YOUR ETHNOGRPAHY SHOULD BE PRESENTED ONLY IN A POWERPOINT OR PDF THAT YOU WILL SCREEN SHARE DURING CLASS. I SUGGEST A 10-20 SLIDES THAT CAN BE PRESENTED IN 8-10 MINUTES FOR INDIVIDUALS OR 7-8 MINUTES PER PERSON IN GROUPS OF 3 OR MORE
Basic Steps
1)Select a topic (research object/object of study)
2)Select field site/location (city, community, or neighborhood)
3)Apply the scientific method as guidelines to researching your topic.
4)Write up your findings in a PowerPoint or pdf presentation to be shared with the class during our final week of the course. You will also need to upload a copy of it as our final assignment.
Process of ethnographic research
1) Identify purpose of research study; describe the site and topic selection and pose initial ethnographic research questions (see Fig. 1).
2) Frame the study as a larger theoretical, policy or practical problem based on the scientific method (see Fig. 2)
3) Describe the overall approach/rationale for the study, contextual details and characteristics related to your interviews or comparative analysis in a literature review (See Fig. 3)
4) Students should verify you have references and write up your findings as an individual or as a group. If you work in a group, cite each memberâs contribution in the final presentations which will be held during the final week of the course (See Fig. 4).
More examples on Ethnography Formats: The following two format samples are interchangeable. E.g. Introduction = Background; Related Literature = Body Sections; Research Information = Scope and Delimitations; Methodology can be stated in Introduction or Body Section (b. Describe your method of Observation); Research Findings & Summary and Conclusion(s) = Conclusion.
The general idea of doing an ethnography is 1. Identifying the social topic/problem, reasons for choosing it, and state your thesis in the INTRO. 2. This is the analysis section. State your methodology (literature review, interviews, and literature review and interviews).For literature review each student should have between 5-10 references for individual projects or 15-20 for a group of 3+ more participants (5-8 each student). This is the section you want to build fuse your argument or concern about the topic with other published research. E.g. According to Elijah Anderson (1999) behavior of many youths is influenced by a street culture or âcodeâ, however based on my interviews or other social theorists, there is no specific code, nor street culture but a new way of online social interaction. 3. Finally, draw your conclusions and show us your research findings. Remember, the best ethnographies teach you something you did not know about what you thought you knew about your topic. Provide details about the context of how you collected your data. You can say, âOver the last 3 weekends, I met with collaborators who I believe have âinformed opinionsâ on my topic. This is some of their background (no personal names, please) and why I consider them to be qualified as experts or have informed opinions on my research topic. Over an hour or two, at a local coffee shop or wherever, this is what I learned⦠If you go with a literature review, share how much time and where you got your references and why you picked them. 4. Finally, tell us what you learned from this process.
I choose my ethnographic topic to be about the difference between children who experience preschool before kindergarten and those who don\’t. The feedback from my professor: Look at Anthropology of Children and various schooling styles. If you can find information on the topic, great! This may be easier to find information to look at \”cross-cultural child education\” but remember you need Anthropological references.
If the topic I chose is hard to do the research on we can change it, just let me know what works best for you.