary of three ‘ore paradigmatic positions Level I: the inquiring mind ‘What is esearch? Research has shown that mot peopl ive their whole ives without ever having to provide a definition of, Research has shown na sch thing, ofcourse, but we'e al familiar with that formulation and the effect It fan have on ovr lives fear of the possible consequences of post mis takes, hope of improvement inthe fate, uncertainty about where ne ‘dscoveres ae lending. We ae constanty in wept of advice om the bass of wat ‘esearch has shown, but we also know that yesterday's advice 1 tomorzow’s warming In the light of what ‘new research has Showa’ and Ws easy to sympathise with the naive response that ‘escarch simply cant mae is mind up. Something so deeply embedded inthe decourse of our everyday ves ‘snot susceptible to easy reconfiguration; the associations, assumptions 2d prejudices tat conse with wil inestay colour ou veo what ounts as proper research. Because Qi challenges many of our ordinary Dulles about researc, Iti Itellectualy less isturing to dismiss it thn to make an effort to understand the importa contbution ica rake tothe ways in which we understand our soil worl. But the ‘Alors worth making and 2 usta st step so dently the essential ‘haracterists of any research, whatever its conceptual supe ‘We could simply say that reach bols down to finding out about something, and in the broadest sense ths Is tue: this Is how my Anughters dese wsng books and the Interet in ofder to find vt about something for nemselves However, there i slightly narrower Sense ofthe erm that refers to sting out odscover something det out the world, and thi provides a better starting point Beaute It hs to atnguish researc rom the ordinary clams we mae on the bass of our everyday experience. Consider the following everyday aim, mace by my brother’ partner upon returning fom a biel Wise tomy local supermarket The ote of Qatiatneagy 3 lve nove seen so many people in Tesco's ona Fiday night. And the tolleys ae piled upto the it Al that panic buying just because doing tobe closed tomortow momning = yous think they were cls Ing fora week In the event, my response was along the line of ‘Dear obi des, would you ced it This was designed s suitable expression of oda i response to the fustration that she clearly fea deliberate probing of the evidence upon which er claim was based would have ben pedantic and inappropriate. Although there sa conclusion her, reached on the ‘ss of an analysis ofthe evidence, would be very odd indeed to ‘ese this at reseach and Ws inaeucive to consider hy, Purpose (One of the etsential characteristics of ear, ot evident her, thal [es purposeful. The researcher sets out deliberately to discover some thing about the world with the intention of eventually making clams fn the basis ofthe evidence gathered. Suppose, then, thae the daim shout panic buying sth outcome of a persona project to dently the ‘eet of closing on a Saturday morning and thatthe speaker has spent Friday evening obrerving behaviour in my local store: What response might prompt? Design 1 certainly wouldnt wish to accept the calm at face value and might, ish to make the following points 1. Thisisjustone Feiday evening in one store tha he speaker may not hve visited before, so we have no way of knowing Whether the tbhaviour is rypical or exceptional. 2 1s possible thatthe woes are piled high because the weekend shop i big one, perhaps representing almost a week's worth of Shopping. 1 ike 10 know whether this was checked ut and whether shoppers wore consulted. might also ask how the counting wea done 3. Even if the numberof customers is greater than norma, this nt seal surpasing because, assuming they si want to do the weekend shopping, the people who normally shop on a Saturday moran ill have to choose between: (a) skipping the shopping and (b) ‘hopping on Friday night or Saturday aftemoon, If we therfore4 uta ng TESOL assume that SO percent of the Saturday moming shoppers hive "ansfered to Friday night things are gong to be abnotmaly busy Given these considerations, 1 would be reluctnt to accep the claim ‘that dis was ‘pane buying at fs face val. The ist two reservations (and there could be mote) are addeesed to the design ofthe research, tnd they ret the fact that researc s more than simply finding out ths o be carefuly and thoughtfully designed in order to produce the Information we need in order to make easonable inferences sbout the vay things a, Procetre ‘This takes us deeper nto the research proces el ven the purpose and design ofthe project are acceptable we still need to be wessuced thatthe procedures adopted are appropiate. For example, ifthe supe ‘market eseatcher has wed intervie a source of dats, {wl ant fo be ensured they provide a realistic plete ofthe shoppers involved For example, {might not be said with the questions