Essential ethnographic methods : a mixed methods approach / Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schensul, Jean J.

Contributor:

LeCompte, Margaret Diane.

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

Ethnographer's toolkit ; 3.

Ethnographer's toolkit, second edition ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnology--Methodology.

Ethnology.

Ethnology--Research.

Ethnology--Fieldwork.

Physical Description:

xx, 366 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : AltaMira Press, [2013]

Summary:

The second edition of the Ethnographer's Toolkit is designed with the novice field researcher in mind. In this revised and updated version, the authors of the Toolkit take the reader through a series of seven books that spell out the steps involved in doing ethnographic research in community and institutional settings. Using simple, reader-friendly language, the Toolkit includes case studies, examples, illustrations, checklists, key points, and additional resources. The Toolkit is the perfect starting point for students and faculty in the social sciences, public health, education, environmental studies, allied health, and nursing, who may be new to ethnographic research. It also introduces professionals from diverse fields to the use of observation, assessment, and evaluation for practical ways to improve programs and achieve better service outcomes.

Essential Ethnographic Methods, Second Edition, takes a mixed methods approach to introducing the fundamental, face-to-face data collection tools that ethnographers and other qualitative researchers use. Book 3 provides ethnographers with tools to answer basic ethnographic questions about the setting, activities, behavior, communication patterns of participants, and more. It teaches readers how to do good ethnography by walking them through the required steps for each essential method and supplements tin's information with hands-on materials and illustrative case examples. Because these data collection strategies require ethnographers to become involved in the local cultural setting and to acquire hands-on experience, the essential tools also help them learn about new situations from the perspective of an "insider." The chapters cover open-ended and focused listening, questioning strategies, participant and nonparticipant observations, recording techniques, visual recall, strategies for mapping the environments and contexts in which participant behavior occurs, and varied approaches to individual- and group-level in-depth interviewing. Unlike most methods texts, Book 3 also examines how and why to carry out ethnographically informed qualitative and quantitative survey research. It also provides the basis for quantification of qualitative research for those who wish to do so. Research methods are sequenced in accordance with early, middle, and later stages of a research project, making it easy for readers to select different data collection methods for specific purposes and timelines. This mixed methods approach is emphasized because it is the only way that ethnographers are able to obtain the holistic portrayal of dynamic social systems and cultural phenomena that characterize the best ethnographies. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Essential Data Collection 1

What Is Essential Data Collection? 1

Why Are Research Questions Required to Guide Essential Data Collection? 2

The Value of Research Modeling Based on Research Questions and Prior Knowledge 5

Basic Skills Required in Essential Data Collection 8

Establishing Professional Boundaries: Intimacy and Relationships in Face-to-Face Data Collection 17

Summary: Challenges in Collecting Observational and Interview Data in Person 20

Chapter 2 Defining and Entering the Field 22

Fieldwork and the Field 23

The Ethnographer as Self-Reflective Tool for Inquiry 26

Establishing Relationships to Facilitate Entry 32

Steps in Entering a Research Setting 32

Chapter 3 Recording and Organizing Ethnographic Field Data: Field Notes, Interviews, Drawings, Visual Documentation, and Survey Data 47

What Are Field Notes, and Why Are They Important? 47

Recording Field Notes 54

Writing Up Field Notes 56

Making Decisions about What to Write 60

Organizing and Managing Ethnographic Data While in the Field 78

Storing Quantitative Data for Subsequent Analysis 81

Summary 82

Chapter 4 Participant Observation and Informal Interviewing in the Field 83

Introduction 83

Differences between Participant Observation and Nonparticipant Observation 84

Observation from a Distance 88

Deciding Where and What to Observe 91

Deciding When to Observe 101

Informal Interviewing in the Field 103

Tips on Recording Observations and Informal Interviews 107

Dynamics and Challenges in Field Observation 110

Summary 111

Chapter 5 Additional Methods for Collecting Exploratory Data 112

Introduction 112

Social and Other Forms of Mapping 112

Eliciting Information through Objects, Drawings, Materials, and Photographs 124

Timelines 128

Organizational Charts 131

Summary 132

Chapter 6 In-depth, Open-ended Exploratory Interviewing 134

Introduction and Definitions 134

Purposes of In-depth, Exploratory, Open-ended Interviewing 135

Selecting and Sampling: When and Whom to Interview 137

Preparing for the Interview 140

Starting an Unstructured Exploratory Interview 151

Structuring Open-ended Interviews 152

Self-management during Interviewing 163

Recording Research Interviews 166

Summary 167

Chapter 7 Semistructured Interviews and Observations 171

What Are Semistructured Forms of Data Collection? 171

Conducting Semistructured Interviews 174

Constructing a Semistructured Interview Schedule 179

Analysis of Semistructured Interview Data 183

Conducting Semistructured Observations 188

Sampling in Semistructured Data Collection 191

Identifying and Resolving Challenges in Semistructured Data Collection 193

Summary 194

Chapter 8 Focus Group Interviews 195

What Is a Group Interview? 195

Formal Focus Group Interviews 196

Organizing and Preparing for Formal Focus Group Interviews 198

Creating a Representative Sample for a Focus Group 202

Identifying and Training Focus Group Facilitators 211

Conducting a Focus Group Interview 216

Asking Questions in Focus Group Interviews 220

Characteristics of Good Focus Group Questions 222

Recording Data from Focus Group Interviews 226

Videotaping 231

Validity and Reliability in Research with Focus Groups 233

Management and Analysis of Focus Group Interviews 237

Advantages, Uses, and Limitations of Focus Group Interviews 239

Chapter 9 Structured Approaches to Ethnographic Data Collection: Surveys 241

The Role of Structured Data Collection 241

Defining Ethnographic Surveys 243

Steps in the Construction of the Ethnographic Survey 247

Administration of Ethnographic Interviews 271

Analysis of Quantitative Data 275

Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data: Triangulation 276

Summary 278

Chapter 10 Sampling in Ethnographic Research 280

Approaches to Selection in Ethnographic Research 283

Approaches to Sampling to Approximate or Achieve Representativeness of a Population in Ethnographic Research 294

Requirements for and Cautions about the Use of Samples 309

Summary 318

Chapter 11 Defining and Evaluating Quality in Ethnographic Research 319

Introduction: What Is Research Quality? 319

Reliability, Validity, Objectivity, and Subjectivity 320

The Positivist Critique of Ethnography 323

Why Ethnographic Characteristics Fit Poorly with Positivistic Canons for Research Quality 325

Validity 327

Reliability 341

Conclusion 343.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

0759122032

9780759122031

9780759122048

0759122040

OCLC:

796354987

Publisher Number:

99950872998