Confronta i metodi

	Ricerca Etnografica	Ricerca-Azione	Note sul Campo	Osservazione partecipante
Campo	Ricerca qualitativa	Ricerca qualitativa	Metodologia delle indagini	Ricerca qualitativa
Famiglia	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Anno di origine	1920s–1970s	1946	Late 19th century (formalized in 20th century)	1922
Ideatore	Anthropology (Malinowski, Boas); applied in health and sociology (Geertz)	Kurt Lewin; expanded by Kemmis, McTaggart, Reason & Bradbury	Rooted in 19th-century anthropology and sociology; systematized by ethnographers such as Bronislaw Malinowski and later Robert Emerson et al.	Bronislaw Malinowski
Tipo	Method	Method	Qualitative data collection and recording technique	Method
Fonte seminale	Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. Basic Books.	Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34–46.	Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 978-0226206813	Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books. ISBN: 978-0465026432
Alias	Ethnography, Participatory Observation, Field Research	Participatory Action Research, PAR, Collaborative Inquiry	fieldnotes, observational notes, ethnographic notes, jottings	ethnographic observation, participatory observation, overt observation, immersive observation
Correlati	4	1	6	4
Sintesi	Ethnographic research is an immersive qualitative methodology in which researchers spend prolonged time in a community, organization, or social setting, combining participant observation, interviews, and document analysis to develop a rich, contextual understanding of a group's beliefs, practices, and social structures. Grounded in anthropology and refined for health, organizational, and social research, ethnography produces 'thick description' (Geertz 1973) that reveals the meaning and context underlying observable behavior.	Action research is a collaborative research methodology in which researchers work with practitioners and community members to investigate a problem, implement change, and evaluate outcomes, cycling through reflection, action, and learning. Developed by Kurt Lewin (1946), action research bridges research and practice, aiming simultaneously to produce knowledge and practical improvement.	Field notes are detailed written records created by researchers during or immediately after direct observation in a naturalistic setting. They capture what is seen, heard, and experienced — including behaviors, interactions, physical environments, and the researcher's own analytic impressions — forming the primary data source for ethnographic and observational studies.	Participant observation is a qualitative research method in which the researcher embeds themselves within a community, organization, or social setting for an extended period, engaging in the activities and relationships of the group while systematically observing and documenting behavior, interactions, and cultural meaning. Pioneered by Malinowski in the 1920s and developed in anthropology, the method has been adopted across sociology, education, health sciences, and organizational research. The researcher functions as both insider (participating in group activities) and outsider (maintaining analytical distance), generating thick description—rich accounts of context, behavior, and meaning that reveal how people actually live and interact.