limitations to ethnographic research

Ethnography: An Analysis of its Advantages and Disadvantages

7 Pages Posted: 17 Dec 2018

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA)

Date Written: November 1, 2018

Ethnography is a research precisely about individuals, societies and their culture. It aims to study social and cultural aspects of a society and the researcher focusses to collect information for that. It focusses on behaviour of people with respect to the social setup they live in. The outcome of a field study mirrors the learning and the arrangement of implications in the lives of a social gathering. As like any other research methods, Ethnography has its own advantages and disadvantages; however it is important to mention here that ethnography is a completely different approach of data collection wherein the collector of data is himself a participant and not an outsider. By getting the accounts of various ethnographic studies, it can be said that this approach is highly immersive and provides one with a highly transparent and original account of information. This methodology allows the culture to speak for itself which is highly important.

Keywords: ethnography, privacy, anthropology, sidewalk, fieldwork, participatory

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Lal bahadur shastri national academy of administration (lbsnaa) ( email ).

Mussorie, Uttarakhand 248179 India

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Breaking Down Barriers – Using Ethnography to Build Cultural Understanding

Ethnography is a research method used to study human cultures and societies. At its core, ethnography is the study of human cultures and societies through observation and participation in their day-to-day activities.

Table of Contents

Ethnography – An Introduction

Participant observation involves the researcher taking an active role in the culture they are studying by participating in its activities and observing its members’ behaviour. Fieldwork refers to the process of collecting data through direct observation, interviews, and other methods while living among the people being studied. Data analysis involves interpreting the data collected during fieldwork to develop insights into the culture under study.

Participant Observation

Participant observation typically involves several stages, including gaining entry into the culture or group being studied, establishing trust with its members, learning about its social structure and dynamics, participating in its activities while observing them, and collecting data through field notes or other methods.

During fieldwork, researchers may engage in participant observation by actively participating in the activities of the culture they are studying while observing and recording their experiences. They may also conduct interviews with members of the culture to gain additional insights into their perspectives and experiences.

Cultural Informant Interviews

During cultural informant interviews, researchers ask open-ended questions to gather information about the society’s norms, values, beliefs, and practices. The goal is to gain a deep understanding of the culture from the perspective of its members. Informants may be chosen based on their expertise in specific areas or because they are representative of particular groups within the culture being studied.

Analysing and Describing Ethnographic Findings

To understand cultural practices and beliefs fully, it’s important for the anthropologist to provide context for them. One of the ways anthropologists achieve this aim is by using a style known as thick description .

Best Practices for Conducting Ethnographic Research

Build rapport with participants: Ethnography often involves spending extended periods of time in the field and building relationships with members of the community being studied. It’s essential to establish trust and create an open dialogue with participants.

Ensure confidentiality: Confidentiality is critical in ethnographic research as participants may share personal information or engage in behaviors that could put them at risk if made public. Researchers must take steps to protect participant privacy and ensure that any information shared is kept confidential.

Analyze data systematically: After collecting data, it’s essential to analyze it systematically using established qualitative research methods such as coding, thematic analysis, or grounded theory.

How Ethnography Differs from Other Qualitative Methods

First, the main aim of ethnographic research is the interpretation of the shared norms and beliefs of the community under study. This means that ethnographers are more interested in understanding how a group interacts with each other and their cultural worlds than they are in individual perspectives.

Second, ethnography relies heavily on fieldwork. This means that ethnographers must immerse themselves in the daily lives of the people they are researching in order to understand their culture. This can be done through direct observation or participation in activities. This means that ethnographers often live with the people they are researching for extended periods of time in order to really understand their culture.

The Ethical Considerations of Ethnographic Research

When conducting ethnographic research, there are a number of ethical considerations that need to be taken into account in order to ensure that the research is conducted in a responsible and respectful manner. This is especially important when working with vulnerable populations.

Informed Consent

Respecting privacy and confidentiality.

Another ethical consideration is protecting the confidentiality of participants. This means keeping their information safe and ensuring that it will not be used for any purpose other than what was originally agreed upon.

In some cases, researchers may need to change the names of participants or use pseudonyms in order to protect their identity. Any recordings or notes that are made during the course of the research should also be kept confidential.

This can be a challenge in ethnographic research because the very nature of the methodology involves observing people in their natural environment. This means that researchers may inadvertently collect personal information about participants without their knowledge or consent. One way to overcome this challenge is to establish clear boundaries with participants at the beginning of the research process and make sure they are aware of what information will be collected and how it will be used.

Code of Ethics

The challenges of conducting ethnographic research.

The goal of ethnographic research is to understand how people interact with each other and the world around them. In order to do this, ethnographers immerse themselves in the lives of the people they are studying. This can be a challenge, both logistically and emotionally. Here are some of the challenges involved in conducting ethnographic research.

Gaining access to the people being studied

One of the biggest challenges in conducting ethnographic research is gaining access to the necessary people and places. This can be difficult for a number of reasons, including language barriers, unfamiliarity with local customs, and lack of personal connections.

Another challenge faced by many ethnographers is gaining the cooperation of research subjects. This can be difficult because people are often reluctant to talk about sensitive topics or share personal information with strangers. One way to overcome this challenge is to build rapport with your research subjects by establishing trust and demonstrating your understanding of their culture and values. Only once you have gained their trust should you begin asking questions about your research topic.

Time Commitment

Another challenge is the time commitment required. In order to really understand a culture, an ethnographer needs to spend a significant amount of time observing and interacting with the people in that culture. This can be logistically difficult, especially if the society under study is located in a different country or region. It can also be emotionally challenging, as it requires an ethnographer to be open and vulnerable with the people they are studying.

Analysis and Interpretation

Once an ethnographer has collected their data, they then face the challenge of analysis and interpretation. This is difficult because ethnographers must not only understand the culture they are studying, but also their own culture and biases.

In addition, ethnographic data often takes the form of unstructured observations, interviews, and field notes, which can be challenging to organize and interpret. One way to overcome this challenge is to use data management software like NVivo or Atlas.ti to help you organize and analyse your data.

Conclusion – Ethnography is a Powerful Tool

Ethnography is a powerful research method that allows anthropologists to study human cultures and societies in depth. Its strength lies in its ability to provide rich, detailed descriptions of cultural practices, beliefs, and values while also providing context for these phenomena.

Ethnography differs from other qualitative research methods in that it emphasizes the importance of long-term fieldwork and participant observation as a way of gaining deep insights into cultural phenomena. By immersing themselves in the culture being studied, ethnographers can gain a nuanced understanding of complex social processes and interactions.

As such, ethnography continues to be an important tool for anthropologists seeking to understand the diverse ways in which people live and interact with one another around the world.

Related Terminology:

Thick description: A type of ethnographic data that provides highly detailed, contextualized accounts of social phenomena.

Triangulation: A method used by ethnographers to corroborate their findings by collecting data from multiple sources.

Quantitative research: A type of research that uses deductive, statistical methods to generate numerical data about a particular phenomenon.

Anthropology Glossary Terms starting with E

Examining the Strengths and Limitations of Ethnographic Research: An Evaluation of Two Studies in Distinctive Educational Contexts

November 2021
International Journal of Asian Education 2(4):549-558
2(4):549-558

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What Is Ethnography? | Definition, Guide & Examples

What Is Ethnography? | Definition, Guide & Examples

Published on March 13, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that involves immersing yourself in a particular community or organization to observe their behavior and interactions up close. The word “ethnography” also refers to the written report of the research that the ethnographer produces afterwards.

Ethnography is a flexible research method that allows you to gain a deep understanding of a group’s shared culture, conventions, and social dynamics. However, it also involves some practical and ethical challenges.

What is ethnography used for, different approaches to ethnographic research, gaining access to a community, working with informants, observing the group and taking field notes, writing up an ethnography, other interesting articles.

Ethnographic research originated in the field of anthropology, and it often involved an anthropologist living with an isolated tribal community for an extended period of time in order to understand their culture.

This type of research could sometimes last for years. For example, Colin M. Turnbull lived with the Mbuti people for three years in order to write the classic ethnography The Forest People .

Today, ethnography is a common approach in various social science fields, not just anthropology. It is used not only to study distant or unfamiliar cultures, but also to study specific communities within the researcher’s own society.

For example, ethnographic research (sometimes called participant observation ) has been used to investigate football fans , call center workers , and police officers .

Advantages of ethnography

The main advantage of ethnography is that it gives the researcher direct access to the culture and practices of a group. It is a useful approach for learning first-hand about the behavior and interactions of people within a particular context.

By becoming immersed in a social environment, you may have access to more authentic information and spontaneously observe dynamics that you could not have found out about simply by asking.

Ethnography is also an open and flexible method. Rather than aiming to verify a general theory or test a hypothesis , it aims to offer a rich narrative account of a specific culture, allowing you to explore many different aspects of the group and setting.

Disadvantages of ethnography

Ethnography is a time-consuming method. In order to embed yourself in the setting and gather enough observations to build up a representative picture, you can expect to spend at least a few weeks, but more likely several months. This long-term immersion can be challenging, and requires careful planning.

Ethnographic research can run the risk of observer bias . Writing an ethnography involves subjective interpretation, and it can be difficult to maintain the necessary distance to analyze a group that you are embedded in.

There are often also ethical considerations to take into account: for example, about how your role is disclosed to members of the group, or about observing and reporting sensitive information.

Should you use ethnography in your research?

If you’re a student who wants to use ethnographic research in your thesis or dissertation , it’s worth asking yourself whether it’s the right approach:

Could the information you need be collected in another way (e.g. a survey , interviews)?
How difficult will it be to gain access to the community you want to study?
How exactly will you conduct your research, and over what timespan?
What ethical issues might arise?