this yout local Tesco Supermarket? ness iti backed up by frther questons bout shepping habits, oI might fet that some of the questions ae loaded in away that encourages a patcular response Question ie this can provoke quite heated debate Bocuse dierent reseachets have dillerent eas about the advantages and limitations of ferent procedures. Even if there are no fundamental flaws in the procedures adopted, there are always alternative approaches and Sometimes these ned toe ated. What mater is that a defensible case ‘an be made, not that it should necessity convince everyone, Anais Once the data are colete, they will need to be analysed, and here ‘again appropriate and robust methods yl be called for. Adequate analysis ste link that alows the researcher respond confidently 10 the question, How did you come up with that claim on the bas of {at data?’ included it heze a separate tern because ofits impor ance, but it ould be subsumed under ‘paced tain The dese to make the strongest claims we can i perfectly natural ‘one, but our sucees wll depend on sehether we cia establish a ink between evidence and asetion. My brother's partner, for example, id want to say simply tat this was the biggest crowed shea scen in "he Namo aia ny 5 any Tesco supermarket on a Friy night she wanted to make much ‘more general chim about people's response to closing « store Tor 4 single morning, and hence about naman behaviour in genera. Ufor tunately, 36 the thud of my reservations showed, los of wiles ples high with shopping arenot in themselves evidence of panic buying, evan and worth But theres more at stake than just the acceptability ofthe ns, How ‘would the researcher respond tothe question, ‘So wat Is simple ‘one but potently devastating, and it fakes ight back to the ste of Purpose, When I suggested atthe start ofthis section that reseate Is ‘tinguished by is purposeful nature, lie stepped Issues ol value and felevarce: the extent to which research represent a worthwhile cont bution to our inomledye andor understanding, | might, for example, aicover something thet I aleady known and although this may be vty valuable to mea & developing researcher, benetit are likely to be eniely personal wil ave hte any fl ‘ance to the wider mor, That why researchers who publish tel Work "ake such car o establish very cleatly how it relates to other work inthe field and highligh te conebation it le making relating thie Work to ‘othe findings snd the theoles 0 which these craw. Bat this stl no susranee thatthe research wl nel be valle we also have aight to expect that twill make scontbution that Is ware, Researchets ‘who were abe 1 provide an explanation of why buttered bread, When ‘ropped, nearly always tls butterside dow were recenly featured 8 local news programme. Nobody disputed the val ofthe clans, {ier entertainment valve, of even their topial tevance, but the researches were asked to justly the tine and soney spe i the purse ‘oftheir unusual goal. They were able to explain tht thet research Wes \worthslle for all sons of veasons elated ¢o out understanding of ‘serodynamicielevan othe layperson picking bles fromy tele sand wich but ally quite exstng an valuable to an expet in the el How, then, might Ql be sid to be wortwhile? Where dows Is dtnctivecontibtin le? Belore resling on yu might lie to think shout your rections to the fllowing statements {Research has to be scent tbe of any ve + Research has to be objective + Research has a invove some quantification, + Research hast be generalise: a description of single case as no practi valve,1 Qiang e804 (Quattativereseatch chose the statements a the end ofthe ls secon because they rep= resent faliy typical view of what research involves and ate ass ted with wo fundamental misconceptions about Qk that because Qt {an be based om 2 single cate that Involves no quantification and Is ‘elther scientific’ nor objective its) not research at al rd () at best soft option. tn fet, QL i anything bet > soft option ~ It demands rigour, precision, systematicty and careful attention to etal n order to account fr this misguided perspective, we need to reflect onthe view of research that pervades our everyday expslence, 2 view that Weal “experiment” and research a8 almost synonymous fan that teats ‘sclenic as term of pate for almost anything, 38 {this comment on Pepys’ dlary by a leading walter Mustate: "he shamelesness of is rel-obsevation deserves tobe called sient? (Clave Tomatin in The Gund Review, 21.09.02, p. 4.) How do we explain this? "100 per cent of experiments hare shown snot ely supssing thst peopeasacate experiments with research, Hee ae few inluetiat factors that spring immediatly to mind as wie ‘+ Ever since te Enlightenment, the whole thrust of research hasbeen towards tnding out about the natural world ina effort to under stat tls and experimentation plays an