Approaches to
Qualitative Research
Dr Suhail Sarhandi
Ethnography
Narrative Inquiry
Approaches
Action Research
Case Study
When you hear the word ethnography, what
comes to mind?
Have you read an ethnography (or seen any
ethnographic documentaries or performances)? If
so, what were the contexts of these studies?
Ethnography What types of topics or issues do you think could
be explored through ethnographic research? What
topics could not be? Explain
Based on what you might already know about
ethnography, list some advantages and
disadvantages for using it as a research approach
Ethnographic approaches are
particularly valuable when not
enough is known about a context or
situation (Mackay & Gass, 2005).
Overview
‘Ethnography’ refers to both the
product – the presentation of the
final analysis and interpretation of
the completed study – and also the
research process itself.
The study of people’s behavior in naturally
occurring, ongoing settings, with a focus on the
cultural interpretation of behavior (Watson-
Gegeo, 1988)
Through ethnographic studies what people do
(behaviors), what they say (language), the
potential tension between what they do and
ought to do, and what they make and use, such
What is as artifacts (Spradley, 1980, as cited in Creswell,
ETHNOGRAPHY? 2007)
Ethnographic research allows researchers to
explore how people create, sustain, change, and
pass on their shared values, beliefs, and
behavior – in essence, their culture.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
Focused
Ethnography
Ethnographic
forms
Critical
Ethnography
Detailed and Profound
understanding of a given culture
Fluid and Flexible
Recording of behavior
Why use
ETHNOGRAPHY? Wide Audience
Narratives
Novels
Dramas
Documentaries
Traditional research articles
Fieldwork
Collecting
your data
Interviews
Artifacts
Participant observation
This description and Thick
description
Methods of
data collection
Interviewing and artifacts
Additional considerations
Triangulation
Keep your notes in well-defined
groups or categories
Always write the date, time, and
place
File data in chronological order
Make and maintain a ‘contents’
Organizing list for each notebook or
computer folder
your data
Label files and folders with
unambiguous titles
If you use a code system, do not
make it so complicated
As your data expand, devise
cross-referencing systems.
Read your data carefully
Analyzing
and Write Analytic memos
Interpreting Coding
your data
Role of the researcher
No Typical science form
Presenting
your findings
Setting the stage for the reader
Take away
Ethnography is a research approach that focuses on ‘people’s
behavior in natural occurring, ongoing settings, with a focus on the
cultural interpretation of behavior’ (Watson-Gegeo, 1988, p. 576).
It draws on an interpretive approach and allows researchers to
explore how people create, sustain, change, and pass on their
culture.
Groups rather than individuals are studied in ethnography. These
groups can be large or small because culture is not limited to big
groups.
Take away
Topics studied in ethnographies are typically broad; they investigate little
understood issues, behaviors, or situations.
Balancing an etic/emic position during an ethnographic study is essential.
Triangulation is important to validate claims and to discover
inconsistencies throughout the research process.
Ethnographies require long time commitments, so researchers should be
sure they are prepared to make that commitment before they begin.
Reviewing questions
Why is culture so integral to ethnography?
Based on the information in the session and your own
ideas, what are some ways to help keep collected data
organized?
How could making swift value judgments damage the
quality of ethnographic research?
Explain the importance of thick description in
ethnographic researching and reporting.
Why is it necessary for ethnographers to maintain an
emic/etic balance throughout their research projects?
REFRENCES
Angrosino, M. (2007). Doing ethnographic and observational
research. London: Sage Publications.
Burns, R. (2000). Introduction to research methods (4th ed.).
Frenchs Forest, NSW: Longman.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design:
Choosing among five traditions (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.
Richards, K. (2003). Qualitative inquiry in TESOL. London:
Palgrave Macmillan.