If you do decide to do ethnography, it’s generally best to choose a relatively small and easily accessible group, to ensure that the research is feasible within a limited timeframe.

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There are a few key distinctions in ethnography which help to inform the researcher’s approach: open vs. closed settings, overt vs. covert ethnography, and active vs. passive observation. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Open vs. closed settings

The setting of your ethnography—the environment in which you will observe your chosen community in action—may be open or closed.

An open or public setting is one with no formal barriers to entry. For example, you might consider a community of people living in a certain neighborhood, or the fans of a particular baseball team.

Gaining initial access to open groups is not too difficult…
…but it may be harder to become immersed in a less clearly defined group.

A closed or private setting is harder to access. This may be for example a business, a school, or a cult.

A closed group’s boundaries are clearly defined and the ethnographer can become fully immersed in the setting…
…but gaining access is tougher; the ethnographer may have to negotiate their way in or acquire some role in the organization.

Overt vs. covert ethnography

Most ethnography is overt . In an overt approach, the ethnographer openly states their intentions and acknowledges their role as a researcher to the members of the group being studied.

Overt ethnography is typically preferred for ethical reasons, as participants can provide informed consent…
…but people may behave differently with the awareness that they are being studied.

Sometimes ethnography can be covert . This means that the researcher does not tell participants about their research, and comes up with some other pretense for being there.

Covert ethnography allows access to environments where the group would not welcome a researcher…
…but hiding the researcher’s role can be considered deceptive and thus unethical.

Active vs. passive observation

Different levels of immersion in the community may be appropriate in different contexts. The ethnographer may be a more active or passive participant depending on the demands of their research and the nature of the setting.

An active role involves trying to fully integrate, carrying out tasks and participating in activities like any other member of the community.

Active participation may encourage the group to feel more comfortable with the ethnographer’s presence…
…but runs the risk of disrupting the regular functioning of the community.

A passive role is one in which the ethnographer stands back from the activities of others, behaving as a more distant observer and not involving themselves in the community’s activities.

Passive observation allows more space for careful observation and note-taking…
…but group members may behave unnaturally due to feeling they are being observed by an outsider.

While ethnographers usually have a preference, they also have to be flexible about their level of participation. For example, access to the community might depend upon engaging in certain activities, or there might be certain practices in which outsiders cannot participate.

An important consideration for ethnographers is the question of access. The difficulty of gaining access to the setting of a particular ethnography varies greatly:

To gain access to the fans of a particular sports team, you might start by simply attending the team’s games and speaking with the fans.
To access the employees of a particular business, you might contact the management and ask for permission to perform a study there.
Alternatively, you might perform a covert ethnography of a community or organization you are already personally involved in or employed by.

Flexibility is important here too: where it’s impossible to access the desired setting, the ethnographer must consider alternatives that could provide comparable information.

For example, if you had the idea of observing the staff within a particular finance company but could not get permission, you might look into other companies of the same kind as alternatives. Ethnography is a sensitive research method, and it may take multiple attempts to find a feasible approach.

All ethnographies involve the use of informants . These are people involved in the group in question who function as the researcher’s primary points of contact, facilitating access and assisting their understanding of the group.

This might be someone in a high position at an organization allowing you access to their employees, or a member of a community sponsoring your entry into that community and giving advice on how to fit in.

However, i f you come to rely too much on a single informant, you may be influenced by their perspective on the community, which might be unrepresentative of the group as a whole.

In addition, an informant may not provide the kind of spontaneous information which is most useful to ethnographers, instead trying to show what they believe you want to see. For this reason, it’s good to have a variety of contacts within the group.

The core of ethnography is observation of the group from the inside. Field notes are taken to record these observations while immersed in the setting; they form the basis of the final written ethnography. They are usually written by hand, but other solutions such as voice recordings can be useful alternatives.

Field notes record any and all important data: phenomena observed, conversations had, preliminary analysis. For example, if you’re researching how service staff interact with customers, you should write down anything you notice about these interactions—body language, phrases used repeatedly, differences and similarities between staff, customer reactions.

Don’t be afraid to also note down things you notice that fall outside the pre-formulated scope of your research; anything may prove relevant, and it’s better to have extra notes you might discard later than to end up with missing data.

Field notes should be as detailed and clear as possible. It’s important to take time to go over your notes, expand on them with further detail, and keep them organized (including information such as dates and locations).

After observations are concluded, there’s still the task of writing them up into an ethnography. This entails going through the field notes and formulating a convincing account of the behaviors and dynamics observed.

The structure of an ethnography

An ethnography can take many different forms: It may be an article, a thesis, or an entire book, for example.

Ethnographies often do not follow the standard structure of a scientific paper, though like most academic texts, they should have an introduction and conclusion. For example, this paper begins by describing the historical background of the research, then focuses on various themes in turn before concluding.

An ethnography may still use a more traditional structure, however, especially when used in combination with other research methods. For example, this paper follows the standard structure for empirical research: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion.

The content of an ethnography

The goal of a written ethnography is to provide a rich, authoritative account of the social setting in which you were embedded—to convince the reader that your observations and interpretations are representative of reality.

Ethnography tends to take a less impersonal approach than other research methods. Due to the embedded nature of the work, an ethnography often necessarily involves discussion of your personal experiences and feelings during the research.

Ethnography is not limited to making observations; it also attempts to explain the phenomena observed in a structured, narrative way. For this, you may draw on theory, but also on your direct experience and intuitions, which may well contradict the assumptions that you brought into the research.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Normal distribution
Degrees of freedom
Null hypothesis
Discourse analysis
Control groups
Mixed methods research
Non-probability sampling
Quantitative research
Ecological validity

Research bias

Rosenthal effect
Implicit bias
Cognitive bias
Selection bias
Negativity bias
Status quo bias

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Ethnography: Methods, Types, Importance, Limitations, Examples

Ethnography is a descriptive study of a certain human culture or the process of conducting such a study. It is a qualitative data collection approach commonly employed in the social and behavioural sciences. The term “ethnography” comes from the Greek words “ethnos” (which means “people” or “nation) and “grapho” (which means “I write”). A very common example of ethnographic research is an ethnographer coming to an island, living within its community for years, and investigating its people and culture via persistent observation and involvement. A few essential elements of ethnographic research are the significance of context, detailed recording of people and their life and a holistic and qualitative analysis of the data collected. This article will discuss the methods and types of ethnographic research. It will also shed light on the importance of ethnography as a research tool, as well as its advantages and limitations. The article will also illustrate some differences between ethnography and anthropology.

Methods of Ethnography

For example, a naturalist ethnographic study was conducted in South African primary schools, with a focus on the learning habits of a group of Grade 6 children at an urban township school in the Western Cape (Plooy, 2010).

The participant observation approach is used when a sociologist becomes a member of the group being studied in order to gather data and comprehend social phenomena. Throughout participant observation , the researcher takes on two roles at once: participant and observer. The group is sometimes, but not always, aware that the researcher is watching them. In 2011, sociologist Ashley Mears conducted an ethnographic study on the world of fashion modelling. She worked as a model in New York and London, and conducted interviews with major people of the fashion world in order to better understand it.

Some researchers acquire access to massive volumes of data by relying on existing information to address a variety of study queries. This method of inquiry is called archival research. Looking at past records helps the researcher to identify patterns or relationships that can further lead to new paths of study. Fire agencies in the United States preserve records of fires, chemical spills, accidents, and so on, all of which represent archived data. From 1953 until 2001, the measurements of models shoot for Playboy magazine’s centrefolds were investigated as an example of archival research (Voracek & Fisher, 2002).

Netnography is a method of performing ethnographic research on the internet. It is a qualitative, interpretative research approach that applies standard ethnographic methodologies to the study of internet platforms. The ethnographic research setting is understood by going to the field where the researcher does fieldwork. Netnography doesn’t always need fieldwork, but what is done is online fieldwork. Even in some research examples, netnographic research can be done completely in front of a smartphone or computer screen. Using a netnographic and case-study method, a study by Johansson and Andreasson examined how loneliness is perceived and comprehended via the use of several blogs as data (2017). More specifically, the study intended to analyse loneliness and associated topics in the context of online communication.

Types of Ethnographic Research

There are certain procedures included in educational research that study people’s learning and teaching approaches and the influence they have on classroom behaviour. People may learn about student behaviour and attitudes, as well as academic motives, learning dispositions, and much more, through educational ethnography research. People can pay greater attention to the consequences of learning processes, pedagogy, and certain general arrangements in the learning environment with the aid of this study methodology.

Business ethnographic research is a study design that entails monitoring consumer behaviours and target markets in order to determine genuine market demands and the general attitude toward your product or service. It is an exceptionally useful research instrument that may assist your firm in identifying client wants and meeting market expectations. This research strategy combines many methodologies such as fieldwork, physical interviews, and internet surveys to get meaningful data about target market consumer behaviours.

Ethnography is a valuable study tool for understanding patients’ and service consumers’ experiences throughout their medical journey. It may tell you what it’s like to have a certain medical condition or diagnosis, as well as the norms and behaviours of individuals with that ailment. The patient’s voice can be heard owing to ethnographic data. Information from ethnographic research of patient populations can be utilised to enhance healthcare and social care services.

There are various advantages of ethnography, which make it important to the field of sociological research. Some benefits of ethnography are:

However, there are some limitations to ethnographic research as well., ethnography vs anthropology.

Ethnography seeks to depict life as it is seen and perceived by a person, somewhere, at some point in time. Anthropology, on the other hand, is a study of the circumstances and possibilities of people living in the world. Although anthropology and ethnography have much to offer each other, their goals and purposes are quite different. Ethnography is a methodology while anthropology is a discipline. Anthropology is the study of human communities in general, while ethnography is a methodical technique to discover a culture, place, or group.

