Ethnography Essentials: Designing, Conducting, and Presenting Your Research
Abstract
A comprehensive and practical guide to ethnographic research, this book guides you through the process, starting with the fundamentals of choosing and proposing a topic and selecting a research design. It describes methods of data collection (taking notes, participant observation, interviewing, identifying themes and issues, creating ethnographic maps and tables and charts, and referring to secondary sources) and analyzing and writing ethnography (sorting and coding data, answering questions, choosing a presentation style, and assembling the ethnography). Although content is focused on producing written ethnography, many of the principles and methods discussed here also apply to other forms of ethnographic presentation, including ethnographic film.
Designed to give basic hands-on experience in the overall ethnography research process, Ethnography Essentials covers a wealth of topics, enabling anyone new to ethnography research to successfully explore the excitement and challenges of field research.
... This is because one cannot unwrite themselves from what they write. The individual inadvertently inscribes himself or herself into what s/he writes (Murchison, 2010;Schwandt, 2005;Stokes, 2003). In online spaces, just as elsewhere, writing (and arguably self-naming) is a political act (Clark & Ivanic, 1997). ...
... But the difficulties associated with keeping them at bay demonstrates the fluidity of identity and thus the dangers of exposure in online spaces as ghosts eventually leave digital footprints that gives one a clear profile of the person(s) behind them. These digital footprints are an example of how we inscribe ourselves into the text (see Murchison, 2010;Schwandt, 2005;Stokes, 2003) in the process inadvertently allowing the deliberately hidden identity (back-stage performance) to occasionally intrude into the performance through tweets and the selfgiven names. In other words, in making the unknown known behind the veil of a pseudonym while trying to hide the known behind the veil of the pseudonym, the netizen only succeeds in inscribing both into the text. ...
... The individual behind the pseudonym inadvertently inscribes himself into his or her pseudonym and what s/he writes. This confirms observations by scholars that the individual inadvertently inscribes himself or herself into what s/he writes (see Murchison, 2010;Schwandt, 2005;Stokes, 2003). Both the online and offline identities are part and parcel of the netizens' identities and in both instances the identities are performances. ...
In Zimbabwean online spaces, especially Twitter, use of phantom names is widespread. It is arguable that this is partially a result of the country’s repressive political environment. It is the names that the nameless Twitter characters select and the motivations for using specific names that are the focus of this present study. The study is grounded in anthroponomastic concepts of pseudonymity and self-naming, and self-presentation and identity theory as well as semiotics of names while methodologically it is qualitative. Specifically, the study deploys archival research and netnography to gather data. The study found out that the ghosts’ adopted names are reflective of what they tweeted. The messages they tweeted were reflective of the online identity that they assumed; however, over and beyond that, their tweets exposed their political, and to an extent, religious inclinations. The tweets also exposed their origins and the spaces they once occupied or currently occupy. Finally, the article concludes that hiding behind a ghost name may hide the name of the person but it certainly does not hide the identity/identities of the person behind the phantom name. His or her being is self-evident in his or her tweets—they imprint themselves into their tweets. The anonymity in online spaces may, after all, be just superficial.
... Constructivist researchers, who tend to resort to qualitative approaches, believe in multiple realities and argue that the understanding or meaning of phenomena is formed through participants and their subjective opinions (Creswell & Poth, 2016). The aim of ethnography lies in studying human behaviors and actions in social contexts and how these environmental contexts impose restraints on social interaction (Murchison, 2010). For this research, the investigation of students' cultural competence development required a close and comprehensive examination of their views and experiences, which cannot be achieved by one single research method. ...
... For this research, the investigation of students' cultural competence development required a close and comprehensive examination of their views and experiences, which cannot be achieved by one single research method. Instead, ethnography combines different methods to gather rich and contextually detailed data via first-hand data collection (Murchison, 2010). ...
... JL had the initial concern that her limited clinical knowledge might impair her understanding of students' learning experiences, and subsequently affect the quality of the research. As an "outsider" (Murchison, 2010), JL may not be able to easily make sense of all the activities she saw in the hospital. Her presence may also change the dynamics of the teaching and care provision. ...
As a result of an increased understanding of culture’s impact on health and healthcare, cultural competence and diversity curricula have been incorporated into many medical programs. However, little is known about how students develop their cultural competence during their training. This ethnographic case study combined participant observation with interviews and focus group to understand students’ views and experiences in developing their cultural competence during clinical placements. The results show that students’ development of cultural competence is an individually varied process via four distinctive yet interrelated learning avenues. Immersion in a diverse healthcare environment contributes to students’ development of cultural awareness and knowledge. Observation of culturally appropriate or inappropriate practices allows students to enhance their practical skills and critical reflection. Interaction with other clinical professionals, patients, and their family members, enables students’ engagement within the busy clinical practice. Reflection helps students to actively think about culture’s impact on health and internalize the importance of cultural competence. Students’ learning via each avenue is interrelated and constantly interacting with their learning environment, which collectively contributes to their development. Integrating the results allowed the authors to generate a theoretical model that conceptualizes medical students’ cultural competence development in clinical placements, which unearths students’ cultural learning within the informal and hidden curriculum. This study provides a rare view of students’ development of cultural competence in clinical placements, which may inform the pedagogic development of cultural competence and diversity education in medicine and healthcare.
... Ethnography was adopted as it allows researchers to explore cultural phenomena and examine behaviors of participants in given social contexts by focusing on social interaction and participants' interpretation of their own behaviors (Murchison, 2010). For this research, an ethnographic approach enabled us to bridge the distance between our interpretation and the meaning of students' life experiences that may contribute to their development of CC. ...
... The investigation of CC development among medical students required a close and systematic exploration of their behaviors and views, for which ethnography offered a unique way for examination via deep immersion and first-hand data collection. As a "toolbox of methods, " ethnography involves understanding how to best combine different methods or complement one method with additional ones to develop a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon (Murchison, 2010). ...
... During data analysis, JL acknowledges that she has used her feelings aroused from both the "etic" and "emic" stances to interpret the research findings (Murchison, 2010). This means sometimes JL's understanding of a phenomenon as an observer may conflict with her feeling as a participant, therefore, it required her to make sense of the potential discrepancies in order to gain a more comprehensive view of students' learning. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of the Black Lives Matter Movement worldwide have foregrounded the long-standing inequality in society and healthcare. The provision of culturally competent care has become more necessary than at any other time. However, cultural competence (CC) education remains inconsistent across medical schools, and little is known about how students develop their CC through campus-based classroom teaching. We took an ethnographic approach to study students’ development of CC in campus-based formal classroom teaching. This study was conducted in a large London medical school in England. We triangulated data collected from 6-month participant observation, 25 individual interviews, and three focus groups to generate reliable accounts of students’ CC developmental experience. Thick descriptions were developed through iterative, inductive, interactive, and reflexive review and interpretation of data using NVivo 11. The results show that students undergo staged cultural learning throughout their undergraduate medical curriculum through bespoke CC lectures, workshops, clinical/research projects, and integrated clinical simulations that incorporate CC and other clinical subjects. The early learning mainly takes place in the pre-clinical year of the curriculum, among which a range of valued-based sessions is observed as conducive to students’ development of CC. As they progress, students develop their CC by attending clinical sessions with embedded cultural content. The curriculum in senior years presents reduced mandatory teaching, but more clinical exposure and opportunities to reach out to other subjects and disciplines. It means students start to have more diverse and dispersed learning experiences based on their individual choices, some of which may contribute to their development of CC. This study provides a rare insight into medical students’ CC development through participation in campus-based classroom teaching. Various learning opportunities contribute to different aspects of CC development and cater to different learning preferences of the diverse student population. To support students’ comprehensive development of CC, educators need to work collaboratively and use overt signposting to related disciplines and subjects. There needs to be recognition of students’ learning not only in the formal curriculum but also in the informal and hidden curricula.
... All data was collected face-to-face. MvP established a close relationship with MCSJ during her 18-month period of intensive fieldwork provided an opportunity for frequent conversations, reflections and discussions which were iterative in nature [44][45][46]. MvP travelled to Gugulethu 2 or 3 times a week, depending on ongoing MCSJ activities. Findings from fieldnotes were discussed with key-informants to ensure data validity. ...
... Findings from fieldnotes were discussed with key-informants to ensure data validity. Data was also collected from informal conversations with key-informants, informed by queries and questions deriving from fieldnotes [45]. Key areas of interests were MCSJs relationship with health providers and researchers, strategies used to access health information and role in the larger iALARM project. ...
