Ethnography: Step-by-Step (Applied Social Research Methods Series), Vol. 17 » (3rd Edition)

David M. Fetterman is a Consulting Professor of Education and the Director of Evaluation, Career Development, and Alumni Relations at Stanford University. Formerly, he was the Director of the MA Policy Analysis and Evaluation Program in the School of Education at Stanford University. He was Professor and Research Director at the California Institute of Integral Studies; Principal Research Scientist at the American Institutes for Research; and a Senior Associate and Project Director at RMC Research Corporation. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in educational and medical anthropology. David is a past president of the American Evaluation Association and the American Anthropological Association’s Council on Anthropology and Education. He has conducted extensive multisite evaluation research on local, state, and national levels. Recognized for his contributions to the development of ethnography and ethnographic evaluation, he has recently focused on developing empowerment evaluations-to help people help themselves-throughout the United States and in South Africa. They include a Hewlett Packard Philanthropy Digital Villages project, an Arkansas State Department of Education project, and a Hewlett Foundation One East Palo Alto community revitalization project. David was elected a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology. He received the Paul Lazarsfeld Award for Outstanding Contributions to Evaluation Theory and the Myrdal Award for Cumulative Contributions to Evaluation Practice; the George and Louise Spindler Award for outstanding contributions to educational anthropology as a scholar and practitioner; the Ethnographic Evaluation Award from the Council on Anthropology and Education; the President’s Award from the Evaluation Research Society for contributions to ethnographic educational evaluation; and the Washington Association of Practicing Anthropologists’ Praxis Publication Award for translating knowledge into action. He has consulted for a variety of federal agencies, foundations, corporations, and academic institutions, including the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control; U.S. Department of Agriculture; W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Rockefeller Foundation; Walter S. Johnson Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Marin Community Foundation; universities throughout the United States and Europe, as well as foreign agencies and ministries, such as the Ministry of Education in Japan. Fetterman is the General Editor for Garland/Taylor and Francis Publication’s Studies in Education and Culture series. He has contributed to the International Encyclopedia of Education, the Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence, and the Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods, and the Encyclopedia of Evaluation. He is author of Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation; Empowerment Evaluation: Knowledge and Tools for Self-Assessment and Accountability; Speaking the Language of Power: Communication, Collaboration, and Advocacy; Ethnography: Step by Step, Second Edition; Qualitative Approaches to Evaluation in Education: The Silent Scientific Revolution; Excellence and Equality: A Qualitatively Different Perspective on Gifted and Talented Education; Educational Evaluation: Ethnography in Theory, Practice, and Politics; and Ethnography in Educational Evaluation. He recently coedited Empowerment Evaluation: Principles in Practice.

The Third Edition of Ethnography: Step-by-Step guides readers in collecting and making sense of large amounts of ethnographic data. It also offers current discussion about the use of technology in the pursuit of ethnography. Fundamentally, however, it demonstrates how ethnography is more than a methodological approach. For David M. Fetterman, ethnography is a way of life. \

Appreciations ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Author xv

1 The First Step: An Overview 1

Overview 2

The Problem 3

Basic or Applied Role 3

Theory 5

Research Design: Fieldwork 7

Formal Analysis 10

The Ethnography 11

Book Organization 12

2 Walking in Rhythm: Anthropological Concepts 15

Culture 16

Holistic Perspective 18

Contextualization 19

Emic Perspective and Multiple Realities 20

Etic Perspective 22

Nonjudgmental Orientation 23

Inter- and Intracultural Diversity 24

Structure and Function 26

Symbol and Ritual 27

Micro- or Macrolevel Study 29

Operationalism 31

3 A Wilderness Guide: Methods and Techniques 33

Fieldwork 33

Selection and Sampling 35

Entry 36

Participant Observation 37

Interviewing 40

Survey or Grand Tour Question 43

Specific Questions 44

Open-Ended or Closed-Ended Questions 46

Interviewing Protocols and Strategies 46

Key Actor or Informant Interviewing 49

Life Histories and Expressive Autobiographical Interviews 53

Lists and Forms 55

Questionnaires 56

Projective Techniques 59

Additional Eliciting Devices 60

Unobtrusive Measures 61

Outcroppings 61

Written and Electronic Information 63

Proxemics and Kinesics 64

Folktales 65

4 Gearing Up: Ethnographic Equipment 69

Pen and Paper 69

Digital Voice Recorders 70

Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) 71

GPS Navigation Tools 72

Laptop Computers 72

Desktop Computers 74

Database Software 74

Cameras 77

Digital Camcorder 80

Cinema and Digital Video 81

Internet 82

Internet Maps 83

Telephony 83

Videoconferencing Technology 83

Online Surveys 84

File Sharing 85

Digital Photograph File Sharing87

Blog 87

Collaborative Word Processing and Spreadsheets 88

Collaborative Web Site 89

5 Finding Your Way Through the Forest: Analysis 93

Thinking 93

Triangulation 94

Patterns 97

Key Events 99

Maps 102

Flowcharts 102

Organizational Charts 103

Matrices 103

Content Analysis 103

Statistics 105

Problems With Statistics 108

Crystallization 109

6 Recording the Miracle: Writing 113

Research Proposals 115

Field Notes 116

Shorthand, Symbols, and Mnemonics 117

Reconstruction 117

Field Note Organization 117

Memoranda 119

Interim Reports 120

Final Reports, Articles, and Books 120

Thick Description and Verbatim Quotations 125

Ethnographic Present 127

Ethnographic Presence 128

Ethnographically Informed Reports 128

Literature 129

Revising and Editing 130

7 Walking Softly Through the Wilderness: Ethics 133

The Ethnographer's Role 133

Academic and Applied Ethnography 134

Academic Ethnographers 134

Applied Ethnographers 135

Administrative Ethnographers 136

Action Ethnographers 137

Advocate Ethnographers 139

Research Life Cycle 140

Inception and Prenatal Care: The Problem 140

Gestation and Birth: Proposals 141

Midwifing: Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) 141

Childhood: Field Preparation 142

Adolescence and Adulthood: Fieldwork 142

Permission 143

Honesty 143

Trust 145

Pseudonyms 146

Reciprocity 147

Guilty Knowledge and Dirty Hands 148

Rigorous Work 148

Retirement and Last Rites 149

Conclusion 150

References 153

Index 167