Ethnography

One cannot understand a culture without becoming its component part. Therefore we have to live with the people we study, learn from them and listen to them. These are the basic rules of ethnography as the basic anthropological research method. Based on interviews, group discussions and particularly participant observation and fieldwork, we study how people (co)operate and what the relations are between them. The essence of ethnography is in the presence of the researcher or counsellor in the environment they wish to explore. This environment can be very diverse as the researcher may explore organisations, foreign markets and new target groups as well as works among customers and employees, i.e. in any group of people that might be interesting for the client.

http://www.ergo-institut.com/en/316/Ethnography.aspx

Ethnography: Your Guide to Doing it Right

October 27, 2009

Ethnography: Your Guide to Doing it Right

By Gavin Johnston, Chief AnthropologistIntroduction
Over the past decade, ethnography has been embraced by the business community. But the term "ethnography" has been used fairly loosely and expectations about the work and final outcomes vary as much as the people calling themselves ethnographers. Many researchers who feel at ease interviewing people in a "natural" setting claim to be doing ethnography but this is often not the case. Trained ethnographers do more than talk with people - they rely on a set of analytical tools that take experience and specialized training. Before deciding to use an ethnographic approach to answer your research question, it is imperative to know what to expect from a provider.
What to Expect