... This research project was designed using an longitudinal ethnographic study design and aligned with disciplinary convention, MvP conducted research in larger meetings or public settings. Therefore, written consent could not be always be obtained [43,45,46,53]. During her time in the field, MvP created strong relationships with key-informants in communities and colleagues within the project. ...
The access to, use, and exchange of health information is crucial when strengthening public health services and improving access to care. However, many health system stakeholders, including community groups are perpetually excluded from accessing and using health information. This is problematic as community groups, themselves end-users of care, are well-positioned to keep the health system accountable, provide feedback on the quality of services, and identify emerging health concerns. Using qualitative, ethnographic methods, this paper investigates different strategies used by the Movement for Change and Social Justice (MCSJ)–a local health activism group–to collect, use and distribute health information to improve health care in Gugulethu, a low-income neighbourhood in Cape Town, South Africa. Through participant observation, shadowing, informal conversations and semi-structured interviews that were analysed using iterative thematic analysis, findings revealed that MCSJ effectively collected, used and exchanged health information to develop short-term health campaigns. To get access to the needed health information, they used innovative strategies, including cultivating allies in the health system, finding safe spaces, and using community brokers to effectively mobilise community members to keep the health system accountable. MCSJ’s strategies highlight that stakeholders’ engagement with health information is not only a technical exercise, but a complex social process that requires constant negotiation and relationship building. Therefore, to make meaningful improvements to health services and create adaptive and responsive health systems, we need to include community groups as active stakeholders in the health system, provide relevant, up-to-date and locally relevant health information, and facilitate opportunities to socially engage with health information and those who produce it.
... Although there is debate surrounding the extent to which different methods can be considered as ethnographic, there is consensus that use of field notes should be the core method when a study adopts an ethnographic approach to data collection (Pole & Morrison, 2003;Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007;Creese et al, 2008;Walford, 2009;Madden, 2010;Murchison, 2010;Atkins & Wallace, 2012;Mills & Morton, 2013;Delamont, 2014;Campbell & Lassiter, 2015). ...
... Mills & Morton (2013) advocate an initial 'broad sweep' approach to note making, gradually focusing on issues and themes as these emerge through the study. Murchison (2010) highlights the importance of including 'sensory experiences' within field notes. This is supported by Campbell and Lassiter (2015) who also emphasise the importance of the researcher recording their own experiences and emotions. ...
... When collecting data using field notes, it is also important consider what is recorded, as the field notes of one researcher cannot record everything that takes place (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007;Murchison, 2010). This was particularly relevant to my study, owing to the distinctly separate 'eating area' and 'playing area' that is occupied by pupils and mid-day supervisors at lunchtimes. ...
This study focused on a group of staff who undertake an occupational role in almost every primary school in the United Kingdom: mid-day supervisors. Despite mid-day supervisors being present in most primary schools for a proportion of each day, little is known about the functions of their role or about those who undertake it. No previous research has focused solely on this role within primary schools, nor included mid-day supervisors themselves as sole participants. This thesis therefore makes a contribution to knowledge by exploring the functions of the mid-day supervisors’ role, the place of this role within primary school communities and the experience of undertaking the role from the perspective of mid-day supervisors themselves. The study took place within three primary schools in the East Midlands. At each school, I worked alongside the mid-day supervisors, taking on the role myself, for fifteen consecutive days. During this participatory stage, I made field notes to record my own experience, informal observations and, most often, conversations between myself and the mid-day supervisors I worked alongside. This provided an insight into not only the experience of undertaking the role myself, but of the mid-day supervisors’ experience of doing so at the school. This data was supplemented by interviews with some mid-day supervisors at each school, allowing further exploration of their past and current experience undertaking the role. This study finds that the role of the mid-day supervisor within each school was either marginalised from or legitimised within the school community (Wenger, 1998) through organisational positioning, influences within the wider community and interactions with those undertaking different roles. The study draws on various theories of role (Linton, 1936; Newcomb, 1950; Dahrendorf, 1973; Biddle, 1986) to highlight the impact this had on the obligatory, optional and forbidden aspects of how the role was enacted and the functions that mid-day supervisors performed in each school. The experience of occupying the role of a primary-school mid-day supervisor was heavily influenced by factors that either minimised or contributed to role strain, such as role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload. Where these factors were minimal, the experience of being a mid-day supervisor was generally a positive one. Where these factors were significant, this led to a negative experience of being a mid-day supervisor for those who occupied the role and resulted in frustration and job dissatisfaction.
... This is because one cannot unwrite themselves from what they write. The individual inadvertently inscribes himself or herself into what s/he writes (Murchison, 2010;Schwandt, 2005;Stokes, 2003). In online spaces, just as elsewhere, writing (and arguably self-naming) is a political act (Clark & Ivanic, 1997). ...
... But the difficulties associated with keeping them at bay demonstrates the fluidity of identity and thus the dangers of exposure in online spaces as ghosts eventually leave digital footprints that gives one a clear profile of the person(s) behind them. These digital footprints are an example of how we inscribe ourselves into the text (see Murchison, 2010;Schwandt, 2005;Stokes, 2003) in the process inadvertently allowing the deliberately hidden identity (back-stage performance) to occasionally intrude into the performance through tweets and the selfgiven names. In other words, in making the unknown known behind the veil of a pseudonym while trying to hide the known behind the veil of the pseudonym, the netizen only succeeds in inscribing both into the text. ...
... The individual behind the pseudonym inadvertently inscribes himself into his or her pseudonym and what s/he writes. This confirms observations by scholars that the individual inadvertently inscribes himself or herself into what s/he writes (see Murchison, 2010;Schwandt, 2005;Stokes, 2003). Both the online and offline identities are part and parcel of the netizens' identities and in both instances the identities are performances. ...
In Zimbabwean online spaces, especially Twitter, use of phantom names is widespread. It is arguable that this is partially a
result of the country’s repressive political environment. It is the names that the nameless Twitter characters select and the
motivations for using specific names that are the focus of this present study. The study is grounded in anthroponomastic
concepts of pseudonymity and self-naming, and self-presentation and identity theory as well as semiotics of names while
methodologically it is qualitative. Specifically, the study deploys archival research and netnography to gather data. The study
found out that the ghosts’ adopted names are reflective of what they tweeted. The messages they tweeted were reflective of
the online identity that they assumed; however, over and beyond that, their tweets exposed their political, and to an extent,
religious inclinations. The tweets also exposed their origins and the spaces they once occupied or currently occupy. Finally,
the article concludes that hiding behind a ghost name may hide the name of the person but it certainly does not hide the
identity/identities of the person behind the phantom name. His or her being is self-evident in his or her tweets—they imprint
themselves into their tweets. The anonymity in online spaces may, after all, be just superficial.
... This critical realist perspective was tempered with a belief in the social facts of the lived experiences of participants and informants, which held conflicting interpretations of reality and truth (Watson, 2011). This belief of a discoverable truth which could be obscured by participants as well as the researcher through the obscuring influence of social systems -means that these perceptions needs to be continually critiqued (Murchison, 2010). ...
... Another attribute of classical ethnography relevant for this study was the capacity for this method to provide a rich description of a social and economic world. Van Maanen (Putnam et al., 1993) and Murchison (2010) emphasise the importance of making a "firsthand account" as part of a rich description of a community or culture. To produce this rich description, an ethnographer must not only be an observer, despite how important the process of observation is; an ethnographer must also be accepted into and involved in the systems of the participant to bring depth to the results (Putnam et al., 1993). ...
... It needs to be clarified that the incorporation of sense-making and narrative methods at this later stage was not an imposed coherent master narrative, but were the way that the subjective and phenomenological experience was clarified. The narratives, symbols and social systems added substantial ideological understanding to the experience of exercising leadership in a regional community with a declining population (Murchison, 2010). Despite this expectation of a meta-narrative the researcher rejected the possibility of homogeneous results and was prepared for a diverse, and even contentious, range of interpretations from informants, participants, policy and wider social structures. ...
This doctoral thesis explores a socioeconomic model for understanding and analysing leadership in the regional area of Horsham and its hinterland communities. This thesis critiques accepted models of regional development policy and leadership theory and in doing so argues for a new approach emphasising the roles that leaders adopt to achieve goals. These roles comprise the entrepreneur, manager and community leader that this thesis terms the regional trifecta model of leadership. This is a model that explores the ways that leaders attain mutuality within social and economic eco-systems in order to achieve long-term regional economic sustainability and liveability for residents. This doctoral study uses a critical qualitative ethnographic exploration of Horsham and its surrounding region drawing on researcher, the informant participant’s observations from a wide range of industries and social backgrounds.