Johansson, T., & Andreasson, J. (2017, September 1). The web of loneliness: A netnographic study of narratives of being alone in an online context . MDPI. Retrieved June 21, 2022, from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/6/3/101

Voracek, M. (2002). Shapely centrefolds? temporal change in body measures: Trend Analysis. BMJ , 325 (7378), 1447–1448. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7378.1447

Ishita Bhambri

Ishita Bhambri is an undergraduate student of Psychology and Sociology at FLAME University, Pune. A raging feminist and a mental health advocate, she is deeply interested in gender studies and film literature. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and baking desserts.

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Janice Jones 1 ,
Joanna Smith 2
1 Institute of Vocational Learning, School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University , London , UK
2 Children’s Nursing, School of Healthcare, University of Leeds , Leeds , UK
Correspondence to Dr Janice Jones, Institute of Vocational Learning, School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK; jonesj33{at}lsbu.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2017-102786

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Introduction

Collectively qualitative research is a group of methodologies, with each approach offering a different lens though which to explore, understand, interpret or explain phenomena in real word contexts and settings. This article will provide an overview of one of the many qualitative approaches, ethnography , and its relevance to healthcare. We will use an exemplar based on a study that used participant-as-observer observation and follow-up interviews to explore how occupational therapists embed spirituality into everyday practice, and offer insights into the future directions of ethnography in response to increased globalisation and technological advances.

What is ethnography?

What research methods do ethnographic researchers adopt.

Ethnographic methods are diverse and a range of approaches can be adopted; they are based on observation, often complemented with interviews, and detailed analysis often at a micro level. Although the methods used are not exclusive to ethnography, it is the depth of fieldwork and the continuous process of engaging with participants and their natural environments that is central and adds strength to the findings of ethnographic studies. 6 Participant observation requires immersion in the setting under investigation, and observing the language, behaviours and values of the participants. 7 Consequently, paramount to undertaking an ethnographic study is the role of the researcher in data collection.

Engaging with participants in the real world poses several challenges; first the researcher must decide whether to adopt an overt or covert approach to data collection and observation. In an overt approach the participants know they are being observed, whereas in a covert approach the participants are unaware they are being observed. The rationale for undertaking covert data collection in healthcare contexts needs careful consideration because of ethical implications, and the tensions with the principles of good research governance such as the right to choice whether to participate, information provision and gaining consent. 8 Second, the researcher must consider ‘their position’ either as an ‘insider’ (emic) or ‘outsider’ (etic). 5 Broadly, an emic approach is aligned with immersing into the culture, observing and recording participants’ way of life and activity, in contrast to the etic approach that observes and describes communities and cultures ( table 1 ). Both methods produce rich, in-depth data aiming to make sense of the context or phenomena under investigation, and require the researcher to be reflexive when undertaking fieldwork, accounting for their own assumptions and presuppositions to strengthen the findings. 5

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Approaches to participant observation 7

Ethnographic approaches to data collection produce voluminous unstructured data from a range of sources, for example fieldwork notes, diary entries, memos and, where appropriate, interview transcripts. The volume of data can be challenging to analyse and we would recommend a structured approach such as the framework approach. 9 The framework approach is rigorous, logical and transparent, and is particularly suitable to manage large amounts of textual information, while remaining close to the original data. 10 Framework approach supports the process of crystallisation, where the multiple facets of an ethnographic study are iteratively analysed, and constantly reviewed to identify patterns and associations across the data. 9 While the final stage in the framework approach aims to present the data in a way that is meaningful to the reader by grouping findings into categories and themes, the role of the researcher is to offer explanations about ‘how and why’ events, actions and interactions occur. 9 10

Table 2 outlines the methods adopted, rationale for decisions made and challenges of undertaking an ethnographical study that explored how occupational therapists incorporate spiritual care into their everyday practice. 11 Data were collected through participant-as-observer, recognising JJ’s role as an occupational therapist and knowledge of the study setting, with semistructured interviews used to explore with participants their decisions and thoughts by reflection on the observational data collected. Several key findings emerged; first spirituality is more meaningfully described than defined for occupational therapy practice. Second, central to occupational therapy practice is supporting patients during times of vulnerability; addressing the spiritual constructs of practice is essential to holistic person-centred care. Finally, organisational and contextual factors influenced how the occupational therapists framed their practice, and adopted strategies to retain their commitment to holistic, person-centred practice. 11

Methods, rationale for decision and challenges undertaking ethnographical research

How flexible is ethnography to social changes, globalisation and technological advances?

Rapidly advancing technology and increased globalisation require healthcare organisations to adapt and change; similarly approaches to undertaking qualitative research must evolve. 12 The increased use of web-based platforms as a means of sharing information, offering support networks and monitoring patients is creating opportunities for health researchers to study the naturally occurring and vast amount of data generated online. The rapid advancement of online communities has resulted in the emergence of online research methodologies such as netnography. 13 Netnography is rooted in ethnographical methods that aim to explore the social interactions of online communities, and can be adapted across the spectrum of online activities. 14

The emergence of team-based ethnography, as a departure from the traditional lone researcher working ‘ in the field’ , is in part in response to the globalisation of societies, economies and ororganisations. 15 Multisite or global ethnography is a new way of conceptualising ethnography that offers opportunities to study the interconnectedness of modern society, 15 and could be appropriate to study healthcare systems globally.

In summary, it is not surprising that qualitative research has been widely adopted as a means of understanding healthcare from the patient experience, and exploring service provision, care delivery and organisational cultures. The value of focused ethnographic studies in healthcare is essential to develop an in-depth understanding of healthcare cultures and explore complex phenomenon in real world contexts.

Ritchie J ,
Streubert HJ ,
Carpenter DR
Hammersley M ,
Edgecombe N
McNaughton Nichols C ,
Angrosino M
Hammersley M
Costello L ,
McDermott M ,
Kozinets RV
Jarzabkowski P ,
Bednarek R ,
Cabantous L
Monahan T ,

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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Ethnographies: The Pros, Cons and Modern Solutions

With Insights in Marketing, delve into what ethnographic research is, & understand the strengths & limitations of ethnography for your market research.

Ethnography is “the study and systematic recording of human cultures,” according to Merriam-Webster dictionary.

One of the best ways to gain deeper consumer insights and understand what ethnographic research is would be to spend time sitting in someone’s home observing when, why, and how much time they spend doing things like watching TV, cooking, eating, drinking, brushing their teeth, or cleaning.

The most interesting insights will come from just watching, which is the basis of ethnographic research.

What is Ethnographic Research in Marketing?

Ethnographic research for marketers is observing consumers in their natural habitat – usually their home. This is where they tend to be more open and honest and where brand marketers, product developers, engineers, and designers can directly observe people using products.

Analysts performing ethnographic research in marketing can see firsthand how participants use products, and create their own work-arounds — rather than relying on people to explain how they get a task done.

What Are the Advantages and Limitations of Ethnographic Research for Product Development?

Ethnography is more than just an in-depth interview. It is a methodology that gets to the root of why people do what they do versus what they say they do. Ethnographies are well suited to study unpredictable situations and relationships that are too complex or difficult for quantitative methods, such as surveys and statistical analysis of numerical data.

Though there are strengths and limitations of ethnography and ethnographic research in marketing, the main idea is to simply observe consumer behavior, rather than interact with people. It involves qualitative research and analysis of consumers’ pain points and behavior. Ethnography identifies unmet needs – and this is where the real breakthroughs in product development can occur.

Learn more about the importance of intuition and curiosity in market research.

Advantages of Ethnographic Research:

The more brand marketers, product developers, engineers, and designers know about their target consumers and how the world around them shapes their behavior, the more they can empathize with them and develop products that meet their unmet needs.

Marketers Get a More Realistic Picture

To grasp what ethnographic research in marketing is and how consumers react to brands, researchers can look into your target consumer’s attitudes, behaviors and motivations towards a brand or product. Rather than a survey, you can see actual consumers in real life situations, and in real time.

Uncovers Extremely Valuable Insight

In ethnography, the data relates to everyday solutions and innovation that customers really need. This in-depth approach can reveal extremely valuable insights you can’t always glean from a survey.

Pinpoint Business Needs & Make Accurate Predictions

By viewing consumers in their environment, researchers are able to see needs versus wants, which is one of the many advantages of ethnographic research. Understanding a target market’s needs can be invaluable to pinpoint the direction of a business and what a brand should really focus on. Gathering data at this level can help companies predict future products, designs, models of service or even the entire business structure itself.

Extended Observations

Unlike focus groups, you have a lot more time to spend studying motivations and develop a greater understanding of the consumer. With digital ethnography, you can extend observations even further than in-person methods. However, while extended observations create more in-depth data, you’ll want to keep this in mind for your timeline and budget.

Higher Scope of Available Data

Both digital and traditional ethnography offer a greater depth of data than other approaches. While a survey may allow you to study and research more people, ethnography gets to the heart of the research. The amount of data collected through ethnographic research gives businesses full transparency from the participants. Online methods can also contain and store more data than previously.

Learn more about understanding the voice and mind of the consumer.

Limitations of Ethnographic Research:

Ethnography isn’t for every research project. Like any type of research, there are strengths and limitations of ethnography. Here are a few aspects to keep in mind when considering ethnographic research:

Ethnography Requires Time

Whether you choose traditional ethnographic research or an online approach, one of the biggest limitations of ethnographic research is that this method takes time. You are observing for at least three hours and this is only one person, while with a focus group you are talking to 6-8 people over a two-hour time span. If you are on a tight timeframe, you may want to consider another approach or adjust your deadlines.

