Ethnographic Research Project

This major assignment for the class is to go out into "the world" and do ethnographic study to explore a social or cultural issue of particular interest to you. It is not a library project, though in some cases a little library research or outside reading may be appropriate. You will need to think about three major areas as you develop your project idea and engage in ethnography: (1) a site/topic; (2) a research question: an issue or problem that focuses your discussion of the site/topic; and (3) a well-thought out set of methods, or ways to investigate the issues that interest you in context of the particular site you have chosen. These three areas are related: an issue that may be very fruitful in one site may leave you with little to work with in another site. A method, or way of approaching your issue that works well in one context–or to illuminate one theoretical issue–may be completely inappropriate or non-illuminating in another case.

If you choose something familiar to you, an organization you belong to, for example, try to look at it as if it were strange. Step back. Imagine that you don't know what's going on. Ask some new questions of the situation. If you choose something unfamiliar, try to figure out how it makes sense, what is the logic guiding it, what are the assumptions that you have to understand in order to understand what is going on. Your project could be an analysis of a ceremony, a social gathering, a place where people come together for one purpose only, like a bus station or a beauty parlor. You could look at a group that you are a member of--a club, a performing group, a religious organization. Or you could choose a topic with which you are not already connected. Start looking around at places where people congregate or thinking about groups that you are already a part of.

Methods:

You will want to choose your research methods to best fit your topic and the kind of research questions you are investigating. You will probably use some combination of participation, observation, and interviews. If you want to be innovative with other methods, please discuss it with me. Whatever your method, you will need to take notes; you may take notes while observing in your research situation, or, if this is impractical, you may write down notes afterwards. But do keep a written record of your observations as you go. First impressions can be very different from later impressions and you do not want your original impressions to be lost. YOU WILL NEED TO TURN IN YOUR NOTES (see syllabus for date).  These will be your actual notes in progress; you are not required to type these notes up or put them in any special format. They should be a combination of field observations and your initial assessments or organization of those topics. You should include a cover sheet with your notes that gives a brief progress report of the research to date, any changes made to your topic since your original proposal, and so forth.

Writing Up:

The paper (10 pages) needs to be clearly organized and should include the following (these need not necessarily be separate sections, nor do they have to appear in the order presented below):

When I am evaluating your project, I will look for a strong argument, clearly stated and well supported; a clear focus that guides the entire paper; effective use of ethnographic material (descriptions, interview excerpts, etc.) to "thickly" support and enrich–and even problematize–your argument; and compelling analysis of your ethnographic material. I also expect the paper to contain some reflections on your process, on how you did the ethnographic work; how you made decisions about what you did ethnographically; what worked and what didn’t (and why); who you talked to and who you didn’t talk to (and why); how the methods you chose might have affected your findings; and why you think your methods were appropriate both to your research question and to your research setting. In the case of interviews, be sure to describe your respondents in whatever way is relevant to your project (ethnicity, gender, class, age, etc). Finally, I expect thorough and effective consideration of relevant course themes and materials to be integrated into the paper (if there are no relevant themes and materials, you have not chosen a project appropriate for this course). All references should use Anthropology style (a style guide is available in the Anthropology office).

BE SURE TO TURN IN ALL OF YOUR PROPOSALS, NOTES, ETC. WITH YOUR FINAL PAPER. INCLUDE A TITLE PAGE AND BIBLIOGRAPHY IF YOU USE ANY SOURCES OTHER THAN YOUR OWN OBSERVATIONS.

I encourage all of you to go to the Writing Center for help in organizing and writing your paper. You don't have to have the whole paper drafted before you go in; at the Writing Center, they can help you organize your material prior to writing. They can also help you work with drafts of your paper. It is helpful to them if you can bring in this assignment description so they understand the expectations for the project.