This thesis discusses themes of policy barriers to environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship, social ostracism of female leaders, a sense of futility in bureaucratic compliance, passive and unsupportive communities, tempered with the critical hope of social enterprise and potential partnerships. In examining these themes the thesis argues that entrepreneurs are overwhelmingly values driven. It also asserts that they experience barriers of unreliable labour and unsupportive external partnerships. Managers are also strongly values driven and can experience many barriers from internal partnerships within their own organisations. Community leaders are values driven and struggle against the barriers of bureaucracy with the organisations they partner with.
The thesis provides a new contribution to the literature. This includes a critique of psychosocial approaches to leadership through role-based explorations that emphasise a collective responsibility for success within an eco-system. It also examines the types of people that become leaders and their motivations in regional Victoria. From this emerges a discussion about the tension between formal governance and power structures and the informal agency of leaders. The recommendations that emerge from this research are that policymakers, local, state and federal governments acknowledge and support the role of existing informal leaders and the significant social and economic benefit they bring to regional Victoria.
... The researcher maintains recording of open interviews holding outsider position as a longer period of conversations with the research participants are not remembered at all and sometimes misremembered (Murchison, 2010). S/he records the conversations that may be relevant or irrelevant to the research concerns. ...
... Sometimes, the interactions with the participants may occur spontaneously. Moreover, "hand gestures and body language" (Murchison, 2010), the impressions, scenes, firsthand field experiences (Wall, 2008) and the cultural context or the natural setting at the time of interviewing or informal conversations with the participants are quickly forgotten. In such situations, the researcher uses headnotes as an insider researcher. ...
The central concern of this paper is to discuss the positioning of the researcher while researching one's own community ethnographically. It argues that insider and outsider positioning of a researcher in insider ethnographic research appears in a contextual, iterative, and emergent manner. The strategies provide space for critical self-reflexive practices in the field, thereby enhancing the quality standard. In addition, it argues that the positioning of the researcher appears while maintaining the ethical issue of confidentiality. Thus, the paper claims that it is not necessary to set the ideological frame for structuring the researchers whilst engaging in the field with particular positioning. It highlights that the defined roles of a researcher guide him/her in a way denying to engage in the field adapting the contextual phenomena, thereby creating difficulties for generating quality data.
... (Esim. Fetterman 1998;Murchison 2010.) Havainnointi palvelee sekä perustutkimusta että soveltavaa tutkimusta (ks. ...
... luku Osallistava tutkimus). Tutkimuksen alkuvaiheessa se tarjoaa tärkeää tietoa esimerkiksi materiaalisesta ympäristöstä, arkisista rytmeistä, eri toimijoiden asemasta ja rooleista sekä muista ilmiöiden ja tapahtumien kulttuuriseen kontekstiin liittyvistä elementeistä (Murchison 2010). Havainnoinnin avulla voi selvittää ihmisten käyttäytymiseen liittyviä toistuvia, tietyssä ympäristössä ja tilanteessa tapahtuvia toimintoja. ...
This collection deals with cultural studies in the humanities and the methods it uses. Its authors include scholars of ethnology, anthropology, folkloristics, digital culture research, and study of religions. Its chapters address topics of discussion and debate in humanistic culture research and indicate what tools are currently being used to study cultural phenomena. Various phases of the research process are covered, including epistemology, research ethics, techniques of data collection and analysis, the writing process of research plans, and the process of writing up the analysis. The book’s authors contribute to our knowledge of changes in research paradigms and agendas, scientific philosophies, ethnographic fieldwork, different modes of writing, materiality, reflexivity, observation, researchers’ use of the five senses, digital research, audiovisual techniques of observation, and selected textual methodologies. The book is intended as a textbook and methods guide for students in the fields of cultural research, for postdoctoral researchers, and for more senior researchers.
... According to Charmaz, Thornberg and Keane (2008) versus what they say they do and the why; any underlying motivation behind people's actual behaviour. Ethnographic field work, therefore, involves going into people's natural settings versus studying people in a controlled environment (Murchison, 2010;O'Reilly, 2009;Silverman, 2016;Scott and Garner, 2013). ...
... Data for ethnography can be fleeting making it essential to record first-hand information and observations before it disappears or dissipates. (Murchison, 2010). ...
Technology has been criticised for blurring boundaries and making them more permeable, which has been previously portrayed as having a negative impact on work-life balance (WLB) and a cause for burnout among employees. With burnout a growing concern for organisations and governments, this thesis uses a boundary theory lens to explore the effects of technology on WLB. To improve understanding in this area, social media practitioners (SMPs) were selected as the sample to study because it could be said they are extensive users of technology and social media. Studying this group as an “extreme case” produces learnings and practices that could be applied to the rest of the social media industry and the digital workforce. Informed by a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach, this thesis draws from in-depth interviews with thirty-one UK SMPs and observation of an additional five SMPs, in their place of work, to investigate the role technology plays in managing boundaries between work and non-work and maintaining perceived WLB. Presented in this document are four contributions.
Firstly, this thesis turns its attention to the boundaries in the digital landscape. I introduce the new term digital virtual boundary (DVB) and acknowledge how these differ from their analogue counterpart and what this means for how we manage our boundaries. This research also recognises how Clark’s (2000) “borderland” can assist role demand management and WLB when a user is within a digital virtual space. Secondly, this thesis presents a typology of new digital boundary preference groups that recognise the impact technology has on SMPs boundary preference and management. For each group, characteristics are defined so that one can identify and align themselves with the most suitable group to assist them in their boundary management style. Thirdly, technological strategies and tactics shared by my participants are listed in this thesis as a means of practices that can be adopted by others to aid them in their boundary management and technology use, to avoid burnout and maintain their ideal WLB. Lastly, the unique data collection method for this area of work, although growing in use for boundary theory, is the first time to my knowledge it has been applied to the WLB literature. Unlike its earlier counterpart grounded theory (GT), CGT places priority on the studied phenomenon over the methods of studying it and acknowledges the researcher's role in interpreting data and creating categories.
This research contributes to the WLB literature and boundary theory by providing a better understanding of how employees in digital facing roles manage their boundaries and avoid burnout whilst extensively using technology.
It must be noted that the data presented in this research was collected and analysed in 2019 prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. This had a significant impact not only on the way in which people work and interact with technology, but the national lockdowns have meant the majority of those employed were forced to work from home. This means now more than ever workers have undoubtedly thought about their WLB and how they manage their boundaries. This work could be of significant benefit to individuals learning to align appropriate strategies to their boundary preference.<br/
... Ethnography was originally developed within the discipline of anthropology (Murchison, 2010). There were many anthropologists who represented classical or traditional ethnography such as Bronislaw Malinowski, Evans Pritchard, Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead (Moore, 2000). ...
... The anthropologists had a long history of revealing systems of power and domination (Murchison, 2010). The ethnographic approach was connected to the politics of the time such as colonialism. ...
Aims. To explore the role relatives, play in the care of patients in medical ward settings in Australia and Saudi Arabia and to understand the nature of this involvement.
Background. There is little known about how nurses and relatives respond to the involvement of relatives in patient care in a healthcare context, and the impact of the participation on the quality of care. Previous studies of relatives’ involvement focus on settings such as critical settings and paediatrics where relative involvement as advocates is most needed.
Design. The study used a qualitative ethnographic approach based on an interpretive paradigm.
Methods. Data collection was carried out in medical settings in two major hospitals, one in Australia and another in Saudi. Data were collected by observations and interviews over a six months period, with three months spent in each setting.
Results. In both fields nurses and relatives faced ongoing ambiguity about the role relatives should play in the hospital environment and nurses were challenged by the unpredictability of relatives’ participation in patient care. The nurses’ fear of taking responsibility and uncertainty about the relatives’ role led them to take varied and individualised approaches to the involvement of relatives in patient care. Relatives were unclear about how to behave in the role, what the needs of patients were, and whether they were contributing to care and this resulted in frustration.
Conclusion. The results show that ambiguity regarding the role of relatives led to problems in patient care such as safety concerns and conflicts.
... Action research was a logical methodology to study a problem of practice in which understanding context-specific obstacles was essential to the successful adaption of a teaching method (Dana & Hoppey-Yendol 2014). Situated within the four stages of the action research cycle (Observe, Plan, Act, Reflect), the specific methods and design of this study reflected the ethnographic (Murchison, 2010) and qualitative aspects of more traditional research (Yin, 2016). Qualitative research focuses on developing a rich, descriptive account of natural phenomena (Yin, 2016). ...