Creating a Normal Environment Isn’t Always Easy

Consumers aren’t used to being watched in their own home. That is why it is important to be there a long enough time, so they forget you are there! Even with digital approaches, participants may be mindful of cameras or moderators, which may affect how they behave and skew your results. However, with the right team of researchers and even digital methods, this limitation of ethnographic research is often easy to overcome.

It’s More Difficult to Recruit

Because you need to find participants that are comfortable having strangers in their home or who are willing to put in the time, finding recruits can take time. However, incentives are helpful to overcome this challenge.

Traditional Approaches Have Geography Limitations

The more locations the greater the time and expense (unless you are going with a digital approach to ethnography, which we’ll cover in the next section).

Overall Expense May Be Higher

Recruiting cost and time can be higher and traditional ethnographic research may require travel expenses as well.

The Power of Digital Ethnography:

Technology can help eliminate some of the possible challenges while still achieving some of the benefits and advantages of ethnographic research. The evolution of video has greatly enhanced digital ethnography. Consumers can wear small cameras or use their smartphones to take videos and provide instant responses and updates to an app.

Digital ethnography has transformed what ethnographic research is into the current day. Here are a few common digital ethnography methods and specific benefits:

Mobile Ethnography/Lifelogging

Thanks to social media consumers are used to reporting what they do, when and why they do it. Mobile ethnography is becoming a popular research tool, sometimes called “Lifelogging,” with participants using their cell phones to record events as they happen. Ethnographic research in person or mobile is not a big investment to make, given that the outcome could be products that meet your target consumers’ unmet needs.

Learn more about the necessity of mobile in qualitative research.

Online Journals

Online diaries give researchers an even deeper understanding into consumers’ routines, habits or attitudes towards a brand’s product or service. These journals can provide context and document the use of a product or service over an extended period of time– even across phases or stages of a project.

Online Community

Similar to online diaries, respondents answer questions and prompts from a moderator in an online forum or bulletin board. Online communities can be open so that others can see responses, interact or share ideas or closed so that only the facilitator can see conversations.

Data Collection

In digital, you can store a massive amount of data – from recorded conversations to written journal entries. All of this information is collected and safely stored during the ethnographic research process. Accessing this data digitally allows for large-scale analysis and deeper insights.

Want to learn more about what ethnographic research in marketing is, or get more in depth about the advantages and limitations of ethnographic research? Get in touch with our team of researchers and learn more about Insights in Marketing through our case studies , infographics , and blogs !

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Home » Ethnographic Research -Types, Methods and Guide

Ethnographic Research -Types, Methods and Guide

Table of Contents

Ethnographic Research

Definition:

Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method used to study and document the culture, behaviors, beliefs, and social interactions of a particular group of people. It involves direct observation and participation in the daily life and activities of the group being studied, often for an extended period of time.

Ethnographic Study

An ethnographic study is a research method that involves the detailed and systematic study of a particular group, culture, or community. Ethnographic studies seek to understand the beliefs, values, behaviors, and social dynamics of a group through direct observation and participation in their daily life.

Ethnographic Research vs Ethnographic Study

here’s a table comparing ethnographic study and ethnographic research:

Aspect	Ethnographic Study	Ethnographic Research
	Qualitative research method	Qualitative research method
	Study of a particular group, culture, or community	Research on a particular group, culture, or community
	To understand the culture, beliefs, behaviors, and social interactions of the group being studied	To document and analyze the culture, beliefs, behaviors, and social interactions of the group being studied
	Participant observation, interviews, surveys, and document analysis	Participant observation, interviews, surveys, and document analysis
	In-depth and systematic study of the group over an extended period of time	Collection of data through various techniques and analysis of the data collected
	Develop a holistic and nuanced understanding of the community being studied	Document and provide insights into the culture, practices, and social dynamics of the community being studied
	Used to inform policy decisions or address social issues related to specific communities	Used to explore and document the diversity of human cultures and societies or to inform policy decisions or address social issues related to specific communities

While there are some differences between the two, they are similar in that they both use qualitative research methods to study a particular group, culture, or community. The main difference is that an ethnographic study involves the researcher spending an extended period of time within the community being studied in order to develop a deep understanding, while ethnographic research is focused on documenting and analyzing the culture, beliefs, behaviors, and social interactions of the group being studied.

Ethnographic Research Types

Ethnographic research can be divided into several types based on the focus of the study and the research objectives. Here are some common types of ethnographic research:

Classic Ethnography

This type of ethnographic research involves an extended period of observation and interaction with a particular community or group. The researcher aims to understand the community’s culture, beliefs, practices, and social structure by immersing themselves in the community’s daily life.

Autoethnography

Autoethnography involves the researcher using their own personal experiences to gain insights into a particular community or culture. The researcher may use personal narratives, diaries, or other forms of self-reflection to explore the ways in which their own experiences relate to the culture being studied.

Participatory Action Research

Participatory action research involves the researcher working collaboratively with members of a particular community or group to identify and address social issues affecting the community. The researcher aims to empower community members to take an active role in the research process and to use the findings to effect positive change.

Virtual Ethnography

Virtual ethnography involves the use of online or digital media to study a particular community or culture. The researcher may use social media, online forums, or other digital platforms to observe and interact with the group being studied.

Critical Ethnography

Critical ethnography aims to expose power imbalances and social inequalities within a particular community or culture. The researcher may use their observations to critique dominant cultural narratives or to identify opportunities for social change.

Ethnographic Research Methods

Some common ethnographic research methods include:

Participant Observation

This involves the researcher directly observing and participating in the daily life and activities of the group being studied. This technique helps the researcher gain an in-depth understanding of the group’s behavior, culture, and social dynamics.

Ethnographic researchers use interviews to gather information about the group’s beliefs, values, and practices. Interviews may be formal or informal and can be conducted one-on-one or in group settings.

Surveys can be used to collect data on specific topics, such as attitudes towards a particular issue or behavior patterns. Ethnographic researchers may use surveys as a way to gather quantitative data in addition to qualitative data.

Document Analysis

This involves analyzing written or visual documents produced by the group being studied, such as newspapers, photographs, or social media posts. Document analysis can provide insight into the group’s values, beliefs, and practices.

Field Notes

Ethnographic researchers keep detailed field notes of their observations and interactions with the group being studied. These notes help the researcher organize their thoughts and observations and can be used to analyze the data collected.

Focus Groups

Focus groups are group interviews that allow the researcher to gather information from multiple people at once. This technique can be useful for exploring shared beliefs or experiences within the group being studied.

Ethnographic Research Data Analysis Methods

Ethnographic research data analysis methods involve analyzing qualitative data collected from observations, interviews, and other sources in order to identify patterns, themes, and insights related to the research question.

Here are some common data analysis methods used in ethnographic research:

Content Analysis

This involves systematically coding and categorizing the data collected from field notes, interviews, and other sources. The researcher identifies recurring themes, patterns, and categories in the data and assigns codes or labels to each one.

Narrative Analysis

This involves analyzing the stories and narratives collected from participants in order to understand how they construct and make sense of their experiences. The researcher looks for common themes, plot structures, and rhetorical strategies used by participants.

Discourse Analysis

This involves analyzing the language and communication practices of the group being studied in order to understand how they construct and reproduce social norms and cultural meanings. The researcher looks for patterns in the use of language, including metaphors, idioms, and other linguistic devices.

Comparative Analysis

This involves comparing data collected from different groups or communities in order to identify similarities and differences in their cultures, behaviors, and social structures. The researcher may use this analysis to generate hypotheses about why these differences exist and what factors may be contributing to them.

Grounded Theory

This involves developing a theoretical framework based on the data collected during the research process. The researcher identifies patterns and themes in the data and uses these to develop a theory that explains the social phenomena being studied.

How to Conduct Ethnographic Research

To conduct ethnographic research, follow these general steps:

Choose a Research Question: Identify a research question that you want to explore. It should be focused and specific, but also open-ended to allow for flexibility and exploration.
Select a research site: Choose a site or group that is relevant to your research question. This could be a workplace, a community, a social movement, or any other social setting where you can observe and interact with people.
Obtain ethical clearance: Obtain ethical clearance from your institution or organization before beginning your research. This involves ensuring that your research is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner, and that the privacy and confidentiality of participants are protected.
Conduct observations: Observe the people in your research site and take detailed notes. This involves being present and engaged in the social setting, participating in activities, and taking note of the behaviors, interactions, and social norms that you observe.
Conduct interviews : Conduct interviews with people in the research site to gain deeper insights into their experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. This could involve structured or semi-structured interviews, focus groups, or other forms of data collection.
Analyze data: Analyze the data that you have collected, looking for themes and patterns that emerge. This involves immersing yourself in the data and interpreting it within the social and cultural context of the research site.
Write up findings: Write up your findings in a clear and concise manner, using quotes and examples to illustrate your key points. This may involve creating narratives, tables, or other visual representations of your findings.
Reflect on your process: Reflect on your process and methods, thinking about what worked well and what could be improved for future research.

When to Use Ethnographic Research

Here are some situations where ethnographic research may be particularly appropriate:

When exploring a new topic: Ethnographic research can be useful when exploring a topic that has not been well-studied before. By engaging with members of a particular group or community, researchers can gain insights into their experiences and perspectives that may not be visible from other research methods.
When studying cultural practices: Ethnographic research is particularly useful when studying cultural practices and beliefs. By immersing themselves in the cultural context being studied, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which cultural practices are enacted, maintained, and transmitted.
When studying complex social phenomena: Ethnographic research can be useful when studying complex social phenomena that cannot be easily understood through quantitative methods. By observing social interactions and behaviors, researchers can gain insights into the ways in which social norms and structures are created and maintained.
When studying marginalized communities: Ethnographic research can be particularly useful when studying marginalized communities, as it allows researchers to give voice to members of these communities and understand their experiences and perspectives.

