Ethnographic Literature Review

Literature review on research design: Ethnographic studies

Introduction: Research is a continuous process. The growth, development and progress of an organisation, nation, society and mankind depend on scientific research and development. There can be no material or intellectual progress without research. It is the backbone of all inventions and discoveries. The Webster’s dictionary defines research as a “careful, critical inquiry or examination in seeking facts or principles, diligent investigation in order to ascertain something”. The encyclopedia of social sciences defines research as “the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether the knowledge aids in

The realist ethnography is a traditional approach used by cultural anthropologists. Characterized by Van Maanen (1988), it reflects a particular stance taken by the researcher toward the individuals being studied. Realist ethnography is an objective account of the situation, typically written in the third person point of view and reporting objectively on the information learned from participants at a site. In this ethnographic approach, the realist ethnographer narrates the study in a third-person dispassionate voice and reports on what is observed or heard from participants. The ethnographer remains in the background as an omniscient reporter of the facts. He also reports objective data in a measured style uncontaminated by any personal bias, political goals, and judgment. The researcher may provide mundane details of everyday life among the people studied. The ethnographer also uses standard categories for cultural description (e.g., family life, communication networks, work life, social networks, and status systems). The ethnographer produces the participants’ views through closely edited quotations and has the final word on how the culture is to be interpreted and presented. For many researchers, ethnography today employs a “critical” approach (Carspecken & Apple, 1992) by including in the research and advocacy perspective. This approach is in response to current society, in which the systems of power, prestige, privilege, and authority serve to marginalize individuals who are from different classes, races, and genders. The critical ethnography is a type of ethnographic research in which the authors advocate for the emancipation of groups marginalized in society (Thomas, 1993). Critical researchers typically are