... Qualitative research focuses on developing a rich, descriptive account of natural phenomena (Yin, 2016). Ethnographic research strategies attempt to make sense of how people understand events, describe how culture influences the thinking and behavior of the participants, how they understand change and the influence of culture when interpreting change (Murchison, 2010). Through the combination of these methods, I intended to gain an in-depth understanding of student perceptions and experiences during the intervention. ...
Abstract Engaging students through the use of innovative technology has become increasingly important to equip students with the competencies needed to navigate a complex society. Yet innovative techniques, that are not culturally responsive, may do little to engage students. This study provides an example of the use of culturally responsive teaching to adapt a culturally different teaching approach within a United Arab Emirates (UAE) undergraduate social work course. This action research study investigated the use of a modified flipped class approach among Emirati undergraduate female
students, and the influence of this approach on student engagement. The culturally responsive modifications were based on the results of an earlier phase of this study that investigated obstacles to engagement within a UAE undergraduate program. Findings indicated that a culturally responsive, flipped course design positively influenced behavioural, affective and cognitive engagement among participants.
... CRSA embraces a multiscalar approach to understanding space which recognizes the connection between global, regional, and local constructions of space (Vélez & Solórzano, 2017). This paper uses historical literature to provide the Midwestern regional context before employing autoethnography and ethnographic mapping (Murchison, 2010) to craft cartographic narratives (Knigge & Cope, 2006) that animate lived experiences within local spaces where adult educators work. Qualitative mapping is a departure from much of the CRSA literature which focuses on the lived experiences of students. ...
... Working-class whites were more likely to speak fondly of childhood memories in the gray areas while representing them as currently being "in decline." Construction of these ethnographic maps follows the recommendation of Murchison (2010) that maps can be used to show human movement (or in this case, aversion to movement) and demonstrate how people conceptualize space. ...
... The researcher maintains recording of open interviews holding outsider position as a longer period of conversations with the research participants are not remembered at all and sometimes misremembered (Murchison, 2010). S/he records the conversations that may be relevant or irrelevant to the research concerns. ...
... Sometimes, the interactions with the participants may occur spontaneously. Moreover, "hand gestures and body language" (Murchison, 2010), the impressions, scenes, firsthand field experiences (Wall, 2008) and the cultural context or the natural setting at the time of interviewing or informal conversations with the participants are quickly forgotten. In such situations, the researcher uses headnotes as an insider researcher. ...
The central concern of this paper is to discuss the positioning of the researcher while researching one’s own community ethnographically. It argues that insider and outsider positioning of a researcher in insider ethnographic research appears in a contextual, iterative, and emergent manner. The strategies provide space for critical self-reflexive practices in the field, thereby enhancing the quality standard. In addition, it argues that the positioning of the researcher appears while maintaining the ethical issue of confidentiality. Thus, the paper claims that it is not necessary to set the ideological frame for structuring the researchers whilst engaging in the field with particular positioning. It highlights that the defined roles of a researcher guide him/her in a way denying to engage in the field adapting the contextual phenomena, thereby creating difficulties for generating quality data.
... 6 In the literature, descriptions of these situations in relation to intensive care unit (ICU) are usually around headline life and death issues regarding patients already admitted 7 and there is little literature on decisions to refer or admit to ICU. 8 9 To address this gap, a multidimensional mixed methods project 'Understanding and improving the decision-making process surrounding admission to the intensive care unit' was conducted. 10 The initial ethnographic study of decision-making around admission to ICU revealed a decision-making process that included the following steps making and receiving a referral, gathering information about and simultaneously caring for the patient, making the decision and simultaneously caring for the family, implementing the decision and dealing with consequences. 4 In addition to explicit ethical dilemmas around balancing burdens and benefits of treatment, we identified more or less implicit ethically difficult situations at each step of the timeline, which called for ethical analysis. ...
... The situations were derived from between 1 and 4 of the 45 cases observed in the ethnographic study, and presented in a storytelling format. 10 The condensed descriptions originated from field notes and interviews. ...
Background
Besides balancing burdens and benefits of intensive care, ethical conflicts in the process of decision-making should also be recognised. This calls for an ethical analysis relevant to clinicians. The aim was to analyse ethically difficult situations in the process of deciding whether a patient is admitted to intensive care unit (ICU).
Methods
Analysis using the ‘Dilemma method’ and ‘wide reflective equilibrium’, on ethnographic data of 45 patient cases and 96 stakeholder interviews in six UK hospitals.
Ethical analysis
Four moral questions and associated value conflicts were identified. (1) Who should have the right to decide whether a patient needs to be reviewed? Conflicting perspectives on safety/security. (2) Does the benefit to the patient of getting the decision right justify the cost to the patient of a delay in making the decision? Preventing longer-term suffering and understanding patient’s values conflicted with preventing short-term suffering and provision of security. (3) To what extent should the intensivist gain others’ input? Professional independence versus a holistic approach to decision-making. (4) Should the intensivist have an ongoing duty of care to patients not admitted to ICU? Short-term versus longer-term duty to protect patient safety. Safety and security (experienced in a holistic sense of physical and emotional security for patients) were key values at stake in the ethical conflicts identified. The life-threatening nature of the situation meant that the principle of autonomy was overshadowed by the duty to protect patients from harm. The need to fairly balance obligations to the referred patient and to other patients was also recognised.
Conclusion
Proactive decision-making including advance care planning and escalation of treatment decisions may support the inclusion of patient autonomy. However, our analysis invites binary choices, which may not sufficiently reflect reality. This calls for a complementary relational ethics analysis.
... An ethnographic approach highlights the complex and holistic context in which human behavior occurs while searching for regularities that implicate cultural processes and cultural patterning of social activity (Wolcott, 1999). As noted by Murchison (2010), in order to learn about the complex dimensions of society and culture in action, the ethnographer almost necessarily has to become involved on a personal level to one degree or another. Some ethnographers have found that their most important insights have emerged when they have chosen, or circumstances have forced them to abandon their practiced, objective stance. ...
This ethnographic research explores the meaning and experiences of food insecurity among LGBTQIA+ college students to understand how identity might play a role in those experiences. We offer research-informed recommendations that student-serving programs could implement to increase accessibility and inclusivity for LGBTQIA+ students to reduce food insecurity. The study was conducted at a large, public, Tier 1 research university in North Texas. We used purposive sampling and recruited participants through emails and class announcements. We conducted 22 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with students who identified as LGBTQIA+. LGBTQIA+ students do not initially associate their food insecurity with their LGBTQIA+ identity, and many of their experiences are similar to non-LGBTQIA+ students. However, ongoing homophobia, stigma, and discrimination against people who identify as LGBTQIA+ can add additional anxiety and challenges that influence their experiences in ways that are different from non-LGBTQIA+ students. LGBTQIA+ students are at greater risk of losing family support, are more likely to seek emotional support from peers, and have increased anxiety about responses to their identity, which can affect their willingness to seek resources. Our results indicate that food insecurity has an emotional, mental, and physical impact on students, which impacts their academic success. As universities strive to be more welcoming to LGBTQIA+ students, we recommend services that will build community, create safe spaces, and strengthen trust for students to have a positive college experience.
... Data validation was done through triangulation of sources which assumed that every member of the community had a taxonomy of various cultural activities in their community. The affirmatives of Gandrung-Banyuwangi traditional arts are the people of Banyuwangi, connoisseurs, responders, traders, local governments, and traditional arts actors (Murchison, 2010;Anoegrajekti, et al., 2021). Data analysis was carried out simultaneously and continuously since the data provision stage. ...
... Ethnography ( [37][38][39]): Rooted in anthropology and in sociology, this "act of writing about people [3] regroups a set of methods that focus on cultural description (orientation, knowledge, beliefs), commentary and critique. The idea is to enter the field and to live with the tribe to be observed, and to immerge into this reality so fully that one is no longer noticed as a foreign body and can thus observe the tribe fairly neutrally. ...
We discuss qualitative inductive studies in organizational and management research, particularly case studies, action research inquiries and research based on the grounded theory method. We posit that such qualitative inquiries are insufficiently capitalized upon and that, if aggregated through meta-studies, could yield insight on emergent properties and permit the development of higher-order knowledge, and theory. We contribute in four ways: Firstly, we introduce the construct of emergence and evidence its properties to generate meta-knowledge. Secondly, we propose a pragmatic approach to conducting meta-analyses of qualitative studies and contextualize it in terms of a concrete application. Thirdly, we identify major methodological issues that occur in the review of qualitative studies in management and organizational research-especially when aggregating different types of evidence and in terms of methodological robustness. Fourthly, we conclude by proposing some pragmatic remedying ideas.
