Methods
How to Do Ethnographic Research: A Simplified Guide.

The following section was authored by Barbara Hall and is intended to provide general, simplified information about how to conduct and write up the results of ethnographic research.  The information that follows falls into three general areas:

guidance through the steps necessary to plan and conduct an interesting and appropriate ethnographic term project, even in a class that does not devote much or any time to teaching ethnographic methodology,

help in making sense of what is learned through the research, both with regards to the fieldsite in question and to anthropological theory, and

assistance in rendering the both research process and what was learned through it accessible to readers through established conventions for writing ethnographic research papers.

The pages below are arranged in a loose order which can take you step-by-step through the research and writing process involved in ethnography.  Novice ethnographers are encouraged to read through the following in its entirety before beginning a project.

What is Ethnography?

"Objectivity", Ethnographic Insight & Ethnographic Authority

Guiding Questions in Ethnography

Fieldsites

Ethics in Ethnographic Research

Fieldnotes

Interviews

Site Documents

Data Analysis

Developing a Thesis and Argument

Theoretical Context

Drafting the Paper

Additional Links of Interest