In this unit, you will create an ethnography of a live population of your choice based on approximately two hours of observation[1]. The final draft of your ethnography should be approximately five to seven double spaced typed pages in length. Along with primary research, the ethnography should reference one scholarly article or book chapter appropriate to your topic. Successful ethnographies will show depth rather than breadth, telling a story about a behavior, its origins and/or rationale. They will explain how a narrowly construed topic can shed light on a larger social reality. See the Social Sciences Ethnography Rubric for more information.
Proposal due posted to your blog by 5pm on May 7
To begin, you should select a narrowly construed topic. Although you need not know precisely what you will find during the course of your observation, in one paragraph you should define what community you will study, how you will study it, and what aspect of human behavior and/or decision-making you will investigate. Some sample topics include:
* Smoking among health care workers
* Health talk among seniors at a nursing home
* Race difference in shoe-selection by male shoppers at Dick’s Sporting Goods
* Front of house culture versus kitchen culture in a local restaurant
* SCA nursing students and daily work management
Literature Review due in hard copy on May 12
You should familiarize yourself with the community or behavior you are interested in studying before you begin your observation through secondary research. We will conduct a library information session during class on May 7 to assist you in locating sources. You should find one scholarly source, such as an article from a peer reviewed journal or a book chapter from a scholarly monograph, and write a one page literature review. Your review should summarize and evaluate the source and articulate how it will be useful to you in your eventual ethnography. You may choose a scholarly source that is not necessarily current or is more narrow or broader than the research you are conducting; if so, you should articulate why this source is still helpful to you. You will submit a draft of this literature review on May 19.
Field Notes due in hard copy May 19
Next, you should conduct your observations. Class will not meet on May 14 to allow you time to gather primary research. You should create a brief consent form to alert potential subjects to your study. (See the attached example.) Participant(s) should sign this consent form, except for those who are observed in public, not interviewed, and never recorded. As you observe, you should take field notes indicating the actions, gestures, and talk of your subjects. (See sample field notes.) You are welcome to interview one or more of your subjects for a total observation time of three hours. You may record audio and video or still photographs. You should have collected all of your field notes, including signed consent forms, for submission by May 19.
Presentations due May 19
In preparation for drafting your ethnography, you will prepare a two- minute presentation of your conclusions for the class. In this presentation, you will speak briefly about your analysis of what you have found, giving one or two supporting examples from your field notes.
First Draft due in hard copy May 21
The first draft of the ethnography will be due for draft workshop on May 21.
Final Draft due in hard copy May 26
The final draft will be due at the beginning of class on May 26.
[1] This means that you may not study artifacts of the dead, such as photographs or pottery. You may conduct three hours of participant observation, direct observation, or interviews. You may incorporate an analysis of artifacts on top of this if you so choose.