Overall, ethnographic research can be a useful research approach when the goal is to gain a deep understanding of a particular group or community and their cultural practices, beliefs, and experiences. It is a flexible and adaptable research method that can be used in a variety of research contexts.

Applications of Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research has many applications across a wide range of fields and disciplines. Some of the key applications of ethnographic research include:

Informing policy and practice: Ethnographic research can provide valuable insights into the experiences and perspectives of marginalized or underrepresented groups, which can inform policy and practice in fields such as health care, education, and social services.
Developing theories and concepts: Ethnographic research can contribute to the development of theories and concepts in social and cultural anthropology, sociology, and other disciplines, by providing detailed and nuanced accounts of social and cultural phenomena.
Improving product design and marketing: Ethnographic research can be used to understand consumer behavior and preferences, which can inform the design and marketing of products and services.
Studying workplace culture: Ethnographic research can provide insights into the norms, values, and practices of organizations, which can inform efforts to improve workplace culture and employee satisfaction.
Examining social movements: Ethnographic research can be used to study the practices, beliefs, and experiences of social movements, which can inform efforts to understand and address social and political issues.
Studying healthcare practices: Ethnographic research can provide insights into healthcare practices and patient experiences, which can inform efforts to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

Examples of Ethnographic Research

Here are some real-time examples of ethnographic research:

Anthropological study of a remote indigenous tribe: Anthropologists often use ethnographic research to study remote indigenous tribes and gain insights into their culture, beliefs, and practices. For example, an anthropologist may live with a tribe for an extended period of time, observing and participating in their daily activities, and conducting interviews with members of the community.
Study of workplace culture: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying workplace culture and understanding the dynamics of the organization. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview employees in a particular department or team to gain insights into their work practices, communication styles, and social dynamics.
Study of consumer behavior: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying consumer behavior and understanding how people interact with products and services. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview consumers as they use a particular product, such as a new smartphone or fitness tracker, to gain insights into their behaviors and preferences.
Study of health care practices: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying health care practices and understanding how patients and providers interact within the health care system. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview patients and providers in a hospital or clinic to gain insights into their experiences and perspectives.
Study of social movements: Ethnographic research can be useful in studying social movements and understanding how they emerge and evolve over time. For example, an ethnographer may observe and interview participants in a protest movement to gain insights into their motivations and strategies.

Purpose of Ethnographic Research

The purpose of ethnographic research is to provide an in-depth understanding of a particular group or community, including their cultural practices, beliefs, and experiences. This research approach is particularly useful when the research question is exploratory and the goal is to generate new insights and understandings. Ethnographic research seeks to understand the experiences, perspectives, and behaviors of the participants in their natural setting, without imposing the researcher’s own biases or preconceptions.

Ethnographic research can be used to study a wide range of topics, including social movements, workplace culture, consumer behavior, and health care practices, among others. The researcher aims to understand the social and cultural context of the group or community being studied, and to generate new insights and understandings that can inform future research, policy, and practice.

Overall, the purpose of ethnographic research is to gain a deep understanding of a particular group or community, with the goal of generating new insights and understandings that can inform future research, policy, and practice. Ethnographic research can be a valuable research approach in many different contexts, particularly when the goal is to gain a rich, contextualized understanding of social and cultural phenomena.

Advantages of Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research has several advantages that make it a valuable research approach in many different fields. Here are some of the advantages of ethnographic research:

Provides in-depth and detailed information: Ethnographic research involves direct observation of the group or community being studied, which allows researchers to gain a detailed and in-depth understanding of their beliefs, practices, and experiences. This type of information cannot be obtained through other research methods.
Offers a unique perspective: Ethnographic research allows researchers to see the world from the perspective of the group or community being studied. This can provide unique insights into the ways in which different cultural practices and beliefs are constructed and maintained.
Promotes cultural understanding: Ethnographic research can help to promote cultural understanding and reduce stereotypes by providing a more nuanced and accurate picture of different cultures and communities.
Allows for flexibility: Ethnographic research is a flexible research approach that can be adapted to fit different research contexts and questions. Researchers can adjust their methods based on the needs of the group being studied and the research goals.
Generates rich and diverse data: Ethnographic research generates rich and diverse data through a combination of observation, interviews, and other methods. This allows researchers to analyze different aspects of the group or community being studied and identify patterns and themes in the data.
Supports theory development: Ethnographic research can support theory development by providing empirical data that can be used to test and refine theoretical frameworks.

Limitations of Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic research has several limitations that researchers should consider when selecting this research approach. Here are some of the limitations of ethnographic research:

Limited generalizability: Ethnographic research typically involves studying a small and specific group or community, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other contexts or populations.
Time-consuming: Ethnographic research is a time-consuming process that requires a significant investment of time and resources. Researchers must spend time observing and interacting with the group being studied, which may not be feasible in all research contexts.
Subjectivity: Ethnographic research relies on the researcher’s interpretation and analysis of the data collected, which may introduce subjective bias into the research findings.
Limited control: Ethnographic research involves studying a group or community in their natural setting, which limits the researcher’s control over the research context and the behavior of the participants.
Ethical concerns: Ethnographic research can raise ethical concerns, particularly when studying marginalized or vulnerable populations. Researchers must be careful to ensure that they do not harm or exploit the participants in the research process.
Limited quantitative data: Ethnographic research typically generates qualitative data, which may limit the types of analysis that can be conducted and the types of conclusions that can be drawn.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethnography

Looking for advantages and disadvantages of Ethnography?

We have collected some solid points that will help you understand the pros and cons of Ethnography in detail.

But first, let’s understand the topic:

What is Ethnography?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ethnography.

The following are the advantages and disadvantages of Ethnography:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Deep cultural understanding	Time-consuming research process
Rich, detailed data	Risk of researcher bias
Insider perspective	Limited scope of study
Flexible, adaptive research	Difficult to replicate results
Enhances cultural sensitivity	Can be invasive or disruptive

Advantages of Ethnography

Disadvantages of ethnography.

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What Is Ethnography? | Meaning, Guide & Examples

What Is Ethnography? | Meaning, Guide & Examples

Published on 6 May 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 6 April 2023.

Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that involves immersing yourself in a particular community or organisation to observe their behaviour and interactions up close. The word ‘ethnography’ also refers to the written report of the research that the ethnographer produces afterwards.

This type of research could sometimes last for years. For example, Colin M. Turnbull lived with the Mbuti people for three years in order to write the classic ethnography The Forest People .

For example, ethnographic research (sometimes called participant observation ) has been used to investigate football fans , call centre workers , and police officers .

Advantages of ethnography

By becoming immersed in a social environment, you may have access to more authentic information and spontaneously observe dynamics that you could not have found out about simply by asking.

Disadvantages of ethnography

There are often also ethical considerations to take into account: for example, about how your role is disclosed to members of the group, or about observing and reporting sensitive information.

Should you use ethnography in your research?

If you’re a student who wants to use ethnographic research in your thesis or dissertation , it’s worth asking yourself whether it’s the right approach:

Could the information you need be collected in another way (e.g., a survey , interviews)?
How difficult will it be to gain access to the community you want to study?
How exactly will you conduct your research, and over what timespan?
What ethical issues might arise?

If you do decide to do ethnography, it’s generally best to choose a relatively small and easily accessible group, to ensure that the research is feasible within a limited time frame.

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There are a few key distinctions in ethnography which help to inform the researcher’s approach: open vs closed settings, overt vs covert ethnography, and active vs passive observation. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Open vs closed settings

The setting of your ethnography – the environment in which you will observe your chosen community in action – may be open or closed.

An open or public setting is one with no formal barriers to entry. For example, you might consider a community of people living in a certain neighbourhood, or the fans of a particular football team.

Gaining initial access to open groups is not too difficult …
… but it may be harder to become immersed in a less clearly defined group.

A closed or private setting is harder to access. This may be for example a business, a school, or a cult.

A closed group’s boundaries are clearly defined and the ethnographer can become fully immersed in the setting …
… but gaining access is tougher; the ethnographer may have to negotiate their way in or acquire some role in the organisation.

Overt vs covert ethnography

Most ethnography is overt . In an overt approach, the ethnographer openly states their intentions and acknowledges their role as a researcher to the members of the group being studied.

Overt ethnography is typically preferred for ethical reasons, as participants can provide informed consent …
… but people may behave differently with the awareness that they are being studied.

Sometimes ethnography can be covert . This means that the researcher does not tell participants about their research, and comes up with some other pretence for being there.

Covert ethnography allows access to environments where the group would not welcome a researcher …
… but hiding the researcher’s role can be considered deceptive and thus unethical.

Active vs passive observation

An active role involves trying to fully integrate, carrying out tasks and participating in activities like any other member of the community.

Active participation may encourage the group to feel more comfortable with the ethnographer’s presence …
… but runs the risk of disrupting the regular functioning of the community.

A passive role is one in which the ethnographer stands back from the activities of others, behaving as a more distant observer and not involving themselves in the community’s activities.

Passive observation allows more space for careful observation and note-taking …
… but group members may behave unnaturally due to feeling they are being observed by an outsider.

An important consideration for ethnographers is the question of access. The difficulty of gaining access to the setting of a particular ethnography varies greatly:

To gain access to the fans of a particular sports team, you might start by simply attending the team’s games and speaking with the fans.
To access the employees of a particular business, you might contact the management and ask for permission to perform a study there.
Alternatively, you might perform a covert ethnography of a community or organisation you are already personally involved in or employed by.

