UNIVERSITY of SARGODHA

Department of Sociology & Criminology

“Qualitative Research”
Bs Sociology Session 2018-22
Semester 8th (Self Support)

“Ethnography”
Submitted to: Dr. Farah Naz
Submitted By: Tehreem Fatima
Khadija

Aqsa Mansha

Mobin Zahra

Aifrah Azhar

Fatima Tariq

Fatima Tehreem

1/9/2023
 Ethnography
Origin:

Hays considered Schoolcraft’s work regarding native Americans in the 1830s to be the first true
ethnography in the sense of living among native peoples, though he does mention the work of
Lafiteau in the 1720s, and the German scholars in the mid nineteenth century . (Bruce Curtis)

Conceptual Definitions:

 Ethnographic research focuses on a specific group of people, to understand culturally

significant behavior.
 Ethnographic research is a case centric approach. A group, Bounded by time,
geographical location and cultural practices, is explored through many variables and
values.
 As with other case centric approaches, ethnographic research is primarily associated
with analytical induction(the development of new theory).

Ethnography in Historical Perspective:

Anthropology began in the last quarter of nineteenth century as comparative science; although
its first practitioners were not fieldworkers, fieldwork and ethnography soon became its
defining characteristics.

For several Reasons, the earliest ethnographers concentrated their studies on the small scale,
technology simpler societies that has developed for thousands of years outside the orbit of
European culture. One reason was the fear that much of the traditional culture of these
societies was disappearing under the assault of western culture and so their cultures needed to
be recorded as soon as possible.

Another reason was that these cultures were sufficiently homogeneous that the pattern and
processes of culture could be more easily perceived than was possible in the large, technology
complex, heterogeneous societies of the west. In addition, it was necessary to look at societies
outside the orbit of western society in order to earn about the very diverse ways of human
beings. (Serena Nanda)

What are the problems in conducting the method? (FLICK)

As some researchers in the field have criticized, the methodological flexibility which
contemporary ethnography ask for means that researchers have to be familiar with or, even
experts in, quite a variety of methods to do ethnographic studies. This requirements may sound
overly challenging, especially to novices in research.
What are the Limitations of the Method? (FLICK)

This approach may be interpreted (in a positive way) as showing flexibility, towards the subject
under study, but it also holds the danger of methodological arbitrariness. The concretely
applied methods make ethnography a strategy that was the triangulation of various
methodological approaches in the framework of realizing a general research attitude.

Methodological Discussion: (FLICK)

Methodological discussions focus less on data collection and interpretations than on questions
of how to report findings in a field. However, methodological strategies applied in the fields
under study are still very much based on observing what is going on in the field by practicing in
the field. Interviews and analysis of documents are integrated into this kind of participatory
research design where they hold out the promise of further knowledge.