important pari ts + Most people's fst exposure to research is through experiment, ‘When in the school physi leon the ball bearing roll down the Inclined plane faster than the wooden cube, confirms our belies not ony about the lays of nature but aso about the ways in Which these can be established. + The expression ‘experiments have shown’ is part of our everday vocabulary, and where we find ‘experiment’ the word proof ie rarely faraveay, usally accompanied by is quantitative minders ‘The power of sue factors to influence out assumptions about sclence and alscovery is forcefully iltated by one respected. qualative researchers ote fae: For example as late as 1995, Morse and Field wrote: If qualitative "esearch i 10 fall one of is main function, these theories should Designitiant enough and poised enough for subeequent quant The Nat of Quatatie agay 7 tive testing’ (p10, Now, with the enlightenment ofthis volume, please comect your copy ean OUT TaEFAGEIH (Morse 199723), Although it would be pervere to deny the Immense cantsibution| that scence and experimentation nave made to our happiness ad wel being, me should nevertheless not underestimate the effects ofthis om ‘ur assumptions about research. For an example of the seductive appeal ‘of quantification, consider the following extacs (Extracts 1.1 and 1.2) loom an otherwise very sound sialscale qualitative resaich projet, that was designed to find out more about certain fetures of telephone tak (sten up, It has tobe sad, examination conditions fii est fn ns Master programme) stat 1.1 Experiment’ 1) Due tothe context of my experiment and the time iis, Lonly ana Iysed one example of telephone convertion and tus can i no way make any serious elms. Any conclusions wll be purely specu. Tatve: My approach was thus very much qualtatve a opposed to ‘quantitative vas looking into the peesence or sbsence of data, Bxguct 1.2 “Experimen’ 2) 1 wanted however to ty to tansrbe at many features as posible and this was an opportunity oexpesiment wih that, The use of the word experiment interesting. In the second extrac he ‘word i employed in its everyday sense and seems tobe prety acept- ‘le the weter led out experimented wt) an approach to tenseption ‘which involved trneebing as many features tt possible, Inthe fst eatract, however, we have the collection and analysis of telephone con versation descubed as an ‘experiment, although there fs no sense 1a ‘which i could beso deserted. On the basa ther examples Pve come 3055, t seems to me that thls s cas ofan everyday smption about ‘research breaking the surface. Thre ae oer assumptions her, 00,38 nthe statement that a stuy of 2 single case precludes any “seus? lnm and commits ene to mete 'specoltion”. The outcome fs that the approach isabelle a quate rather than ‘quantitative | detect ‘stinety apologetic tone In this formulation, as i the unfortunate absence of quantifieston 4 the result of inadequate opportunity. The esr for quantification # a petecly natural one: we lind ourselves better equipped in argument when we have the igre tour inert.| use ngry E50 Fly, here isthe decidedly odd reference to looking for the pres cence or absence of data Given the exam conditions, we can teat the as ‘no more than a slp (ford, ead specifi fete), but does fit in ‘neh the genera tenor of he extract: qualitative research i sot, spect Tatve, ana concerned with “t's quantitative research Is scenic (experiment, serious, and concerned with facts, I's alot 96 the statement about panic buying in Tesco might pass muster a "quit tie’ concasion tut woul’ st long in the more demanding word of ‘quanitative’ researc. Untortnatey, such prejudices have not Been helped by the dsmisive attude adopted by some rereaches in out ‘own fed, For example, when van Lier (1994) induced qualitative perspectives in "complementary wy into a dacusion of second ln fuege acquisition research in the journal Appl Linguists, the eters Df the special ise Involved (Bereta af. 1994347) lg, fom their ‘ational perspective, that the was ot a place that canbe epled to, even if we thought it worth our while’, What, then, the case for QP Why bother with gute research? There ae at east three compelling reasons fr vejeting the cae tht ‘ne ought simply to bul the succes of quantitative approaches by putting al our ators into reining thee procedures. The ist ofthese Siise rom the fact thet experiments or surveys will only take us sof, ‘They can explain many things and can provide us with valuable Information and insights, but they are-not designed to explore the complestes and conundrums of the immensely complicated soci world that we innabie, Even in more narrowly defined cccumstances, there are situations where a qualitative approach offers the bes source ofiumination. Fr example can conduct experiments until Pm blue in the face im order to Identify ‘elfecive