Ethnographic Methods for the Study of Electronic Communities |
By Sirkku Männikö and Rob Procter The origins of ethnography lie in social anthropology. In recent
times, however, ethnographic methods have found an increasing role
within IT design and development (Anderson, 1994). In such cases,
an ethnographic researcher is, in an integrated way, engaged in describing,
planning and participating in a process of change, rather than merely
observing and describing an existing setting. |
The basic conditions for an ethnographic study can be
summarised as follows:
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Generalisability |
The strength of qualitative methods like ethnography lies
in the fact that by studying one case in detail the greater phenomenon
can also be described. The results of ethnographic inquiry are often
assumed, however, to be resistant to generalisation and therefore of
questionable use for IT design. This is a mistake [Button and Dourish
1996]. First, ethnography expressly recognises the notion of "cohort
independence", that is phenomena that are not exclusively determined
by the specific circumstances in which they are observed [Garfinkel
and Sacks 1970]. Second, and related, in ethnography, a specific case
is understood to be a part of a greater phenomenon or a context .
As with qualitative methods generally, by careful choice of case studies
it is possible to produce findings that are transferable to other settings.
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Time perspective of findings |
Qualitative methods like ethnography are used to be able
to understand the (social) conditions and affordances that make the
achievement of a specific behaviour, interaction or process possible..
Based upon the thick descriptions generated by ethnographic field
work, systematic and detailed analysis can bring forth useful discoveries
and explanations of these processes. In conventional ethnographic approaches,
a prolonged period of time is usually needed for discovering and describing
these processes in full and the same applies to finding changes in processes.
However, experiences with applying ethnographic methods to IT design
point to the possibilities of adapting these methods to suit the time
scales of IT projects [COMIC 1994] without prejudicing their strengths.
In this project we will similarly adapt our methods to match our time
scales and needs.
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Reproducibility |
In the Natural Sciences reproducibility is control: the
findings should be reproducible, thereby increasing the their credibility.
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This attitude belongs to the positivistic paradigm that
sees the world as unchangeable and constant. Qualitative research holds
the opposite assumption. The world is constantly moving and changing
and besides the social world is always being constructed and reconstructed.
This makes the whole idea of reproducibility very difficult. If you
in spite of this still want to control that reproduction is possible
you can use the same theoretic of perspective as the natural scientist,
if you are to follow the same general rules for collecting data and
for analysis and you should get the same theoretical explanations to
the phenomenon under the same circumstances as in the original one.
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Participation |
Participant observation is an important part of all qualitative
research. Immersion in the setting allows the researcher to hear, see
and begin to experience reality as the participants do. Ideally, the
researcher spends a considerable amount of time in the setting studying
the daily life and behaviour of the participants.
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Observation |
Observation is a fundamental and crucial method in all
qualitative research. It is used to discover complex interactions in
natural social settings.
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Observation entails the systematic noting and recording
of events, behaviours and objects in the social setting chosen for study.
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Through observation, the researcher learns about behaviours
and the meanings attached to those behaviours. This method assumes that
the behaviour is purposive and expressive of deeper values and beliefs.
Observation can vary from extremely detailed notation of behaviour,
guided by checklists to more holistic descriptions of events and behaviours.
In the early stages of ethnographic inquiry, the researcher enters the
setting with broad areas of interest and without predetermined categories
or observations checklists. Thus the researcher is able to discover
the recurring patterns of behaviour and relationships. After such patterns
are identified and described through early analysis of field notes,
checklists become more appropriate and context-sensitive. Focused observation
is used later in the study, to check analytic themes to see if they
explain behaviour and relationships over a long time or in a variety
of settings.
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Also during an in-depth interview it is important to observe
the participant's body language and feelings.
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In-depth interviewing |
The in-depth interview is described as "a conversation
with a meaning". The researcher can start with a few general
topics to uncover the participant's meaning, perspective. It is after
all the participant's point of view you want to find in this kind of
study. It is most important that the researcher shows respect towards
the participant and shows that the information given by the participants
is important and valuable. Through the interview you get a lot of information
in a short time. Immediate follow-up and clarification are possible.
Combined with observation, interviews allows the researcher to understand
the meaning people hold for their everyday activities.
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Interviewing has its limitations and its weaknesses. Interviews
involve personal interaction and, they are demanding on the scientist
and the participant. The analysis of the data is time-consuming and
one might even question the quality of data found this way. Because
of this it is important to combine different methods to be able to guarantee
the validity of the study.
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Document Analysis |
Since the computer conferencing tools used in this project
are text based, they naturally lend themselves to a systematic examination
of the forms of communication , including structure and content. . This
more objective approach allows the researcher to obtain an objective
and quantitative description of the organisation and content in the
various forms of communication. One of the strengths of content analysis
is probably the fact that it is so discreet, it can be conducted
without disturbing the setting in any way. Privacy is not an issue in
this case as the documents are, by the nature of the setting, implicitly
public in character.
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After gathering the material the researcher determines
where the greatest emphasis lies after the data has been gathered. Besides
the method of the procedure is explicit to the researcher.
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References |
Button, G. and Dourish, P. (1996). Technomethodology:
Problems and Paradoxes. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human
Factors in Computing System Design, (Vancouver, April), ACM Press.
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COMIC (1994) Field Studies and CSCW. COMIC Project (Esprit
BRA 6225) Deliverable D2.2.
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Garfinkel, H. and Sacks, H. (1970) On formal structures
of practical actions. In J. McKinney and E. Tiryakrian (Eds.) Theoretical
Sociology. New York: Appleton Century Crofts.
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