Bibliography
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (2nd ed.). Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Review by Michael Beach
This book is a how-to with background information of how the authors have decided to approach fieldnotes. For those who are unfamiliar, ethnographies are documents that a researcher might create while they observe some human activity. For example, a researcher might attend a public meeting. Fieldnotes are not about the content discussed so much as describing actions and interactions of people participating in the event. The researcher might note a few specific things said, but may be more interested in how a person’s body language or appearance could say something about their messages.
Often, collecting ethnographies might include a more public event such as a meeting or overheard conversation, then supplemented by side conversations the ethnographer might have with one or more of the participants. One of the more difficult parts of making sense of the information collected is referred to as ‘coding’. Depending on what the research is focused on (for example the ethnographer may be interested in financial information, or people relationships, or the impact of policy change) the potential is limitless. Two things happen with coding. At the end of each day, a researcher would go through their fieldnotes and highlight sections based on some ‘code’ or subject area of focus. In this way they can analyze any trends or related topics. The other effect can be that the researcher begins to see unexpected patterns that could redirect the focus of the research project.
One can experience how different this effort is by simply going to a restaurant with a notebook. Then just watch the comings and goings of people (employees, patrons, passers-by, supply vendors, etc.). Literally write what you see describing the people, the environment or ambiance, any conversations you hear, how people treat each other, and what sort of body language you notice. Don’t take anything for granted. Write it as if you had never gone into a restaurant before. Sort of like if a space alien just landed and went into the place. How would they describe what they see? You might also consider yourself as a book author attempting to describe the setting of a story.
The book is full of tips of alternate ways to take notes, code the notes, and then interpret what the researcher writes from a quantitative and qualitative approach. Finally, the authors speak to the balancing act between observing and participating. One can argue that just by being there a researcher causes some difference in the public setting. For example, if an outsider joins a local leadership group the members may be less likely to say things they would if all participants were insiders. For those researchers that spend a long time with a specific community they will inevitably become part of the community if only in a superficial way. The less one joins the community under study the less one might hear that insiders learn over a lifetime. The more one joins the community the more difficult it may be to stay neutral.
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (2nd ed.). Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Review by Michael Beach
This book is a how-to with background information of how the authors have decided to approach fieldnotes. For those who are unfamiliar, ethnographies are documents that a researcher might create while they observe some human activity. For example, a researcher might attend a public meeting. Fieldnotes are not about the content discussed so much as describing actions and interactions of people participating in the event. The researcher might note a few specific things said, but may be more interested in how a person’s body language or appearance could say something about their messages.
Often, collecting ethnographies might include a more public event such as a meeting or overheard conversation, then supplemented by side conversations the ethnographer might have with one or more of the participants. One of the more difficult parts of making sense of the information collected is referred to as ‘coding’. Depending on what the research is focused on (for example the ethnographer may be interested in financial information, or people relationships, or the impact of policy change) the potential is limitless. Two things happen with coding. At the end of each day, a researcher would go through their fieldnotes and highlight sections based on some ‘code’ or subject area of focus. In this way they can analyze any trends or related topics. The other effect can be that the researcher begins to see unexpected patterns that could redirect the focus of the research project.
One can experience how different this effort is by simply going to a restaurant with a notebook. Then just watch the comings and goings of people (employees, patrons, passers-by, supply vendors, etc.). Literally write what you see describing the people, the environment or ambiance, any conversations you hear, how people treat each other, and what sort of body language you notice. Don’t take anything for granted. Write it as if you had never gone into a restaurant before. Sort of like if a space alien just landed and went into the place. How would they describe what they see? You might also consider yourself as a book author attempting to describe the setting of a story.
The book is full of tips of alternate ways to take notes, code the notes, and then interpret what the researcher writes from a quantitative and qualitative approach. Finally, the authors speak to the balancing act between observing and participating. One can argue that just by being there a researcher causes some difference in the public setting. For example, if an outsider joins a local leadership group the members may be less likely to say things they would if all participants were insiders. For those researchers that spend a long time with a specific community they will inevitably become part of the community if only in a superficial way. The less one joins the community under study the less one might hear that insiders learn over a lifetime. The more one joins the community the more difficult it may be to stay neutral.
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