Ethnography Principles In Practice

The claims of qualitative research have been gaining ground in recent years, yet textbooks rarely offer a comprehensive range of methods and strategies available, and treat ethnographic research in isolation from other research methods. In this book, Martyn Hammersley and Paul Atkinson reconsider the status of ethnography and seek to locate it quite explicitly in a general methodological context. Ethnography provides a systematic and coherent account of ethnographic principles and practice.

The authors argue against both ‘positivism’ and ‘naturalism’; the authors argue that ethnography is best understood as a reflexive practice: that is, as part of the social world it studies. From an outline of the principle of reflexivity, the authors go on to discuss exemplify the main features of ethno-graphic research. They cover such issues, the problem of access, observation and interviewing, recording and filing data, and the process of analysing and writing up findings. For example, they account, which draws on classic and more recent studies in Britain and America, will prove a useful guide to ethnographic research for the experienced researcher, the advanced student, and the newcomer to the field.