Flexibility is important here too: where it’s impossible to access the desired setting, the ethnographer must consider alternatives that could provide comparable information.

This might be someone in a high position at an organisation allowing you access to their employees, or a member of a community sponsoring your entry into that community and giving advice on how to fit in.

However, i f you come to rely too much on a single informant, you may be influenced by their perspective on the community, which might be unrepresentative of the group as a whole.

Field notes record any and all important data: phenomena observed, conversations had, preliminary analysis. For example, if you’re researching how service staff interact with customers, you should write down anything you notice about these interactions – body language, phrases used repeatedly, differences and similarities between staff, customer reactions.

Field notes should be as detailed and clear as possible. It’s important to take time to go over your notes, expand on them with further detail, and keep them organised (including information such as dates and locations).

The structure of an ethnography

An ethnography can take many different forms: It may be an article, a thesis, or an entire book, for example.

The content of an ethnography

The goal of a written ethnography is to provide a rich, authoritative account of the social setting in which you were embedded – to convince the reader that your observations and interpretations are representative of reality.

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9 Pros and Cons of Ethnography

Ethnography is the systematic study of people and their cultures. It refers both to the process that is used to study people as well as the outcome of this process. The term “ethnography” comes from the Greek words “ethnos” (which means “people” or “nation) and “grapho” (which means “I write”).

Ethnography has been around for several decades, although it became highly popular in the late 19th century. There have been several approaches to this study; Franz Boas, for example, preferred using documents and informants to learn more about other cultures. However, many ethnographers nowadays follow the approach of Bronislaw Malinowski, who believed that researchers should immerse themselves in the life of the people they were studying. Malinowski embodied this belief by going to Trobriand Island, living there for several years while he did his fieldwork, and even learning the language of the local people.

At first glance, ethnography offers a wide range of benefits. However, it’s important to note that it can also have several drawbacks. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of ethnography.

List of Pros of Ethnography

1. It helps people know more about other cultures. Through the works of ethnographers, ordinary people can learn more about folks who live in other countries as well as their cultures, traditions, and norms. This, in turn, opens their minds and makes them realize just how diverse the world is. This realization can help people become more accepting of others who are different from them in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, and political belief.

For those who are planning to travel overseas, ethnography can help them become familiar with the culture of the countries they’re visiting. As a result, they can avoid committing social faux pas, and they can easily get along with the locals and perhaps even make new friends.

2. It helps businesses learn more about their target market. Ethnography is highly useful to all businesses (including small startups and large corporations) since it helps them learn more about their target market. Called “consumer ethnography”, this type of study gives entrepreneurs a clear idea of who buys their products or services and why these people make their purchase. They can then use this data to come up with strategies to improve their products or services and attract more customers.

3. It helps increase scientists’ understanding of human behavior. Many scientists dedicate themselves to behavioral sciences to understand how and why people react to stimuli in a certain way and find out what factors cause them to make the decisions and actions they make. Ethnography greatly helps behavioral scientists because it shows whether certain behaviors are limited to a certain population or if it’s present in all humans, regardless of their location, culture, norms, and religious, political, and educational background.

4. It can easily evolve and discover new things. Ethnography uses qualitative research instead of quantitative research. This means that, instead of relying on predetermined examinations with limited choices in answers, it relies on the ethnographers’ observations as well as his interviews with subjects using open-ended questions. This process allows ethnographers to make discoveries that otherwise wouldn’t have been obvious if quantitative research was used, and they can come up with more detailed, in-depth results.

List of Cons of Ethnography

1. It can be difficult to choose a representative sample. Since ethnography relies on qualitative research, it can be hard for the researcher to choose a sample to study. This comes from the fact that people can have different personal experiences even if they belong to the same tribe/community and/or live in the same area. The tribal chief, for example, usually has a significantly better life than his people, so his view is not representative of the life of the entire tribe.

2. It takes a lot of time. One of the biggest drawbacks of ethnography is that it requires a substantial amount of time. Before he could begin studying a certain group of people, the ethnographer has to build rapport with his subjects and make them comfortable around him. Of course, he has to spend months or even years observing how they live on a daily basis and understanding their culture, norms, and traditions.

3. It depends on the ethnographer’s relationship with his subjects. Unlike most quantitative studies that can be done even with an impersonal relationship, ethnography requires researchers to be in close contact with his subjects and have a good one-on-one relationship with them. Building this relationship can be easy, but there are cases when the ethnographer would have a difficult time creating rapport with his subjects. This is particularly true for tribes that have not been in frequent contact with outsiders as well as groups of people don’t take kindly to foreigners living in their lands.

4. It depends on people’s openness and honesty. The success of an ethnographic study greatly depends on the subject’s willingness to open up to the researcher. If they distrust the researcher and/or don’t have a good relationship with him, they won’t take the time to teach him their way of life and help him understand their history and culture. Of course, it’s important to note that not everyone is comfortable with showing their true behavior to outsiders. When they are aware that somebody is observing them, many people put on a show (either unconsciously or not) to make themselves appear “good” or “honorable” or even intentionally mislead the researcher.

5. It can lead to cultural bias. No matter how objective they try to be, ethnographers can still be influenced by their cultural bias or ignorance. For instance, if they have the inherent belief that their race is “superior” to others, this can affect the way they study and interact with their subjects. This can also happen if their religious, social, political, and economic beliefs clash with those of their subjects’. When this happens, the ethnographer will come up with erroneous conclusions and the outcome of the study will no longer be 100 percent reliable.

Ethnography can be greatly beneficial to both scientists and ordinary people. However, it’s important to remember that ethnography can be time- and labor-intensive and that the ethnographic process and its results may not always be accurate.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Ethnographic Research

John huddle, 25 jun 2018.

Ethnographers study human cultures and societies by living among the people they study, by immersing themselves within the subject group in a process called participant-observation. The ethnographer participates as much as possible while observing, taking detailed notes, developing an ongoing analysis from the notes and compiling a report, or more often a book, about the findings. Used in cultural anthropology, sociology, business and organizational psychology, ethnography brings strengths and weaknesses to the research problem.

Explore this article

Investigates Complex Issues
A Voice for Understanding
Expensive, Protracted and Difficult
Ethics Concerns

1 Investigates Complex Issues

Ethnographies are well suited to study complex cultural, societal interactions, unpredictable situations, and relationships that are too complex and difficult for quantitative methods, such as surveys and statistical analysis of numerical data. Ethnographers are able to tease out the the range of group experiences in ways that are sensitive to the uniqueness of the subject group. Because the ethnographer takes carefully structured and detailed notes in the participant observation, interviews, and other data-collection processes, an ethnography is a powerful way to reveal, in context, the many elements of group interactions. The result is an in-depth understanding of the culture, and interpretations with validity, often called a “thick description.” This thick description often provides answers to perplexing policy problems from struggles by remote indigenous peoples to Western societal problems, such as welfare recipients.

2 A Voice for Understanding

Ethnographies allow the culture to speak about its views and perspectives that would otherwise be drowned out by the dominant culture, and go untold. The ethnographer develops an understanding of the group's point of view and, in cases of human rights, sometimes act as an advocate for the group. Ethnography provides a window, so those outside the culture can understand what the group does and why. In addition, ethnographies probe the deep attributes of culture, bringing them to the surface, allowing people in the group greater understanding of themselves, and in the process helping members understand how to interact outside their group and culture.

3 Expensive, Protracted and Difficult

Ethnographies are difficult to replicate, are primarily applicable to the subjects in the study and heavily dependent on the ethnographer. Ethnographers require extensive training, with training and practice in interviewing methods, note taking, alternate data collection methods, and methods of analysis, in addition to language and other training specific to the group or culture they plan to study. Once in the field, an ethnographer must take time to build trust. Once trust is built, the ethnographer spends inordinate amounts of time in participant observation and other data collection methods, taking notes and other chores, to maintain as near a perfect record as possible. It is time consuming to analyze the data, which results in a thick description of the culture or societal issue, often ending as a book. Because they immerse themselves in the culture, ethnographers often experience culture shock, feel awkward and out of place, are lonely, may experience considerable discomfort and occasionally personal danger, in addition to the constant pressure to maintain alertness as a participant observer.

4 Ethics Concerns

Ethnographers must pay special attention to ethics as they conduct their studies. Ethnographers often study sensitive cultures that are vulnerable to exploitation without safeguards. Ethnographers also study countercultures and workplace groups, requiring careful planning to avoid doing harm to the subjects. Lastly, but foremost, ethnographers bring their own experiences, prejudices and culture to the study; ethnographers must continually guard against interjecting their bias into the study, changing the culture by their presence, or failing to correctly disclose their bias in their reports.

1 University of Idaho: Department of Conservation Social Sciences, Handouts & Powerpoints, Ethnography, Nick Sanyal
2 California State University at San Marcos: Session 8, Ethnography, Qualitative Research At Its Best& Survey, Descriptive Sampling, Anne Rene Elsbree

About the Author

John Huddle is an Army veteran with enlisted service as general hospital staff and hospital chaplain's assistant. His career also included stints as a teacher, adjunct faculty, administrator and school psychologist. Twice, Dr. Huddle was a major party nominee for state office. He also served as a director on several nonprofit boards. Today he enjoys consulting and lobbying for underdog causes.

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Ethnographic research as an evolving method for supporting healthcare improvement skills: a scoping review

Georgia b. black.

Department of Applied Health Research, UCL, London, UK

Sandra van Os

Samantha machen, naomi j. fulop, associated data.

All papers included in the review are listed in Additional file 4 and are publicly available from their publishers’ websites.

