Ethnography essentials : designing, conducting, and presenting your research / Julian M. Murchison.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1. The Why and What of Ethnography -- 1. What Is Ethnography? -- Ethnography: The Engaged, Firsthand Study of Society and Culture in Action -- A Brief History -- How Ethnography Has Changed: Doing Contemporary Ethnography -- Ethnography as Firsthand Research -- Ethnographer as Research Instrument -- Collaboration as Research Model: Ethnographer as Student -- 2. Choosing an Ethnographic Topic -- Where to Look for Possible Topics -- Ethnographic Topics: Studying Places, People, or Events -- The Benefits of a Relatively Specific Focus -- Thinking About the Nonobvious as Discoverable -- Cultural Knowledge and Behavior in Action as Research Objects -- Practical Concerns -- Considering Ethics from the Start: Your Obligations to Potential Informants -- Topics You Might Want to Avoid -- 3. RESEARCh.DESIGN -- Turning an Idea or Topic into a Research Question -- Linking Questions to Methods -- Key Methods to Consider for the Ethnographic Project -- What is Practical or Feasible? Time, Availability, and Ethics -- 4. Writing A Proposal -- Identifying and Reviewing Appropriate Literature -- Statement of the Problem -- A Clear Research Plan -- Identifying Your Project's Larger Relevance -- Human Subjects Review and Approval -- Part 2. Ethnography in the Field: Collecting Data -- 5. A Guide To Collecting Data and Taking Notes -- The Fleeting Nature of Ethnographic Data -- The Importance of Detail in the Ethnographic Record -- Writing Notes Versus Using Recorders -- The -- Prospects of Transcription -- What Is Important and What Is Superfluous-'What Do I Need to Write Down?' -- The Ethics of Collecting Information -- 6. Participant-Observation -- The Apparent Paradox: Participation and Observation -- Balancing Participation and Observation -- The Importance of Time -- Depending on Informants as Teachers and Guides -- Getting Started -- Regular Versus Extraordinary Behavior and Conversations -- 7. Interviews -- Starting with Informal Interviews and Conversations -- Informal Conversation as an Avenue to 'Real' Culture -- A Good Interviewer Is a Good Listener -- How to Record Interview Data -- Using an Interview Schedule -- How to Start an Interview -- Good Versus Bad Interview Questions -- When to Conduct Formal Interviews -- 8. Analyzing Along the Way -- Identifying Key Themes and Questions: Paying Attention to Your Data -- How to Organize Your Notes -- What Have You Learned? -- What Do You Still Need to Do? -- Has the Research Question Changed? -- Tweaking the Research Design -- Getting Feedback from Your Informants -- Writing at the Midway Point -- 9. Ethnographic Maps -- Space and Movement as Key Components of Culture -- The Importance of Space, Shape, and Distance -- Large- and Small-Scale Geographic Maps -- Mapping Interior Spaces -- Cognitive or Conceptual Maps -- Representing Movement and Behavior on a Map -- 10. Tables and Charts -- Ethnographic Tables -- Interpersonal Relationships as a Manifestation of Culture -- Kinship as an Organizing Principle -- Other Organizational Charts -- 11. Archives and Secondary Data -- Cultural Artifacts as Sources of Information -- Making Ethnographic Use of Archives -- Contemporary Cultural Artifacts -- Evaluating and Analyzing Cultural Artifacts -- Analytical Sources Versus Popular or Primary Sources -- Part 3. Analyzing and Writing -- 12. Sorting and Coding Data -- Writing from Your Research Data -- Identifying Key Themes and Questions -- Identifying Important Research Moments and Experiences -- Coding and Sorting the Ethnographic Record -- Dealing with Apparent Contradictions: The Messiness of Ethnographic Data -- 13. Answering Questions and Building Models -- Fitting the Pieces Together -- Moving from Data to Theory: The Inductive Process -- Remembering the Big Picture and the Big Questions -- Infusing Theory in Ethnography -- 14. Choosing the Appropriate Presentation Style -- Common Ethnographic Conventions -- The Importance of Ethnographic Detail -- Matching Style to Audience, Subject, and Analysis -- A Formal to Informal Continuum of Style -- 15. Putting the Whole Ethnography Together -- The Hourglass Shape as a Model -- Alternative Models for Organizing an Ethnography -- Incorporating Relevant Literature -- Incorporating Maps, Charts, and Photographs -- Demonstrating the Project's Relevance -- Evaluating and Revising Ethnography -- Sharing the Ethnography -- Incorporating Responses and Critiques -- Index.

Machine converted from AACR2 source record.