Journal of Socialomics

Forms and Features of Ethnographic Research

Bergland Jyo^* Department of Sociology, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
^*Correspondence: Bergland Jyo, Department of Sociology, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway, Email:

Received: 07-Feb-2022, Manuscript No. JSC-22-16008; Editor assigned: 09-Feb-2022, Pre QC No. JSC-22-16008 (PQ); Reviewed: 21-Feb-2022, QC No. JSC-22-16008; Revised: 24-Feb-2022, Manuscript No. JSC-22-16008 (R); Published: 28-Feb-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2167-0358.22.11.106

Description

Ethnography is a branch of Anthropology, a systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography investigates cultural phenomena from the perspective of the subject of study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves studying a participant's behavior in a particular social situation and understanding the group members own interpretation of that behavior. As a form of research, ethnography relies heavily on participant observation. That is, researchers, with at least a few roles, try to participate in the setting or study subject and to document in detail the perspectives conveyed by the patterns of social interaction. Understand them in the context of the participants and their locals. It originated in social and cultural anthropology in the early 20^th century, but has spread to other social science disciplines, especially sociology, during this century.

Ethnographers primarily use qualitative methods, but quantitative data are also available. Since typical ethnography is a holistic study, it includes a brief history and topographical, climate, and habitat analysis. Various groups and organizations have been studied using this method, including traditional communities, youth gangs, religious cults, and different types of organizations. Ethnography has traditionally relied on the physical presence of researchers in the environment, but sometimes uses the use of labels, based on interviews and documents, to investigate past events such as NASA challenger disasters to do. There is also a significant amount of "virtual" or online ethnography, sometimes referred to as Netnography or cyber ethnography.

Forms

Digital ethnography

Digital ethnography is also understood as a virtual ethnography. This type of ethnography is not as typical as a pen or pencil ethnography. Digital ethnography opens up more opportunities to engage with different cultures and societies. Traditional ethnography can use videos and images, but digital ethnography goes even deeper. For example, digital ethnographers use social media platforms such as Twitter and blogs to study people's interactions and behaviors. With the latest developments in computing power and AI, we can collect ethnographic data more efficiently through computer analysis using multimedia and machine learning, review many data sources together, and refine them for different purposes and can generate the output. The latest example of this technology is the use of pre-recorded audio on smart devices. This is posted to serve targeted ads (often consistent with other designer metadata and product development data). Internet researcher’s ethics guidelines are commonly used. Utilizing Fine's classic text, Gabriele de Seta's essay "The Three Lies of Digital Ethnography" addresses some of the more central methodological issues of a particularly ethnographic approach to internet studies.

Relational ethnography

Most ethnograms are published in specific locations where viewers can observe specific events related to the subject at hand. Relational ethnography articulates the field of investigation rather than the place, or the process rather than the person processed. This means that the relevant ethnography is neither an object defined by its member’s shared social characteristics, a limited group, nor a specific place surrounded by the boundaries of a particular area. The process is that governs the composition of relationships between different agents or institutions.

Multispecies ethnography

In particular, multiple ethnographic magazines focus not only on human participants in traditional ethnography, but also on both non-human and human participants within a group or culture. Multiple ethnography examines species related to people and our social life compared to other forms of ethnography. Species influence and are influenced by culture, economy and politics.

Features of Ethnographic Research

According to Dewan (2018), researchers do not want to generalize the results. Rather, they see it in relation to the context of the situation. In this regard, the best way is to incorporate ethnography into a quantitative study, use it to discover and clarify relationships, and use the resulting data to test and explain empirical assumptions.

In ethnography, researchers collect what is available, what is normal, what people do, what they say, and how they work.

Ethnography can also be used in other methodological frameworks, such as action research programs where one of the goals is to change and improve the situation.

Ethnographic research is a basic methodology in cultural ecology, developmental research, and feminist geography. In addition, it has attracted attention in the geography of social, political, cultural and natural societies. Ethnography is an effective methodology in qualitative geography research that focuses on people's perceptions and experiences, and traditional place-based immersion in social groups.