procedures for designing language learning tasks, but if { want to know how sucesfl tac lesgnets think and work, then I need to ind other ways of exploving this (eg Johnson 2002). stone leading researcher hs ented he eed 0 get close to practice a one ofthe main reasons forthe recent ‘roth of qualitative esearch One reason for change I that sola have become attracted to the ea of geting close to practice, to getting a fist handsense of what actualy goes on in classroom, school, hosptls and commutes. ‘That kind of knowledge takes time. The one sot commando a 3 2 way to get the data and get out no Tonger seems attractive, You roed tobe there. A clean retcach design wih tight expesaentat he oreo at ay 9 controls might be sight for some kinds of vesearch, but not forall ‘nds. (Eisner 2001137), A second reason for adopting 3 qualitative approach is that tis above all ee a person-centredenterpse so therefore particularly appropt se to our workin the field of language teaching, This is dangerous {extory forthe expsimentalreseatchet fora Pestiin (199327) notes ‘most of what we study italy comple, relating to people events, ad situation characterized by more variables than anyone can manage to ‘dentily, seein 2 eationship, oF operationalize. Human beings are ‘wonderfully adept at confounding the soe of predictions that operate In the natural woud, which is why 2 ferent sort of Investigative pprosch Is needed in the human sciences, one it wil eck fo unde. sand the patterns and purpose in our behaviour and provide insights {hat will enrich our understanding. As practising teachers, we operate in 4 profesional context which ts at best only loosely predictable but where we can draw strength fom our shred understandings and experiences “The third profound suengt of qualtatve inquiry is its transfrme tive potential forthe researcher. The claim to objectivity imp nthe representation of qvantiative outcomes and explicit in experimental research allows the reiarche o stand ade fom the Finding, but his 1s not an option ia qualitative inquiry. Investigation depends on engagement withthe lived wort, and the place of the tesearher in the research proces its is something that needs to be addessed. The Investigation impacts on the perton ding the rstrch and may have Profound eects upon them, and iti onder t elect this broader Dctue that from now on | shall where possible use the tet inguty” Father than teseart. The later, I seems tome, en to be associated ‘with speetc projects while the former its more comfortably wth the broader notion of peesonal inquiry and dlicovery. To iustrate this personal dimension, consider two novice researchers ~ on feta, one tale, one in the dominant ethnic group, one ina mnouy group in their respective aeaenic contexts who nd tat the process of Ingley ‘in thelr separate studies of particular ethnic groups in educational settings as trnsfonmed thee understanding. Petty (1997:83) realises ‘hat he experence has altered my perspectives aout polices slated toracal sus, while wht emerges fom Gonzi work (2001360) 1s 4 framework that's Ubeatng for me ae Mt lt ay self-selection as ‘oppressed object to culturally working actor. These are not meely ‘matters of belt but of behaviour,10. uti guy in TESOL ‘The nature of aative igry ‘The broad alm of qualative Inquiry Is to understand batter some aspect) ofthe ved worl. This hss number of implications for the ature ofthe research sly, summed up i Box 1.) or F] Characterities of qualitative inquiry seit ew not + study human actors in natural + se up artifical situations for felting, inthe contestol their "the purposes of study or ty cxdinary, everday wot: to contol the conditions under which participants at “ek to understand the + attempt to describe human meanings and significance of behaviour in terms of these actions fom the ited Seto predetermined perspective of hose involved; categories + asuilly foes ona small 1 attempt to study large humber a possibly just one) population identified on the basis of particular charactenltes Individuals, groups oF etngs + employs range of methods ia + ase its ndings on a single fonder totais ferent perspective or feature perspectives onthe relevant + bases analysis on awide + aseits analysis on single ange of features: featwe: + om use quantification where + epee its ning thisis appropiate for specie. "ria quantitative terms purposes andaspt of abreader proach {eamight be said tat the power of qualitative research derives fom its ability to vepresent the particular and that this distinguishes from those sorts of research which depend on generalisabity (an sue taken up in Chaper 6), but it would Be going too fr to cai this 3s adi lng characteristic. at, characterations of qualitative inguly range ‘nom shor sentences to whole chapters, though Denzin snd Lincoln's representation, below, Is widely