Teaching Ethnographic Methods: The State of the Art
Publication Date
12-1-2022
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Human Organization
Volume
81
Issue
4
DOI
10.17730/1938-3525-81.4.401
First Page
401
Last Page
412
Abstract
Ethnography is a core methodology in anthropology and other disciplines. Yet, there is currently no scholarly consensus on how to teach ethnographic methods—or even what methods belong in the ethnographic toolkit. We report on a systematic analysis of syllabi to gauge how ethnographic methods are taught in the United States. We analyze 107 methods syllabi from a nationally elicited sample of university faculty who teach ethnography. Systematic coding shows that ethics, research design, participant observation, interviewing, and analysis are central to ethnographic instruction. But many key components of ethical, quality ethnographic practice (like preparing an IRB application, reflexivity, positionality, taking field notes, accurate transcription, theme identification, and coding) are only taught rarely. We suggest that, without inclusion of such elements in its basic training, the fields that prioritize this methodology are at risk of inadvertently perpetuating uneven, erratic, and extractive fieldwork practices.
Funding Sponsor
National Science Foundation
Keywords
ethnography, fieldwork, participant observation, qualitative research, research methods, teaching
Department
Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Alissa Ruth, Katherine Mayfour, Jessica Hardin, Thurka Sangaramoorthy, Amber Wutich, H. Russell Bernard, Alexandra Brewis, Melissa Beresford, Cindi SturtzSreetharan, Bryan Mc Kinley Jones Brayboy, H. J.François Dengah, Clarence C. Gravlee, Greg Guest, Krista Harper, Pardis Mahdavi, Siobhán M. Mattison, Mark Moritz, Rosalyn Negrón, and Barbara A. Piperata. "Teaching Ethnographic Methods: The State of the Art" Human Organization (2022): 401-412. https://doi.org/10.17730/1938-3525-81.4.401
