Ethnography

Ethnography is anthropology's signature method — long-term, immersive fieldwork through participant observation to understand social life from within.

Scope

It covers participant observation, fieldwork practice and ethics, interpretation and 'thick description', and reflexive critiques of ethnographic representation.

Core questions

• How can a researcher understand a way of life from within?
• How is fieldwork conducted and written up?
• How reliable and objective is ethnography?
• How does the ethnographer's position shape the account?

Key concepts

• Participant observation
• Fieldwork
• Thick description
• Reflexivity
• Emic and etic
• Ethnographic writing

Key theories

Participant observation

Malinowski established immersive fieldwork as the basis of anthropological knowledge.

Thick description

Geertz framed ethnography as interpreting layered cultural meaning.

The reflexive turn

Clifford and Marcus exposed ethnography as a constructed, partial, and political form of writing.

History

From Malinowski's fieldwork revolution through Geertz's interpretive turn to the reflexive 'writing culture' critique, ethnography has continually reflected on how knowledge of others is produced and represented.

Debates

Is ethnography objective?

The 'writing culture' critique questioned ethnographic authority and objectivity, prompting reflexive methods.

Key figures

• Bronisław Malinowski
• Clifford Geertz
• James Clifford
• George Marcus

Seminal works

• malinowski-1922
• geertz-1973
• clifford-marcus-1986

Frequently asked questions

What is participant observation?

The core ethnographic method of taking part in a community's daily life over an extended period while systematically observing it.