Title: Observations
Course: EDPS0009: Researching Education and Society: Qualitative Methods 2020/2021 > Section: 4. Observations

Observations as data collection

In Lecture 4 and in the Introduction to observations page, we have already encountered some key elements relating to observations.

The following video [11:39] offers a brief summary of those key elements. Please, note that in the video, observations are presented as a key data collection method within quantitative research. This is certainly true, but observations are equally important within qualitative research.

Within the broader context of observations and observation studies, there are some specific forms of observation studies, which will be outlined on the next pages of this book.

Although in this book content the definitions appear to be quite clear-cut, in reality the borders or delimitations between the different approaches are not always as clearly defined, and are most often shaped by a researcher's overarching understanding of research and theoretical framework.

Ultimately, if interviews are "ways of listening" within qualitative research, then observations are "ways of looking".

Ethnography

The term "ethnography" can mean one of three things: 1.) a framework for research, 2.) a method for data collection or 3.) the final product of an ethnographic study.

This is why the term is often difficult to delineate. To better understand what ethnography is and does, it is best to go back to the root of the word, which is made up from the Greek words ethnos and grapho. Ethnos means folk, people, nation and grapho means I write. Effectively, ethnography then is a person writing about a nation or culture. This is the basis of the theoretical framework within which most anthropologists work. They carry out ethnographies to study cultural phenomena from looking at a particular event or society.

However, nowadays not only anthropologists undertake that kind of work. Instead, sociologists, educationalists,  business managers, organisational researchers, market researchers, for example, get involved with ethnographies. For these researchers and scholars, the ethnography is not a framework to be followed from the beginning to the end, but a method to collect specific kinds of data for their purposes.

As a data collection method, ethnographers observe the behaviours of individuals or groups of people, document these behaviours so that they can then interpret them in relation to that particular group or wider society. Ethnography therefore is a process of making sense of cultural phenomena or behaviours by observing, whereby - as we have seen - there are many choices to be made about the process of observing.

In the following video [2:03] four elements are mentioned that need to be met for the study to constitute an ethnography:

Having watched this video, make a note of 4 key elements required for an ethnographic study. But please, note that these elements are not the only way of and for defining what makes an ethnography, as the following video will show.

Watch the following video [8:13] and add to your notes of the key elements required to define an ethnography.

Towards the end of this video the term "oceanography" is introduced. Oceanography is, in principle, an ethnography of the ocean. That does not mean that we have different terms for ethnographies in all contexts, but there are some distinctions and differences as the following pages will show.

Ethnography in isolation

The foundation of ethnography lies with anthropology, where the anthropological researcher would have "entered a field" for a longer period of time in order to truly gain understanding of a culture or society.

However, as ethnography nowadays is a method as well as the original framework, the approach to "entering the field" has changed. For non-anthropological researchers it is not necessary to physically move into and stay in the field. Instead, there are ways of carrying out ethnographic research remotely: The video [8:13] below describes how.

Reflect:
Compare the traditional ethnographic approach to an ethnography in isolation. What are the advantages and drawbacks of both?

Netnography

With the increased use of social media and the internet, ethnographic research has also developed. Where initially the "field" would have been a society or culture, which the researcher would try to get close to and inhabit, the definition of "field" may nowadays also be the internet itself.

Watch the following video [9:33] on netnography and try to see how the key elements from 2. Ethnography would apply within the context of internet research.

Autoethnography

Autoethnographies are best understood if we go back to the root of the word here, which is made up of auto, ethnos and grapho. As we have seen ethnos and grapho highlight the relationship between the one person's observation and interpretation of cultural phenomena. In the case of autoethnography, the starting point for all analyses is auto, the self.

So, if employed systematically and rigorously, the personal narratives (auto) within autoethnographies are merely a starting point for the analytical research (graphy) on culture (ethno) (Ellis and Bochner 2000).

For more details on autoethnography and different kinds of interpretations see the information on the Parkmore Institute website.

Undertaking an autoethnography is a very difficult process and researchers are often criticised for being narcissistic or self-indulgent. If, however, an autoethnography is done well, then the personal experiences are used as a stepping stone for much wider theoretical and scholarly engagements and the self-narratives are just a lens through which the social is explored.

Reference:
Ellis, C. and Bochner, A. (2000). Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity: Researcher as Subject. In: Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.). Handbook of Qualitative Research. (2^nd ed.). London: Sage. 733–768.

Practical tips for carrying out observations

Considering all the different choices that need to be made, carrying out observations requires detailed planning and careful thought.

Here are some practical tips on what to consider when carrying out observations.
But do watch this video [1:38] with a critical eye, as after all everything always depends on the research focus and research question!