FORMAL ANALYSIS Fieldwork ends when the researcher leaves the village or site, but ethnography continues. Some ethnographers spend as much time formally analyzing and reanalyzing their data and writing their ethnographies as they do conducting fieldwork. Formal analysis and report writing are more efficient when the ethnographer keeps the data organized and writes sections of the ethnography during the fieldwork. This process is much simpler in applied settings than in traditional ethnographic work because in applied settings clients expect mem- oranda and interim reports detailing research findings. These interim reports are the beginnings of the ethnography or ethnographically informed final report. The applied researcher also has the benefit of feedback while still in the field. A description of the group or program under study can be revised to take into account client responses about its accuracy and the ethnographer’s own increasing knowledge about the program. Similarly, memoranda can be a test of the researcher’s understanding of specific relationships and status symbols. During an applied study of a hospital emergency room, I wrote a memoran- dum describing the different types of uniforms that helicopter nurses wore compared with the traditional garb of the regular emergency nurses and sug- gesting that these different uniforms were status symbols that the regular nurses envied. I then concluded that this envy created friction during hospital hours (potentially affecting patient care). The response from hospital manage- ment and both sets of nurses was surprisingly positive, affirming my descrip- tion and conclusions. In basic research, I have also found that sharing drafts of professional papers with informants is extremely useful. On a kibbutz in Israel, I used this technique to test my understanding of kibbutz life. Responses from kibbutz members to my observations improved the accuracy of my descriptions, insights, and findings. In the final stage of analysis, however, the ethnographer must reconfigure all notes, memoranda, interim reports, papers, digital recordings, and so on to draw an overall picture of how a system works from myriad minute details and preliminary conclusions. This phase can be the most creative step of ethno- graphic research. The researcher synthesizes ideas and often makes logical leaps that lead to useful insights. Such unexpected insights are often the result of allowing the mind to wander and consider unusual combinations of thoughts. The researcher must of course backtrack to see whether the data will support these new ideas or invalidate them, but he or she will rarely achieve them through linear, methodical work alone. Conventional hard work sets the state for these moments, but flexible thinking and what appear to be random associations are catalysts that make them happen.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 09:57:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015