Ebook: Ethnography

What is ethnography in social research? To what use can ethnographic data be put? Who are its fiercest critics? Does ethnography have a future? Ethnography is one of the principal methods of qualitative research and has a long-established tradition of use in the social sciences. However, the literature on ethnography has become a battleground as ethnography is attacked from within and without the qualitative tradition. Post-modern critics attack the methodological status of ethnography and challenge the importance of its representations of reality, and others argue that globalization narrows its application as localism disappears. "Ethnography" provides a robust defence of this research method and establishes its continued relevance in the social sciences. It sets out the competing methodological bases of ethnography and details its different uses as a research method. The author offers guidelines for good practice in the research process, as well as advice on the analysis, interpretation and presentation of ethnographic data.; Although written as a textbook, the contents are research led, informed by the author's own extensive experience of undertaking ethnographic research in dangerous and sensitive locations in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. The result is a lively and engaging read on an essential topic for both students and researchers. Read more... Introduction -- The centrality of method in the social sciences -- What is 'method'? -- What is 'methodology'? -- Debate about methods in social sciences -- 1. What is ethnography? -- The history of ethnography -- Ethnography, sociology and common sense -- 'Big' and 'little' ethnography -- Critiques of ethnography -- 2. Ethnography as method amd methodology -- The philosophy of social research -- The natural science model of social research -- The humanistic model of social research -- The methodological bases of ethnography -- The double crisis of ethnography -- Post-postmodern ethnography -- 3. The research process in ethnography -- Research design in ethnography -- Data collection techniques -- Case studies and generalizations -- Other issues of good practice -- 4. The analysis, interpretation and presentation of ethonographic data -- Analysis -- Interpretation -- Reflexivity -- The presentation of ethnographic data -- 5. Uses of ethnography -- Knowledge generation -- Theory-building in ethnography -- Applied ethnographic research -- Conclusion: whither ethnography? -- Globalization and ethnography -- Tradition, identity and Ulster Loyalism -- The global-local nexus -- Local crime management in Belfast