... This research uses an ethnography approach. Ethnography is like a strategy or style in research that provides space for researchers to explore cultural aspects inherent in society to interpret a social reality (Brewer, 2000;Murchison, 2010). In this research, we also mapped harmonization efforts by interfaith married couples contextually on ethnic Toraja. ...
Interfaith marriage can be called a meeting of inter-social identities specifically within the context of family. It is therefore an indispensable part of the process for every interfaith marriage couple to de-categorize and re-categorize and consolidate their social identity as a couple so that they can successfully define their new family values. The purpose of this study is to analyze how married couples of different faiths in Toraja harmonize their differences from the perspective of social identity. This study used an ethnographic approach with six informant actors from three interfaith families in Toraja. The results show that these married couples operationalize a dual-hierarchical identity model in an inter-family harmonization effort. Tongkonan identity is placed vertically as a collective identity, while the identity of religion as a person-based social identity is placed horizontally. Both of these have consequences for the emergence of a cross-categorized identity.
... This calls for a different type of qualitative approach to investigate individuals' experiences during transitions such as the STWT, and one such approach is ethnography. Through, for instance, participant observation, ethnographic interviews, and ethnographic maps (Murchison, 2010), researchers would be able to investigate how individuals actually experience the STWT in situ and in vivo, or in other words, immerse themselves in situations in which people interact , as well as generate snapshots of their moment-by-moment experiences. It would also allow researchers to study the nuances and complexity of individuals' experiences, which warrants the approach taken in the present study. ...
i>Transitions, such as the school-to-work transition, are of particular interest to developmental science research because they mark different periods in life where a person moves from one period to the next. Using data from an ethnographic study with young women who recently moved from school to work, the researcher examines how the women construct identities through narratives and position themselves vis-à-vis others and vis-à-vis dominant discourses in both ethnographic interviews and participant observation. Making use of a fine-grained analytic approach referred to as the narrative practice approach, the researcher showcases how the women position themselves as having transitioned from the individual identities they had before moving into the workplace to more of a collaborative identity after having connected with others in their new work environment. With the analysis, the researcher also delves deeper into the uncertainties and the ambivalence of identity changes that the women claim having experienced. By investigating how the women actually experienced their school-to-work transition in situ and in vivo, and by studying the nuances and complexity of their experiences, the article makes contributions to both narrative research and psychology. It also informs organizations how they can train their employees and improve individual, team, and organizational performance by infusing collaboration into the organizational culture.</i
... Se planteó una investigación con enfoque cualitativo mediante un diseño observacional para lo cual se empleó el método etnográfico, según las citas de (Hernández, 2014) los diseños etnográficos pretenden explorar, examinar y entender sistemas sociales (grupos, comunidades, culturas y sociedades) (Creswell, 2013;Murchison, 2010;McNiff & Whitehead 2005), así como producir interpretaciones profundas y significados culturales (LeCompte & Schensul, 2013;Maanen, 2011), desde la perspectiva o punto de vista de los participantes o nativo. Además (Hernández, 2014) cita a Jurgenson (2003) quien considera que el propósito de la investigación etnográfica es describir y analizar lo que las personas de un sitio, estrato o contexto determinado hacen usualmente. ...
Extracción del hielo en el nevado Chimborazo en Ecuador: un trabajo que transciende en la historia Ice extraction in the Chimborazo in Ecuador: A job that transcends history GARCÍA-GARCÍA, Yadira M. 1 SÁNCHEZ-CHÁVEZ, Germán P. 2 ARCOS-BOSQUEZ, Verónica M. 3 TORRES-CADENA, Juan P. 4 Resumen En la presente investigación, a través del método etnográfico utilizando entrevistas semiestructuradas, se describió la escena y se caracterizó a los personajes que se dedican a la actividad de la extracción del hielo, en el nevado Chimborazo en Ecuador. El principal objetivo es sin duda evidenciar y reconocer el noble trabajo de esta población olvidada en los Andes ecuatorianos y que sirva como legado para generaciones futuras. Concluyendo de esta manera con la identificación de su forma de vida y las condiciones que les exigían realizar esta actividad, estar al tanto de su realidad económica, el uso, significado, materiales, herramientas que utilizan en la extracción de hielo, así permitirá valorar este patrimonio cultural además de considerar replicar este proceso con fines turísticos. Palabras clave: extracción de hielo, turismo, chimborazo. Abstract Through the present investigation using the ethnographic method through semi-structured interviews, describe the scene and characterize the characters dedicated to the activity of ice extraction on the Chimborazo mountain in Ecuador. The main objective is undoubtedly to demonstrate and recognize the noble work of this forgotten population in the Ecuadorian Andes and that serves as a legacy for future generations. Concluding in this way with the identification of their way of life and the conditions that forced them to carry out this activity, taking into account their economic reality, the use, the meaning, the materials and the tools they used in the extraction of ice, allow us to evaluate this cultural heritage and also achieve that we will agree to replicate this process with tourist purposes.
... This article, which uses the biographical approach 3 , is based on the memories, reminisces, and reflections on my two visits to the International Pentecostal Church (IPC) in 1978, and my observations during the many visits I have made to the Secret Churches in Botswana. Based on my participatory observation, my approach is essentially emican insider's perspective (Murchison 2010;Pike 1999). If you may, call these experiences, memories, and reminiscences a 'person-centered' ethnography. ...
The difference between esotericism and exoterism is unlike the difference between circles and rectangles. It is also not the difference between the size and relevance of a specific body of knowledge in circulation. It is rather the extent of the circulation, acceptance, understanding, and meaning of a particular body of knowledge, philosophy, or worldview, over the spiritual and socio-political life of diverse categories of people in society. The infancy of the academic study of esotericism, as well as its interdisciplinary nature, militate against the crystallization of a universally accepted definition of the term 'esotericism'. The various definitions of the term by researchers consistently relate to their research interests. In line with Faivre's concern with the forms of thought of esoteric movements (Faivre 1996), as well as the preoccupation that Versluis has with gnosis generation in esoteric movements (Versluis n.d), our study of Kereke ya Sephiri in Botswana and South Africa examines a) the cultural and religious contexts in which Frederick Modise, a gnostic in his own right, generated the underlying gnosis of his secret society, and b) the import of the content of this visionary mystical revelation in the spiritual and social lives of members of this secret society1. The study of the Setswana term, Kereke ya Sephiri (church of a secret, referring to a Christian-based secret society), is a study of African esotericism in South Africa and Botswana. The principal academic interest in the study of esotericism lies in our quest to identify the fundamental tenets of the worldviews of the specific esoteric society, the eclectic nature of its philosophy, and how this philosophy relates to the orthodoxy of the day (Christianity in this instance). We do so by concentrating on the form of thinking, engendered by esoteric practices. Esoteric groups do not appear or exist within cultural voids. For this reason, by identifying the eclectic or syncretic nature of the fundamental philosophy (gnosis) of these groups, we trace the cultural influences involved in the emergence and consolidation of these worldviews and philosophies. This study shows that African esotericism is not always antithetic or subversive of dominant or institutionalized Christianity.
... This is a critical question for this region and its people. Julian Murchison discusses the etic aspect of ritual participation, and provides the framework for analyzing cultural phenomena from the perspective of one who does not participate in the culture being studied (Murchison 2010). Her critical perspective is significant for recognizing the distinctiveness of Appalachian identity, particularly, regarding the complex culture of coal communities. ...
On 5 April 2010, the largest mining disaster in the US since 1970 occurred at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Twenty-five miners were known to have died in the explosion, with the fates of four miners unknown. Families of the twenty-nine miners gathered together at the mine site as they awaited word as to which of the miners died and who had survived. On 6 April, the Red Cross invited representatives from the West Virginia Council of Churches to the mine site to help organize pastoral support for the families. On the evening of 10 April, five days after the explosion, word came that all of the 29 miners had died in the initial explosion. Governor Joe Manchin declared, on 25 April, for a public memorial service for the miners—an event attended by several thousand worshipers and led by clergy, denominational leaders, and public officials, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Robert C. Byrd, and Governor Manchin. This collaborative essay traces how the pastoral, political, and relational response to trauma shaped this liturgical form. Given the oral traditions of the region, narrative will be one of the primary structures for analysis, and testimony is central to this public worship. A public secular ritual with its goals of unity and inter-riting of distinct religious voices and identities will provide a grammar for reading the service.