The relationship between ethnography and healthcare improvement has been the subject of methodological concern. We conducted a scoping review of ethnographic literature on healthcare improvement topics, with two aims: (1) to describe current ethnographic methods and practices in healthcare improvement research and (2) to consider how these may affect habit and skill formation in the service of healthcare improvement.

We used a scoping review methodology drawing on Arksey and O’Malley’s methods and more recent guidance. We systematically searched electronic databases including Medline, PsychINFO, EMBASE and CINAHL for papers published between April 2013 – April 2018, with an update in September 2019. Information about study aims, methodology and recommendations for improvement were extracted. We used a theoretical framework outlining the habits and skills required for healthcare improvement to consider how ethnographic research may foster improvement skills.

We included 274 studies covering a wide range of healthcare topics and methods. Ethnography was commonly used for healthcare improvement research about vulnerable populations, e.g. elderly, psychiatry. Focussed ethnography was a prominent method, using a rapid feedback loop into improvement through focus and insider status. Ethnographic approaches such as the use of theory and focus on every day practices can foster improvement skills and habits such as creativity, learning and systems thinking.

Conclusions

We have identified that a variety of ethnographic approaches can be relevant to improvement. The skills and habits we identified may help ethnographers reflect on their approaches in planning healthcare improvement studies and guide peer-review in this field. An important area of future research will be to understand how ethnographic findings are received by decision-makers.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12874-021-01466-9.

Research can help to support the practice of healthcare improvement, and identify ways to “improve improvement” [ 1 ]. Ethnography has been identified particularly as a research method that can show what happens routinely in healthcare, and reveal the ‘ what and how of improving patient care [ 2 ]. Ethnography is not one method, but a paradigm of mainly qualitative research involving direct observations of people and places, producing a written account of natural or everyday behaviours and ideas [ 3 ]. Ethnographic research can identify contextual barriers to healthcare improvement. For example, Waring and colleagues suggested that hospital discharge could be improved by allowing staff to have more opportunities for informal communication [ 4 ].

There have been advances in ethnographic methods that support its role in supporting healthcare improvement. Multi-site, collaborative modalities of ethnography have evolved that suit the networked nature of modern healthcare [ 5 ]. Similarly, rapid ethnographic approaches (e.g. Bentley et al. [ 6 ];) meet the needs of improvement activities to produce findings within short timeframes [ 7 ]. However, the production of sustained ethnographic fieldwork has waned in response to demands for rapid evidence [ 6 , 8 , 9 ]. Critics of rapid ethnographic methods worry that they are diluting ethnography within applied contexts more widely [ 5 , 10 ].

The relationship between ethnography and healthcare improvement has been the subject of methodological concern [ 8 ]. The first concern is that some research identified as ethnography does not fit within the ethnographic paradigm, merely collecting observational data without a theoretical analysis, interpretation or researcher reflexivity [ 11 ]. A second concern is whether the topics of ethnographic inquiry produce findings that are seen as useful for improvement [ 12 ], particularly if they do not make explicit recommendations or produce checklists [ 8 , 13 – 15 ]. Authors fear that ethnographic findings that capture complexity [ 16 ] and expose taken-for-granted behaviours and phenomena [ 14 , 17 ] may be too abstract to be relevant to healthcare improvement [ 8 ]. However, these critiques position ethnographic research as a product which may be taken up by healthcare improvers, rather than seeing ethnographic work itself as an improvement activity. We take the view that healthcare improvement aims to change human behaviour to improve patient care, and is therefore reliant on the development of particular skills and habits (such as good communication) [ 18 ]. We would consider that engaging in ethnographic research may support skill development and habit formation that serves healthcare improvement.

In the literature of ethnography in healthcare improvement, there is not much discussion of the close relationship between methodological features of ethnographic research, and their impact on improvement skills. The aim of this paper is twofold: (1) to describe current ethnographic methods and practices in healthcare improvement research and (2) to consider how these may affect habit and skill formation in the service of healthcare improvement [ 19 ].

This is a scoping review following the methods outlined by Arksey & O’Malley and later refined by Levac et al., [ 20 , 21 ] including a systematically conducted literature review and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR; see Additional file 1 for PRISMA checklist). No protocol was published for this review. Our literature search and analyses were conducted iteratively, searching reference lists and undertaking discussions with colleagues about key lines of argument. We also held a workshop at Health Services Research UK conference in 2018 on this topic to gain a wide range of stakeholder views.

Systematic retrieval of empirical papers and purposive sampling

Our search strategy was designed to capture a wide range of approaches to ethnography from different journals, healthcare settings and types of research environment. It was not our aim to capture every study using this methodology, but to map the current field. Thus we did not search grey literature, books or monographs. The search strategy was developed and piloted in consultation with a health librarian. Medline (on OVID platform), PsychINFO, CINAHL and EMBASE databases were searched, and six journals were hand-searched, including: BMJ Quality & Safety, Social Science and Medicine, Medical Anthropology, Cochrane library, Sociology of Health and Illness and Implementation Science. These databases were searched between dates April 2013 – April 2018 and an update was performed in September 2019 using the search terms outlined in Additional file 2 . We limited the search to these dates in order to capture the most recent methodological characteristics of ethnographic studies in this field.

We screened titles and then abstracts according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria detailed in Table Table1. 1 . We included studies which self-identified as using ethnography or ethnographic methods rather than using our own criteria. This is because ethnography can be hard to define, and use of criteria may risk excluding papers which exemplify the sorts of tensions and workarounds we are trying to capture.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Method	• Stated to be using ethnographic methods of any kind	• Meta-ethnography or meta-synthesis • Scoping review or other review methodologies • Interviewing or observational work alone without reference to ethnographic lens
Subject matter	• Studies relating to healthcare topics or from an applied healthcare discipline, as defined by the specific search terms	• Public health topics (health promotion, screening, vaccination, communicable disease management, etc.) • Health-related topics that are not within health service context, such as o self-management techniques, care homes, social care, peer support groups, refugee centres, day care, community interventions, prisons o health beliefs, cultural attitudes, patient views, disease experiences o trial acceptability, research acceptability o ethnography related to basic science • Social care • Organisational studies that are not situated in health service settings • Studies about ethnographic methodology with no specific reference to health or healthcare
Study design	• Peer-reviewed publications • Studies that state their use of ethnographic methods	• Commentary, letter, response, critical review • Book review

Inclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria

Method

• Stated to be using ethnographic methods of any kind

• Meta-ethnography or meta-synthesis

• Scoping review or other review methodologies

• Interviewing or observational work alone without reference to ethnographic lens

Subject matter

• Studies relating to healthcare topics or from an applied healthcare discipline, as defined by the specific search terms

• Public health topics (health promotion, screening, vaccination, communicable disease management, etc.)

• Health-related topics that are not within health service context, such as

o self-management techniques, care homes, social care, peer support groups, refugee centres, day care, community interventions, prisons

o health beliefs, cultural attitudes, patient views, disease experiences

o trial acceptability, research acceptability

o ethnography related to basic science

• Social care

• Organisational studies that are not situated in health service settings

• Studies about ethnographic methodology with no specific reference to health or healthcare

Study design

• Peer-reviewed publications

• Studies that state their use of ethnographic methods

• Commentary, letter, response, critical review

• Book review

The retrieved papers were screened by GB, SVO and SM based on inclusion and exclusion criteria (Table (Table1). 1 ). The total number of papers after screening titles, abstracts and full texts was 274 (Fig. (Fig.1 1 ).

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is 12874_2021_1466_Fig1_HTML.jpg

PRISMA statement of all references retrieved, screened and included in the scoping review

Numerical charting

Characteristics of each paper, such as title, authors, journal, year, country and healthcare subject area were extracted (see Table Table2 2 ).

Characteristics of studies in review

Method summary
Focused ethnography	25
Thematic analysis	21
Grounded theory study	15
Case study	13
Mixed methods	13
Institutional ethnography	12
Critical ethnography	12
Content analysis	8
Constant comparison	7
Discourse analysis	6
Auto-ethnography	2
Other	107
Region
Middle East	5
South America	11
Asia	15
Africa	22
Australasia	33
Europe (excl. UK)	47
UK	74
North America	95
Healthcare subject area
Clinical communication	3
HIV-AIDS	3
Intensive Care Unit	7
Medication prescribing and management	8
Cancer	10
Paediatrics	10
Surgery and orthopaedics	10
Patient safety	11
Emergency medicine and acute care	12
Chronic illness	12
Family doctors, primary care and general practice	12
Nursing practice	13
Healthcare technology	14
Maternity care and reproductive medicine	15
Quality of care improvement and healthcare reform	18
Mental health and psychiatry	19
Dementia, care of the elderly, end of life care, palliative care	20
No info/other	86

a some studies have been allocated to more than one region

Thematic analysis and development

We coded all 274 papers using NVivo software for stated aims and recommendations. This included close reading, and retrieval of key ideas and quotations from the papers that exemplified key ideas in relation to healthcare improvement, methodology and the authors’ reflections on these. The coded extracts of aims and recommendation in conjunction with the closer reading of the sub-sample were used to inductively develop conceptual ideas, such as how the corpus of papers explicitly aimed to contribute to healthcare improvement, and if not, how this affected the types of conclusions drawn. Some papers were read in greater depth to understand how the authors’ methods related to their findings and conclusions. In order to consider how ethnography supports habits and skills associated with healthcare improvement, we drew on a framework which identifies five habits of ‘improvers’: creativity, learning, systems thinking, resilience and influencing [ 19 ]. Applying this model to our selected papers, we mapped traits or approaches to the ethnographic studies that exemplified these habits either in the authors, or as part of developing these habits in others (e.g. healthcare decision-makers and professionals). Thematic interpretations and lines of argument were generated and discussed by all the authors.

