Ethnographic study: qualitative studies

How to use the service

Ethnography includes a range of specific techniques. You will need to decide which methods to use. This will depend on: the evaluation question the setting being studied the availability of participants and materials Research may include document analysis – for example, reading all documents from board meetings of a health service, or starting with an organisational chart. The researcher will place themself in the setting being studied. It’s important that they establish good relations with the group or community and build trust. The researcher may identify knowledgeable informants who can act as a way in to understanding and interacting with the community. You might select participants to cover the range of different experiences. In ethnography, the researcher can evolve their approach to data collection as the study goes on or collect data opportunistically. The researcher analyses the emerging data flexibly, identifying themes and any gaps or questions that require further study. Often, the researcher will sit in a clinic, spend time in organisations or visit patient’s homes. Digital ethnography can involve interacting with participants in a virtual space. The researcher observes events and talks to participants, either in a more formal way like a scheduled interview, or more informally during observations. Field notes are usually made by the researcher. These are qualitative notes recorded during or soon after observations. They include both factual information (times, dates, behaviour observed, comments by participant) and reflections and interpretations by the researcher. Ethnographic research is interpretive, so it can be subjective. To counter this, researchers often try to examine their own reasoning and involvement, recording it and working through any assumptions or difficulties that come up (this is called critical reflexivity). They often involve others in the evaluation team to sense-check their findings. They may validate findings by sharing their int