... The independent coder would probably code it slightly different from the researcher. According to Murchison (2010), the fact that it can be coded differently is a sign of richness and complexity of the ethnographic record. Multiple coders add a check on reliability. ...
The sense of belonging plays an important role in a person's well-being. It also acts as a protective factor against mental distress. Deaf people struggle to fit into the dominant hearing society due to communication barriers. The multi-languages used in Malaysian families add to this communication challenge. Communication breakdown leaves the deaf person socially excluded while a poor sense of belonging also increases their vulnerability to mental health issues. Hence, this study explored the deaf person's sense of belonging and well-being through their social experiences in Malaysia. Baumeister's need-to-belong theory served as the theoretical framework of this study. An Ethnographic approach with in-depth interviews and participant observation was used to explore the social experiences of six Chinese deaf adults, aged 20-37, residing in Ipoh. Their hearing parents were interviewed as well to obtain parents' perspective of the child's well-being in the earlier years. Participants were selected using the purposive and snowballing sampling method. Upon data saturation, thematic analysis was used to identify themes, patterns, and interpret its meanings. The main themes that emerged from the data was the "struggle to fit in", "emotional effect", and "quality social connections". Findings of this study can be used in the formation of policies and strategies to ensure that deaf individuals are not excluded from their communities. Cultivating an inclusive community and developing the deaf community offers a better sense of belonging, which would help increase well-being of deaf people. Future research may focus on deaf identity and well-being of deaf youth in Malaysia.
... Artifacts -Data Collection. Collecting artifacts enabled more to be known about what people do and the knowledge they use (Murchison, 2010). Hammersley and Atkinson (2019) stated that 'the ethnography of everyday life demands attention to its material features, and how social actors engage with physical things' (p.133). ...
Injection drug use has long been a topic of investigation, whether through a health or criminal justice lens. Whilst these bodies of literature offer important perspectives, missing from the extant literature is evidence, particularly involving women who use drugs, and more specifically evidence about the health beliefs of these women. To address this knowledge gap, we undertook an ethnographic study of homeless women in downtown Ottawa who inject drugs. This included interviews, observations, and artifact analyses. In this paper, we report on these ethnographic data to show the context and nature of the subjective lives of women who use injection drugs and their beliefs and perspectives on health. We use these data to make recommendations for nursing and healthcare practice moving forward.
... Many popular and accessible books include instructions for all these methods, as well as exercises (e.g., Bernard, 2017;Bernard et al., 2016;Campbell & Lassiter, 2014;Dengah et al., 2021;DeWalt & DeWalt, 2010;Emerson et al., 2011;Fetterman, 2019;Hammersley & Atkinson, 2019;LeCompte & Schensul, 2010;Murchison, 2010;Saldaña, 2009;Schensul & LeCompte, 2012;Spradley, 2016). These resources offer guidance for students whether in a methods class or learning on their own. ...
Historically, ethnographic methods were learned by cultural anthropology students in individual research projects. This approach creates challenges for teaching in ways that respond to the next generation's calls to decenter anthropology's White, heteropatriarchal voices and engage in collaborative community-based research. Analyzing syllabi from 107 ethnographic methods training courses from the United States, we find the tradition of the "lone researcher" persists and is the basis of ethnographic training for the next generation. There is little evidence of either active reflection or team-based pedagogy, both identified as necessary to meet career opportunities and diversification goals for the wider field of cultural anthropology. However, we also find that, by centering the completion of largely individual research projects, most ethnographic methods courses otherwise adhere to best practices in regard to experiential and active learning. Based on the analysis of syllabi in combination with current pedagogical literature, we suggest how cultural anthropologists can revise their ethnographic methods courses to incorporate pedagogy that promotes methodologies and skills to align with the needs of today's students and communities.
... The methodological design is qualitative in nature, and was structured from the methodological triangulation technique. Three main approaches were used: The first one is the so-called Qualitative Interviewing Method (Roulston, 2010) the second one was based on ethnographic research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011;Goldman & McDonald, 1987;Guber, 2004Guber, , 2016McCracken, 1988;Murchison, 2010) and the third one refers to the techniques of PAR or Participatory Action Research (Martí, 2017), which considers that the social scientist must share the objectives and methods with the social base in which he/she intervenes, since in this way research is not done for the masses, but emerges from the social base itself (Fals Borda, 1980). Based on this triangulation process, the following actions were defined to collect the necessary data to carry out this research (Kršlak, S. Šehić., & Ljevo, 2021). ...
Rural Marketing is a methodological approach that is being used successfully in many rural communities in developing countries to agree on small-scale economic production models that guarantee peasant families decent living conditions and sustainable development options. This research conducted an ethnographic study in the Centro Poblado de Santa Rosa, a rural community in Peru with one of the highest poverty rates. The study inquired about the social imaginaries of the inhabitants and explored development strategies agreed upon with the population in order to elaborate a new agenda that favors social transformation. Rural Marketing strategies were shared with the community as an opportunity to generate social consensus that would summon them to build a rural economic progress project based on the cooperation of all social actors in the community.
... To my delight, in every single case, the interviews went far beyond the bounds of the questions I had prepared. My approach to the interview process was guided by the methodological advice of different social scientists (Brooks, Horrocks, and King, 2019) and, particularly, ethnographers (Murchison, 2010): rather than pose questions that explicitly targeted the information I was seeking -which could all too easily have led to politically correct, predictable, or ideologically tendentious answers by way of leading questions -my strategy was, instead, to explore a given issue from ...
This thesis analyses the process of construction of hegemony in the Spanish-language publishing world in the 1960s. It compares the book industries of Spain and Mexico to understand how the Spanish rather than the Mexican industry established itself as the main one of their shared language. The empirical research design consisted of interviews, historical sociology, bibliographical and archival research, and cultural, social, and political analysis. The context thus compared is one in which a group of outstanding authors and other actors, such as an editor and a literary agent, fully exercised their agency within their particular circumstances, often going against and beyond them. For the first time in history, Spain’s publishing industry made it possible, mostly from Barcelona, for a small group of Latin American authors to become professional writers and for their work to reach international audiences and be translated into different languages. This set of events became known as the “Latin American Boom.” This study’s empirical findings include that the Boom authors opted to face censorship under the Franco regime in Spain, rather than aiming to develop their literary careers in the precarious, inefficient publishing systems in place in Latin America at the time. This work draws on Laclau and Mouffe’s theory to build the argument that diverse factors — namely: Colonial history, cultural public policies and industrial models, networking among social actors, and authors’ agency of professionalisation — articulated to establish the hegemony of Spain’s book industry. In doing so, this dissertation engages with two theoretical debates: those of hegemony construction and that of whether hegemony belongs solely to the realm of national societies or whether it could be built globally. This dissertation, therefore, contributes to the sociology of culture and publishing by revealing how the construction of cultural hegemony worked in the Latin American Boom phenomenon.
... Specifically, this study mainly combines the research methods of ethnographic participant observation and in-depth interviews to examine the eSports actor-network through first-hand involvement with the research subject of the Chinese eSports industry. The ethnographic participant observation allows us personally "being there" (Wolf 1992, 128), to collect data and gain insight in the real-life context, both online and offline (Julian 2010). The in-depth interviews help us to inquire into the deep thoughts of people in the field and their behind-the-screen stories outside the field (Miller and Sinanan 2014). ...
Previous studies on eSports have essentially focused on its “sportiness” without giving attention to aspects such as media, information, and technology. By assessing the emerging research field of eSports through the lens of Actor-Network Theory, this study regards the Chinese eSports industry as an assemblage of heterogeneous elements. Accordingly, this study disassembles and unpacks eSports to understand how it is assembled, disassembled, and reassembled. Using research methods such as participant observation and in-depth interviews, this study evaluates the material actors and relational networks of the Chinese eSports industry to trace how the actors come to be assembled, how they associate and exercise force, and how they persist or decline each other's effects. Thus, it suggests that material actors and relational networks with an agency are not simply mediating, but also structuring eSports, indicating the explicit and implicit dynamics of power within the actor-network.
... A preliminary site visit was conducted to meet Felicity, gain her permission and ensure she understood the research process. This was an opportunity to better understand the field of the research and the structure the study should follow (Murchison 2010). The farm shop was subsequently visited over a period of two days. ...
Brand Meaning is a central concept in brand management and has been associated with brands offering symbolic intangible associations to consumers beyond their functional benefits. Tangible attributes relating to the senses and a brand’s functional performance have been overshadowed by these intangible associations, and this is addressed in this study by exploring these tangible attributes’ contribution to brand meaning.
