Ethnography

To what use can ethnographic data be put? Who are its fiercest critics? Does ethnography have a future?

Ethnography is one of the principle methods of qualitative research with a long-established tradition of use in the social sciences. However, the literature on ethnography has become a battleground as ethnography is attacked from within and without the qualitative tradition. Post-modern critics effectively deny the possibility of any objective research, whilst globalization challenges the relevance of the local and the small scale.

In this book you will be presented with a robust defence of ethnography and its continued relevance in the social sciences. The author sets out the competing methodological bases of ethnography and details its different uses as a research method. You will find guidelines for good practice in the research process, as well as advice on the analysis, interpretation of ethnographic data.

Ethnograpy is written as a textbook with many features to help the learning process. However, its content are research led, informed by the author’s own extensive experience of undertaking ethnographic research in dangerous and sensitive locations in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. It is a lively and engaging read on an essential topic.