recognised, Tels formulation reflects The Name of uae a’ 11 the rehness and complexity of the qualitative Hela far xy from the hard-edged cetalles of scence: ‘Qualitative research s mulimethod in focus nvoling a interes. Jive, naturalistic appeoach to its subject matter, The means that qualtative researchers study ngs i thee atl etings, attempting make sense of or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Qualtatve research involves the studied use Ind collection of variety of emplicl mates ~ case sto, personal ‘experience, intospetve, ile sory, inter, observational histor Interctional, and visual texts ~ tat desebe routine and problematic ‘moments and meanings in Individuals lives, Accordingly, allt tive researchers deploy 3 wide range of unconnected metho, hop Ing always to get a better fix on the sect matter at hand. (Denia and Lincoln 199462), Because the term gualitatie inquiry draws attention to one item in 4 contrasting pale, might be thought that there should be nothing ‘quantitative about it, but this 1s far fom Being the cae, In pursuing Gualtative inquiry, we ate, as Elsner (20012138) puts Mt, "tying 10 develop some insights we can work wih’. And wercan often do this Without worying too mich about precise figures, althougt more general representations in texms of ‘many’ or the majo’ might ‘well feature in our desriptions. If accasonally more precise quanti ‘ation has a contribution to make, it would be foolish to deny ove Selves this resource on ideological ground, But this ia very diferent position fiom one that says the only significant claims ae thove expressible in quantitative tens. It recognises that decitons about degrees of precision are matters to be determined in the course of our Inquiry rather than 35a prelude tot. Hammett puts Wis Hingce on the teal ee ‘We are not faced, then, with stark choice between words and ‘numbers, or even between precise and imprecise data; bt rather ‘nth a range from more to leis pecke data. Furthermore, Out ecsion about what level of precision fs appropiate in elation to any paicular claim should depend on the nature of whist we ate trying to desrbe, on the likely accuracy of our descriptions, on ut Prposes, and on the resources avallable to ws; not on ideological omaieatto one methodological rig or ante. (amatesey 199216)22 Quatate lgy ESO ‘The contexts in which such ‘commitment’ might ase will become eae a this chapter uaa Level 2: working within a tradition. ‘One of he biggest challenges facing anyone new to qualitative research is coming to terms with the plethora of definitions, uaditons aed pproiches that characteris the fled. Here's lavour of the problem, {asin terms of he range of what's avaliable: “The quest for 3 useful organizational map of qualitative methods is not unlike the quest forthe holy gral. The methods derive fom Inulipe dscipines and font 20 oF more diverse traditions, ach ‘with its owen particular language. (Mile and Crabtree 1992:13) and then fom the point of wow of yng to make sense ofthis But as comprehensive and clarifying as these catalogs and taxono ries may be, they turn oot tobe basally incommensurate, both ia the way the diferent qualitative strands ae defined and In the criteria sed to datingish therm, The mind boggles In tying to Bet from one to another. (Miles and Huberman 1994:5) ‘Theres no easy way to negotiate this complex tertory, but an ester tal ist step sto canbe teriology, Te tems in ox 1.2 wil be ied consistently throwghout this book. They ovespond to what most researchers would recognise, and although mat everybody wold use them in exactly the same way, exposure to the erature wil quickly familiarise you with the relevant variations Box 1.2 Reseach ers wed inthis book ‘Paradigm Atte highest evel representative ofa et of base bli Example: Constuctasm ‘ton A stony stuated approach to research covering _enerll recognised tcitory and employing a generally Secepted se of research methods ‘Baample:Ethnog.aphy Method A-meansof gathering, analysing and interpreting data ting gently recognised procedures. (A methodology is he Nace fate gy 13 ‘cortical grounded poston tat the estar ks] ‘up with regard to the esearch methods that wl e sed) Example: Interviewing Tecngue A specie procedure For oblaning information formed by the escareh methodology employed Example: Asking open-ended question seven core trations Based on an approach used by Creswell (1998), this section wil provide you with a ref general introduction to seven cove tations i quali {ve researc that are relevant to our work in TESOL (Box 11) IIs supported by the recommendations in the Guided Reading section, which wil enable you to deepen your understanding acon te ange. The tndtions described are ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, ‘ae study lf history, ation reseteh and conversation analysis, ‘ax 15 