By creating a conceptual framework which evolves Hirschman’s (1980; 1998) layers of meaning, this research uses quasi-ethnographic research methods to explore the contribution of the sensorial and functional attributes to brand meaning. Furthermore, it gains insight into how the tangible attributes connect with the intangible associations (psychological, subcultural and cultural). Finally, it explores any hierarchical structures evident in brand meaning. The context for this research is local food brands available in the vicinity of Dorset.
The findings from this small-scale study reveal that tangible attributes can have meaning both sensorially and functionally. From a sensorial aspect, consumers can accept incongruity across the senses; furthermore, this creates brand distinctiveness when recalled in memory. From a functional perspective, consumers are highly involved with consumption choices in the local food brand category. The connectivity element is strong in that tangible attributes evidence intangible associations. They contribute to a positive self-concept and a shared ethos, through the notion of doing and feeling good.
Finally, not only are hierarchical approaches evident but there are also flatter patterned approaches apparent amongst the brand attributes and associations. This research makes an original contribution to knowledge regarding brand meaning structures. Hierarchical connections across tangible attributes and intangible associations should not always be assumed. This study discerns an approach that is flatter and non-hierarchical. Tangible attributes can be interwoven with intangible associations. This pattern approach may contain mainly woven functional attributes, revealing functional connections and meanings. Alternatively, the pattern can have threads of tangible attributes that interweave with intangible associations creating more symbolic meanings.
... The reason to focus on involvement is that participant observation helps the researcher to raises all of their senses on all sources of natural environments of the community. Ethnographers themselves experience events in same way as the local people act and do (Gobo, 2008); (Murchison, 2010). ...
This study is focused on the assessment of folk media aimed at Environmental Communication (EC) in the Guna Community and suggested the dominant Guna Community folk media for environmental communication and preservation to conserve Mount Guna. Guna Mount is the home of different biodiversity and the tower of water, but it is becoming degraded. Folk media are operative in environmental communication and preservation. They have the power to transmitted environmental messages that incorporate cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes with societal needs. Traditional folk media are locally oriented, easily accessible, flexible, portable, inclusive, and relatively inexpensive. A qualitative research approach was employed for this research. Ethnographic research design, snowball, and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. The researcher was gathered the data through in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and observation. For this survey, 16 FGDs, 45 individual in-depth interviews, and participant observation were employed. Guna community has unique and indigenous folk media that use as a source of entertainment, information, and education. Their folk music, songs, dances, campfire storytelling, traditional motifs, fairs, and festivals, and folk poems are the dominants. Using folk media for operative ecology preservation is vital in the form of EC that inspires and develops positive behavior in the community by educating about environmentalism in the method of facilitating environmental issues incorporating the latest message. Finally, we recommended some folk media for developmental activities that use inform of advocacy regarding recommended reasons.
... Pada desain penelitian, penelitian ini menggunakan desain penelitian strategi etnografi yang merupakan strategi penelitian untuk menelusuri dan memeriksa budaya dan masyarakat yang menjadi bagian fundamental dari pengalaman manusia dengan pengambilan data dan wawasan melalui keterlibatan langsung dengan subjek penelitian atau informan (Murchison, 2010). Teknik yang digunakan penulis pada kasus ini yaitu dengan melakukan wawancara dengan subjek sebanyak lima orang informan. ...
Social media is basically to share information and self-disclosures by the account owner. However, there is an attitude of caution in expressing which must also be considered and needs to be considered. Technological developments make more and more new features appear on various social media platforms, one of them is the close friend feature on Instagram that can be used to limit users in sharing information that is considered more privacy. This study uses the Communication Privacy Management theory as a framework for investigating how Instagram users, especially young adults, use and respond to the use of the close friend feature. Overall, the results of interviews with five informants found evidence of five basic assumptions in using CPM implied on social media and showed that there is confidence in the disclosure of privacy when using the close friend feature.
... The general observation took place during the morning session from 8 to 12, observing what strategies teachers applied to promote children's peer interactions in the classrooms. The situation description and memos were planned on the observation sheet (Murchison 2010). We chose the 'outdoor-play' session to conduct the intensive observation on teachers since most of the interactions were observed during this session. ...
This study examined strategies teachers applied to promote peer interactions between children with and without Special Educational Needs (SEN) in an inclusive preschool in Shanghai, China. Qualitative case study was used in which seven teachers from four inclusive classrooms participated. In-depth participatory observation and online documents were collected and qualitative content analysis was applied to analyse the data. The key finding suggests both preventive and interventive strategies are identified from five different levels: cooperation with different community stakeholders level; the classroom environment level; the curriculum plan level; the activity design level and the individual children with SEN level. Implications of the findings to promote peer interactions in inclusive early childhood settings and directions for future research are discussed.
... Probing assisted with clarity of content and enabled thick description. However, more critical to the interview process was a nonjudgmental interview style and use of active listening skills (Murchinson, 2010), which involved curiosity coupled with humility and respect. ...
Background:
While literature exists about persons who use injection drugs, few studies explore the experience of women who use these substances. Furthermore, even less research specifically focuses on the lives and experiences of homeless women who use injection drugs. What literature does exist, moreover, is often dated and primarily addresses concerns about infectious disease transmission among these women; and some highlight that these women have lives fraught with violence.
Purpose:
To update this knowledge and better understand the lives of women who use injection drugs in the Canadian context.
Methods:
We undertook an exploratory qualitative study and we engaged in semi-structured interviews with 31 homeless women who use injection drugs in downtown Ottawa, Canada. We analyzed the data using the principles of applied thematic analysis.
Results:
Our data identified that violence pervaded the lives of our participants and that these experiences of violence could be categorized into three main areas: early and lifelong experiences of violence; violence with authority figures (e.g., police, healthcare); and societal violence toward women who use injection drugs.
Conclusions:
We take these findings to mean that, violence toward women is rampant in Canada (not just internationally) and that healthcare workers play a role in propagating and addressing this violence.
... I engaged in the field since the very beginning of 2015 and continued for more than seven months. I used observation as another strategy for knowing the knowledge that was in existence in the context of the research in non-discursive forms (Murchison, 2010 My insider positionality helped me to get insights into the phenomena of identity paradoxes in a more meaningful manner through informal observation. As insider (Fetterman, 2010, p. 112). ...
Temporality is recognized as critical to the understanding of childhoods by contemporary scholars of childhood. This paper explores the varying temporalities through which marginal childhoods (and their educational inclusion), particularly those situated in contexts of temporary internal migration, are constructed in the Indian context. Drawing on ethnographic data from the city of Bangalore, this paper problematizes how dominant ideals around migration, childhood, and schooling frame migrant children’s lives through linear temporalities. Furthermore, the paper argues that policy interventions that ostensibly include migrant childhoods do not engage critically with the politics of linear temporality which, in turn, is central to the exclusionary dynamics of migrant children’s schooling.
This paper presents the findings of a multi-site case study focused on the role of mid-day supervisors in English primary schools. Ethnographic approaches were employed to gain an understanding of the role and how this is experienced by those who undertake it. This included a fully participatory phase where the researcher inhabited the role of a mid-day supervisor. Ethnographic interviews were also conducted. The research found that role strain, caused by a range of factors, as well as whether the role was legitimised or marginalised, had a significant impact on how the role was enacted and experienced by mid-day supervisors.
Tämän luvun tarkoituksena on selvittää, mitä aistietnografia on, miten aistietnografian avulla tuotetaan aineistoa ja millaista tietoa sen avulla voidaan saada. Luvussa myös esitellään aistietnografian kehityskaarta ja keskeisiä tutkijoita maailmalta ja Suomesta. Aistietnografia, niin kuin etnografia yleensä, on kokonaisvaltainen tutkimusprosessi, jossa aistinäkökulma läpäisee kaikki tutkimuksen vaiheet. Tässä luvussa pääpaino on menetelmän esittelyssä ja käytänteissä, joten aistikokemuksista kirjoittamista ja aistitiedon analyysiä tarkastellaan vain lyhyesti. Aistikokemuksia sisältävän aineiston kirjoitusprosessissa ja analyysissä voi soveltaa monia menetelmiä, jotka valikoituvat kunkin tutkimuksen tutkimuskysymyksen ja aineiston ominaisuuksien perusteella. Luvun lopussa esitellään kaksi erilaista aistikokemuksiin kiinnittyvää aineistoa. Ensimmäinen esimerkki liittyy Tytti Lehtovaaran tutkimukseen naisten kulutus-ja pukeutumisvalinnoista. Lehtovaara on käyttänyt aineiston tuottamisessa kehittämäänsä yhdessä kokemisen menetelmää, joka pohjautuu aistietnografiaan ja yhdessä kävelemi-seen. Lisäksi hän on tehnyt pukeutumiselämäkerrallisia haastatteluja. Toinen esimerkki ovat Eerika Koskinen-Koiviston tekemät haastat-telut, jotka käsittelevät toiseen maailmansotaan liittyvää kulttuuri-perintöä. Tekstin lopussa pohditaan, millaisiin tutkimuksiin aisti-etno grafian käyttö erityisesti soveltuu.
