Ethnography in Social Science Practice

ISBN-13: 9780415543477 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 216 str.

Julie Scott-Jones;Sal Watt

Opis

Ethnography in Social Science Practice explores ethnography's increasing use across the social sciences, beyond its traditional bases in social anthropology and sociology. It explores the disciplinary roots of ethnographic research within social anthropology, and contextualizes it within both field and disciplinary settings. The book is of two parts: Part one places ethnography as a methodology in its historical, ethical and disciplinary context, and also discusses the increasing popularity of ethnography across the social sciences. Part two explores the stages of ethnographic research via a selection of multidisciplinary case studies. A number of key questions are explored:

• What exactly is ethnographic research and what makes it different from other qualitative approaches?
• Why did ethnography emerge within one social science discipline and not others?
• Why did its adoption across the social sciences prove problematic?
• What are the methodological advantages and disadvantages of doing ethnographic research?
• Why are ethnographers so concerned by issues of ethics, politics, representation and power?
• What does ethnography look like within different social science disciplines?

The book is aimed at social science students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and each chapter has pedagogic features, including reflective activities and suggested further readings for students.

'Ethnography in Social Science Practice' takes a unique approach that explores ethnography both theoretically and practically. Students can explore the application of ethnography to 'real world' research contexts through a range of multidisciplinary case studies. This is a text of two parts: Part one grounds the student in the theoretical and ethical framework of ethnography; the ethical and theoretical reasons behind ethnography's increasing popularity across the social sciences will be discussed. In Part two of the book the ethnographic research process is charted through a set of diverse case studies drawn from across the Social Sciences. Each case study draws on a specific piece of ethnographic research, most of which are examples of applied social research. This accessible text provides excellent guidance on 'how to do ethnography' for both undergraduate and postgraduate students that ground ethnographic research in specific 'real world' contexts.

Spis treści

Part 1: Thinking Through Ethnography 1. Introductions, Julie Scott Jones 2. Origins and Ancestors: A Brief History of Ethnography, Julie Scott Jones 3. Being Really There and Really Aware: Ethics, Politics and Representation, Helen Jones 4. 'But it's got no tables or graphs in it...' A Legacy of Scientific Dominance in Psychology, Sal Watt  Part 2: Ethnography in Context 5. Sense and Sensibility in Interdisciplinary Work: Designing and Planning Applied Ethnography, Dave Randall and Mark Rouncefield 6. Accessing Inside: Ethical Dilemmas and Pragmatic Compromises, Wendy Laverick 7. Understanding Children's Educational Experiences Through Image Based Research, Anna Graham and Rosemary Kilpatrick 8. Let's Look Inside: Doing Participant Observation, Sal Watt and Julie Scott Jones 9. Between Partisan and Fake, Walking the Path of the Insider: Empowerment and Voice in Ethnography, John E. Goldring 10. Observing with a Focus: Field Notes and Data Recording, Clive Palmer 11. Making Sense of it all: Analyzing Ethnographic Data, Julie Scott Jones and Sal Watt 12. The Final Stage? Writing Up Ethnographic Research, Duncan Light 13. Leaving the Field: A Reflexive Journey, Sal Watt