Some qualitative reach uaditions Focus outcome) Tradition Primary means of data colestion The social wor Eunmography Observation, (Desxiption and Interview, reoring, fnterpetation of group) documents ‘Thesocal world Grounded theory Observation, (Development of Imes, recording, theo) documents Lived experince Phenomenology Interview (Waderstanaing ature of experience of phenomenon) Paral eases Casestudy Interview, documents, (Detailed description observation, recording ot indivusl cases) ‘The person (Petre of Life history interview sais ie experience)fr 24 Quatavelgay nTESOL ‘box (Continwed) (Amproverent of Profesional practice) Social ingeracton Conversation Recording (Explistion ofhow analysis shored understandings are constricted) ‘Action research Journal Interviews, documents, recording ‘The descriptions that follow are not designed as substitutes for a proper understanding of the teditlons covered and they make no "aims to completeness, but taken together they form a useful ovevine ofthe fed, a means of exentation for those who wish to chart thelr ‘own path through i have writen them 30 that they can Be com: fovtbly read ae 8 whole, folowing a standard pattern of headings © factate comparison acoss trations (1) basic postions (2) methods teed (3) what outcomes of research eight Took ike (2) some key ‘oncepts (5) potential relevance 19 TESOL; and (6) challenges to be ‘overcome. For the purposes of comparson, | have taken Teacher meets ‘ase as very rovgh focus forthe discussion unde ‘posible outcomes of esearch Ethnography ase postion thnogephy te comfortably into he description of quaiative revauch that we have so far developed. It seks to descibe and under Sand the behavlou ofa particular Socal or cultural group. In order to do this resarchers try to see things fom the perspective of members of ‘he proup and this requires extended exposure to te fe. Feldwork ts cental to all ethnography, which means that the researcher has to negotiate entry into the research site, fen 35a par fhipont observe, role in which he researcher undertakes Work In the Selting or example a5 2 part-time teacher ut at the same time gathers data, Adopting tht perspective enables the researcher to move fom ‘outsider to insider statu, although the aim isnot to become a com- plete insider because this would mean taking for granted the sors of Dalits attitudes and routines that the researcher needs to remain ‘Mote of Qualia 15 ‘detached fom inorder to observe and describe. The main sources of ata are flednotes and interviews, tough documents may also be used snd itmay also be posible co tape interaction. The analysis of dat wil ‘depend on the Kentifeation and categorisation of key themes, perspec: Ives and evens, working towards an account that embraces adequate fescption and interpretation, which may inelade amongst other tings extracts from Hlldnote, atative vignettes snd samples of tlk ‘The form of presentation is traltionally textual, but newer ethnog, rnphies embrace a valety of othe forms inclading the drama, poet sd visual Posi outcome of essuch ‘typical ethnography might bea sty ofa group of teachers n het ‘institutional setng over 4 term oF yea, focusing particularly on their ‘eltlonshipe with students as these ae exempiied in staftoom and élassroom Behaviour. The researcher slght ol the stall a temporary teacher, taking fldnotes, observing lessons, Interviewing teachers (and perhaps Students), even taping some salt mestings, focusing particu Tay on the ways in which teachers deal with new students in their clases and how these students ae represented in stafloom talk There ‘night be big ferences in the ways that students are represented In the Stallioom and the way dey actualy behave, and It may be that there fue implicit (or even expict) behavioural categories into which a Students are ited, Hammcsiy, a weltknown writer on ethnogeaph began bis own reseogeh with 2 PhD on a tople very siilar fo this (Hammersiey 1980; 368 a0 1981, 19843), Some hey oncps ‘The tems enc ane; derved from anthropology, ae sometines used to efer~ rather eruely ~t an insider’ perspective on evens (ec) as ‘opposed to an outsider’ et). The tei are sometimes iegtimately used with evaluative fre, implying that an insider's view is somehow “pote than an outsiders, when in fac oth are potently important Exhnogrphers try to establish different perspectives on the station they are studying and will use diferent theors, methods, techniques, land 30 ot In onder to avoid one-sided view, The dea of geting 3 fix ‘on things in this way often described 8 tangulton, though thee Is no Implication that only thee sources need be used. You may 150 ‘occasionally hear people refering to thio deyption, an expresion coined by Clifford Geert to refer to an account that rch in etal, feombracing dillerent perspectives. The ken behind thi i that Itt