Ethnography: Immersing yourself in the culture

This is an additional video, hosted on YouTube.
Is Ethnography the same as Fieldwork?
You may sometimes hear Ethnography being referred to as ‘fieldwork’. This is because the focus of this approach is the researcher entering the ‘field’ of the setting to be researched, to explore ‘what is going on?’ in the environment.Ethnography investigates the nature of a particular social phenomenon rather than setting out to test a theory. It usually involves a small number of cases, sometimes even just one case, in detail. Data is collected through visual observation and interviews. Field notes are recorded and diaries are kept. Sometimes observations are captured in written form, by video or a combination of both. If you undertake Ethnographic research, keep in mind, you will bring your own personality, experience, skills, strengths and weaknesses to the field. Fieldwork is a personal thing, so the data will vary according to:- the level of experience you bring to the field
- your level of involvement
- your interpersonal capabilities and emotional intelligence
- your ability to see and visualise things that other people visiting the area of study may fail to notice.
Your task
Who are you interested in learning more about? Identify a group or culture that fascinates you and share your thoughts in the comments section below.For those of you who would like to take the next step, construct a research question that could guide an ethnographic study and share it with the group.Why Experience Matters: Qualitative Research

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