What Exactly Is Ethnography?

What exactly is ethnography?

Abstract

Ethnography is a term derived from two Greek words /ethnos/ (which means a notion, folk or people) and /grapho/ "I write" and when loosely put, the two words therefore means to write the story of people. It is the study of different people and their cultures.

Ethnography may also be defined as both qualitative research method or process and product and whose aim is cultural clarification. The ethnographer goes a step beyond reporting details of experience and events and attempts to explain deeper. Ethnographers come up with understandings of culture. They do this through representation of emic perspective also described as "insider's point of view" emphasis in this representation allow emergence of critical categories from the ethnographic experience rather introducing these from the existing models.

Typically, ethnography entails the study of a small group of subjects in their respective environment and tries to gain a detailed understanding of circumstances a few areas or subjects being studied.  Ethnographic accounts can be seen as both interpretive and descriptive.  Descriptive in the sense that, detail is very important and interceptive because the ethnographer has to see the significance of observations without having to gather large quantity of statistical information.

The historical past of ethnography as an expression and practice is quite ample and it entails philosophical, spiritual, political and aesthetic elements, which have often named people, alternate cultures and informed people who they are, and their likely future positions. Ethnography as a concept was first developed by Gerhard Friedrich a German professor who looked into it as a distinct disciplined while he undertook the 1733 and 1743 second Kamchatka Expedition.

Other experts on the field such as Christoph Wilhem of Göttingen University brought the term into academic consultation in an attempt to bring change in the contemporary manner in the understanding of world history. Ethnography therefore emerged out of a ''master colonization discourse'' Atkinson (2007) in his study of the subject. Various scholars have however questioned the legitimacy of this debate. By applying its concepts and standards, this section examines ethnography deeply in order to have a clearer understanding of the study.

Ethnography as a research strategy

An etic view, by dissimilarity, refers to a farther, analytical alignment to experience. The understanding of the ethnographic concept can be developed through keen analysis of several data sources, which can be used as a foundation by the ethnographer who relies on a cultural frame analysis. Participant observation is the term used to describe the field setting or place where ethnography is carried out and this is usually the first primary source of data. The term depicts the dual role the ethnographer. The researcher needs to become both a participant in life of the setting while at the same time maintaining the role of an observer. Typically, ethnographers can spend many months or even years in the place, they will conduct their research with the aim of forming lasting bonds with the people. (O’reiley, 2005, p. 115).