ETHNOGRAPHIC

RESEARCH
BY RAUNAK ROY
ENROLMENT NUMBER – A1320218038
MSW, SEM- 11
AMITY UNIVERSITY, NOIDA.
ETHNOGRAPHIC
RESEARCH
● Ethnography (from Greek ethnos “folk, people, nation” and
grapho “I write”) is the systematic study of people and cultures.
It is designed to explore cultural phenomena. An ethnography is
a means to represent graphically and in writing the culture of a
group. The resulting field study or a case report reflects the
knowledge and the system of meanings in the lives of a cultural
groups.
● As a method of data collection, ethnography entails examining
the behaviour of the participants in a certain specific social
situation and also understanding their interpretation of such
behaviour.
● Ethnography, as the presentation of empirical data on human
METHODS ASSOCIATED WITH
ETHNOGRAPHY
● Cultural data assume the form of directly observable material
items (tools, cultivated fields, houses, statues, clothing),
individual behaviours and performances (ceremonies, fights,
games, meals) as well as ideas and arrangements that exist only
in people’s heads. From the perspective of the culture concept,
anthropologists must first treat all these elements as symbols
within a coherent system and, accordingly, must record
observations with due attention to the cultural context and the
meanings assigned by the culture’s practitioners. These demands
are met through two major research techniques: participant
observation and key informant interviewing.
● Individual methods which are available within an ethnographic
USE OF ETHNOGRAPHY

● Ethnography is most useful in the early stages of a user-centred

design project. This is because ethnography focuses on
developing an understanding of the design problem.
● Ethnographic methods (such as participant observation) could
also be used to evaluate an existing design – but their true value
comes from developing an early understanding of the relevant
domain, audience(s), processes, goals and context(s) of use.
● For example: An insurance company wanted to re-design their
system dealing with the processing of insurance claims. This
CONCLUSION

● We would generally recommend that an ethnographic approach

may be suitable for the early stages of a user-centred project that
deals with a particularly complicated or critical design
challenge. This is because ethnographic methods allow a
particularly deep understanding of a design problem’s domain,
audience(s), processes, goals and context(s) of use. These
ethnographic methods can also be very useful in discovering
and exploring previously unknown issues.
Perhaps the most critical decision within an ethnographic study