This study examines the subject civics (social studies) in interaction with other subjects in interdisciplinary projects. By studying three different integrated projects in the grades 7-9, the study examines how subjects interact with one another. The aim of the study is to describe and analyze the character and function of civics in interdisciplinary projects. The results are used to discuss the relationship between subject and integration.
In the world of education, there are two endeavors that may seem to counteract each other: on the one hand, focus on more clearly subject-specific knowledge and, on the other, the pursuit of cooperation and interaction between subjects in different forms of interdisciplinary organization of teaching and learning. Integration between subjects can be seen as an opportunity to address the complex problems and challenges of today's citizens in a changing global world.
The results of the study describe three dynamic interdisciplinary projects that all contain a movement between different types of interaction between subjects with various degrees of integration. These types are predisciplinary, helping, correlated, shared and reconstructed.
In addition, the study shows that civics in the three projects is emerging as an obvious main subject that aims to develop the pupils’ abilities to orientate (facts and concepts), analyze and discuss. So far integrated teaching appears to result in both what subject-specific teaching reaches and, moreover, it seems to form a synthesis knowledge that can be difficult to measure, but that relates to the main goals of the curriculum beyond subjects. These abilities to act can be used to describe the synthesized knowledge citizens need in order to act in the world.
In shifting environments common to peace and conflict research, methodological grounding is rooted in the fluctuating roles undertaken by the researcher through time and space as one seeks a worldview that is experienced by research participants. This article introduces a side-by-side methodological approach, which developed through research of cross-community interaction amongst ice hockey supporters in Belfast. Influenced by qualitative research that sought to access local voices, this article moves from conceptual guidance and planning into the stands of the SSE Arena, where interviews were conducted with the person in the seat beside the researcher during ice hockey games. In doing so, this immersive methodology offers a contribution to unearthing unheard voices in this oft-studied region through the opportunity to make connection that was unscripted, aided by the informality of the research setting and the limited face-to-face interaction.
This thesis examines and exposes how the heightened socio-cultural salience of immigration in contemporary Sweden affects the traditional party of power, the Social Democrats (SAP), and its understanding and response to the nationalist ‘populist’ party the Sweden Democrats (SD). Through extended ethnographic, survey and archival research in the year leading up to the September 2018 general election, I dissect how these dynamics manifested in Norrköping, a traditional SAP stronghold with a long history of immigration where support for SD has grown considerably. Based on my findings, I argue that the untranslatable Swedish concept of ‘trygghet’ functions as a powerful heuristic device for understanding the 2018 election campaign. Denoting an enveloping sense of safety and comfort, trygghet, and its antipode otrygghet, were increasingly mobilised by both the SAP and SD in the wake of the 2015 European refugee crisis. Among SD supporters and party members I illustrate the resentful power of a mythological nostalgia for a trygghet that is intimately tied to an imagined social democratic Sweden of yesteryear. Within the SAP, however, the aggravated socio-cultural politics of immigration exposed a different register of evocative nostalgias for what the fundamental precepts of social democracy are. Due to the heightened salience of immigration, these competing visions of trygghet came to a forceful head during the election campaign and ultimately proved contentious for the SAP. This thesis contributes original findings to the burgeoning literature on how immigration is reshaping traditional socio-political conflict dimensions. Adopting both ethnographic and geographic sensitivities, it adds to the growing scholarship which takes seriously the everyday contexts in which people make sense and meaning out of socio-politics. By doing so, it exposes the glaringly normative limitations common to both dominant academic and social democratic explanations for the rise of nationalist ‘populism’.
This article follows the life history of a Croatian-Greek family of four, whose members have spent their lifetime across multiple nation states. Through data collected during a four-month ethnographic fieldwork period in the city of Zagreb, issues of mobility, national identification, and a sense of belonging within the transnational social field are examined. Having been influenced by more than one nation state, the narrations of each of the interlocutors encompass diverse national discourses, reflecting their hybrid national identities. The findings mentioned in this paper underline, first and foremost, the persistent power of the nation state and raise considerable questions about the significance of boundaries and processes of othering in contemporary societies.
Contemplation, or the practice of sitting still to ‘stop and see’, can expand one’s embodied awareness. This expanded awareness resembles ethnographic sensibility, a disposition practiced by researchers to generate an understanding of the ‘field’. My fieldwork on contemplative activism involves a double thoughtful observation: once as contemplation, and once as ethnographic sensitivity. How do I make sense of data as I cannot distinguish between my own embodied experiences of contemplation and my methodological practices as a fieldworker? How do I engage with ‘data’ that escape words when contemplative activism takes place in silence? Rather than making the familiar strange -as much literature on fieldwork suggests- keeping the ‘strange’ strange might be similarly productive, especially when it concerns esoteric experiences fieldworkers (perhaps) have in the field. Instead of ethnographic sensibility being about seeing differently, ‘learning’ in the field can be about practicing to ‘stop and see’ different things .
There is rapidly growing research on the multiple benefits of nature-based experiences. Some institutions of higher education have incorporated these types of experiences in areas such as building design, travel offerings, residential programs, green spaces, field trips, wellness centers, and freshman orientation programs. Unfortunately, urban community college students often do not receive the chance to participate in these type of experiences due to lack of opportunity and lack of time outside of class due to their multiple responsibilities. One way to help mitigate some of these challenges, is for community college faculty to embed nature-based learning experiences into their courses. This paper presents a case study of a nature-based learning experience that took place at the Central Park Zoo as part of a required first year course.
Background
Healthcare providers have been found to have limited knowledge and skills in interacting with people living with HIV. These factors can adversely affect providers' practice, jeopardize their safety and compromise the care of the patients.
Aims
This study aimed to explore the experiences of Iranian nurses who were caring for patients with HIV.
Methods
A focused ethnography approach was used. Participants consisted of 12 nurses working in teaching hospitals affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences and recruited by purposeful sampling. Semi‐structured interviews, field observations and field notes were used for data collection. Data were analysed employing content analysis.
Findings
Three main themes emerged from the analysis of the participants' experiences of providing care to patients with HIV: ‘excessive fear of being infected’, ‘concerns about the possible consequences’ and ‘lack of self‐confidence in care provision’.
Discussion/Conclusion
Nurses have experienced a great deal of fear of self and cross‐contamination when providing care to people living with HIV. Social stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV amplified the nurses' experience of fear. Providing appropriate education and training for nurses can improve their attitudes, emotions and self‐confidence while providing care to such people and increasing the quality of care provided.
Implications for Nursing and Health policy
Planning more educational programmes focusing on improving their misunderstandings about HIV could result in positive outcomes: for nurses to provide high‐quality care and for people living with HIV who receive this care. The healthcare system should consider the culture of care provided by nurses to these people.
This article advances a methodological argument on how to do ethnographic fieldwork amid social elites and inaccessible bureaucracies in international politics. Instead of participant observation or semi-structured interviews, the article proposes “hanging out” as an alternative strategy to generate immersion and ethnographic insight. While the ethnographer studying “down” is arguably always “hanging out” (the village as the exemplary mise-en-scene of this genre), this technique takes a more defined form when studying “up” elites. Specifically, hanging out when studying “up” is a strategy where the fieldworker commits to a period of continuous residence amid members of a community; engages in ludic, informal, and often sociable interactions outside or at the sidelines of their professional habitats; and participates in a range of activities where building rapport is as important as the primary goals of the research. I illustrate this methodological strategy and its payoffs by reflecting upon a year of fieldwork among the diplomats and bureaucrats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—an informal, quiet, and often sub rosa diplomatic project run by a band of mostly authoritarian states in Southeast Asia. This article contributes to debates on the viability of ethnographic fieldwork in international relations (IR); advances a methodological corrective to fieldwork prescriptions in new micropolitical studies of practice, interactions, and emotions in IR; and offers a practical illustration of what studying “up” looks like in diplomacy and international politics.
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