Overview of study characteristics

The included studies covered a wide range of ethnographic methodologies and healthcare subjects, published internationally (Table (Table2) 2 ) in predominantly social science and clinical journals (see Additional file 3 ). The full list of the 274 included studies is available in Additional file 4 .

Most studies described themselves as an ‘ethnography’ or ‘ethnographic’, although some described their methodology as ‘mixed methods’ including ethnographic components. For example, Collet et al. conducted a mixed methods participatory action research study using observations to produce an “ethnographic description” [ 22 ].

Almost all studies relied on observation and interviews as the main data sources. It was not always specified whether researchers took a participant or non-participant approach to observation. There were some examples of other data sources e.g. video data, surveys, documents, field notes, diaries, and artefacts. A few examples contained a paucity of data, such as only video data [ 23 ], limited fieldwork [ 24 ], a small number of interviewees [ 25 ], or reliance on focus group data alone [ 26 ]. Methods associated with qualitative methodology (but not necessarily ethnographic) were also used, such as data ‘saturation’ to denote that additional data did not provide new insights into the topic [ 27 ].

There were a number of minority or unusual ethnographic variations:

Quantitative ethnography [ 23 ]: temporal coding of physicians' workflow and interaction with the electronic health record system, and their patient.
Cognitive ethnography [ 28 ]: “identifying and elaborating distributed cognitive processes that occur when an individual enacts purposeful improvements in a clinical context”.
Street-level organizational ethnography [ 29 ]: intensive case study methods to explore the implications of healthcare policy at a street level.
Phenomenological ethnographies [ 30 ]: focussing on the lived experience and meanings associated with a phenomenon.
Geo-mapping [ 31 ]: geomapping of selected service data to define Latino immigrant community before conducting interviews and observations.

Use of different types of ethnography to support healthcare improvement

We found that many studies used methods that could identify issues relating to power and vulnerability, with potential relevance to how healthcare improvement problems are defined and solved, and by whom [ 1 ]. For example we noted a significant minority of studies using institutional and critical ethnography, mostly in vulnerable populations (see Table Table3). 3 ). These studies were explicitly attentive to systems and power relations, rather than on individual practices. We suggest that the use of geographically-oriented methods such as geo-mapping and street-level organisational ethnography are also attentive to the power structures inherent in place and space, and could be relevant to other geographical healthcare improvement topics such as networked healthcare systems, care at home and patient travel for treatment.

Ethnographic methodology and its relevance to healthcare improvement

Ethnographic methodology used	Description	Example paper	Relevance to healthcare improvement
Video-reflexive ethnographic study	Collecting in-depth data on intimate or micro-interactions	Patients’ and families’ perspectives of patient safety at the end of life: a video-reflexive ethnography study. (Collier, Sorensen, Iedema, 2016) [ ]	• Able to capture complexity in delivery of healthcare. • Irrefutable basis for improving healthcare delivery from the 'bottom up' • Video footage played back to participants. • Video footage challenges the taken for granted aspects of practice individuals may not be aware of
Peer ethnography	Peers collecting data from excluded or vulnerable populations	Using Peer Ethnography to address health disparities among young Black and Latino men who have sex with men. (Mutchler et al., 2013) [ ]	• Improves access to marginalised groups • Data collection on healthcare topics that may only happen between peers (for example, discussions about substance use with men who have sex with men)
Focussed ethnography	Focus on a discrete community or organisation or social phenomena; problem-driven	Culture of Care for Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Focused Ethnography. (Nelson, 2016) [ ]	• Method often used in nursing research • Intense, short-term observation and interview data collection provides rich and thick description of culture of care • Rapid feedback loop into improvement through focus and insider status
Critical ethnography	Projects with vulnerable populations and/or political improvement agendas	Nursing casualization and communication: a critical ethnography. (Batch and Windsor, 2014) [ ]	• Method gives focus to power, communicative distortions and context • 'Critical' element turned the focus to structures and situations of power and dominance that underpinned nursing culture
Institutional ethnography	Research studying complex social issues and projects that aim to achieve meaningful social change at the nexus of health professions education and other social systems	Homelessness, health, and literacy: an institutional ethnographic study of the social organization of health care in Ontario, Canada. (Hughes, 2018) [ ]	• Insights to explicate the complex and invisible relations that exist being people, place, and things. • Powerful tool to explore the multi-layer entity of health care
Qualitative methodology incorporated into ethnographic studies
Grounded theory	Researcher co-constructs theories with the research participants, building the theory de novo from iterative data collection	Using an emic and etic ethnographic technique in a grounded theory study of information use by practice nurses in New Zealand. (Hoare et al., 2013) [ ]	• Focus on theory generation supports generalisability of healthcare improvement recommendations • Incorporating of grounded theory techniques such as memoing heightens reflexivity [ ] • Gives priority to the studied phenomena rather than the study setting
Thematic analysis	Flexible qualitative analysis method of deriving themes from data through systematic coding procedures	Taking the heat or taking the temperature? A qualitative study of a large-scale exercise in seeking to measure for improvement, not blame. (Armstrong et al., 2018) [ ]	• Findings are (potentially) accessible to different audiences due to thematic presentation • Allows analysis of observation and interview data from a diverse sample of organisations • Can thematically explore people's views as well as see what they did in practice

The high prevalence of ethnographic studies with vulnerable populations (e.g. psychiatry, end of life care) suggests that ethnography is also being conceptualised as an emancipatory method, reversing healthcare power structures in its focus. This has been a traditional focus of ethnography since social changes in power and representation in the 1970s, incorporated into the development of healthcare research methodology [ 40 , 41 ]. Some methods used were calculated to maximise the potential for supporting vulnerable groups, for example, Nightingale et al. [ 42 ] used focused ethnography (prolonged fieldwork in a small number of settings) to look at patient-professional interactions in paediatric chronic illness settings. The authors suggested that focussed ethnography is particularly suited to settings where fostering trust is essential. We would also suggest that ethnography may be particularly suited to settings in which participants are less able to verbalise their experiences.

The reviewed studies suggested that video ethnography can support healthcare improvement at a team level. For example, Stevens et al. [ 43 ] promoted video ethnography as a way to capture in-depth data on intimate interactions, in their study of elective caesareans. The video data allowed them to make use of timing data (e.g. of certain actions), physical positioning of different actors and equipment, and verbatim dialogue recording. The video data also suited the technical nature of the procedure, which was relatively time-limited. This form of data collection may not suit environments where healthcare activities are more spread out.

The impact of healthcare practitioner involvement in ethnographic fieldwork and findings

We noted that the use of ethnography for healthcare improvement has led to healthcare practitioners’ widespread involvement in data collection or analysis. We suggest that this is a form of negotiation across the healthcare-academia boundary, translating from ‘real world’ to data and back again. This has potential to create rich and relevant ethnographic studies that are geared towards improvement. However, some studies were undermined by a lack of reflexivity about the dual practitioner-ethnographer role.

A significant number of papers involved healthcare practitioners in fieldwork (e.g. Abdulrehman, 2017, Hoare et al. 2013; [ 37 , 44 ]). For example in Hoare et al. the lead researcher was a nurse, and wrote that they hoped “to bring both an emic and etic perspective to the data collection by bracketing my emic sense of self as a nurse practitioner in order to become a participant observer within my own general practice ” [ 37 ]. In this study, the findings fed directly into local service improvement as the lead researcher felt compelled to “share new ‘best practice’ information and join in the conversation.” There was little discussion about how this affected the generalisability of the findings, and whether their recommendations were adopted.

Similarly, Bergenholz et al. [ 45 ] conducted a study where a nursing researcher completed the main fieldwork and “assisted the nurses with practical care .” They acknowledged that “This may have caused limitations with regards to ‘blind spots’ in the nursing practice, but that it also gave access to a field that might be difficult for ‘outside-outsiders’ to gain .” However, there was no commentary on where the blind spots or extra access occurred, and how this may have affected the relevance and dissemination of their findings.

How might ethnography support healthcare improvement habits?

In this section, we evaluate the studies included in the review in terms of how their methods relate to improvement. We draw on the idea that successful improvement is based on a set of habits and their related skills acquired through experience and practice [ 19 ]. This section is structured around Lucas’s five habits of ‘improvers’: creativity, learning, systems thinking, resilience and influencing [ 19 ]. Under those headings, we describe the mechanisms by which ethnographic studies can support healthcare improvement habits, using illustrative examples.

Resilience is defined as being adaptable, particularly tolerating calculated risks and uncertainty, and proceeding with optimism. Being able to recover from adverse events is core to improvement, reframing them as opportunities. Adaptation and the ability to bounce back from adverse events and variation are core to improvement.

Tolerating the uncertainty of ethnographic data collection

While we did not relate these traits to any particular ethnographic approach in our studies, we would consider that undertaking any ethnographic project requires resilience, as data collection is inherently exploratory and uncertain. For example, Belanger et al. wanted to know how health care providers and their patients approach patient participation in palliative care decisions. The authors explicitly eschewed the pull to create guidelines or other formalised knowledge, but aimed to explore the “unforeseen and somewhat unavoidable ways in which discursive practices prompt or impede patient participation during these interactions.” [ 46 ]

Creativity is defined as working together to encourage fresh thinking by generating ideas and thinking critically.

Using a theoretical lens

Researchers may consider healthcare through a particular theory or framework (e.g. private ordering [ 47 ], masculine discourse [ 48 ], compassion [ 49 ]). The restriction of the theoretical lens enables critical thinking, and keeps the ethnographer creatively engaged. For example, Mylopoulos & Farhat [ 28 ] used the concept of adaptive expertise in a cognitive ethnography to explore “the phenomenon of purposeful improvement” in a teaching hospital. This theoretical lens revealed that clinicians were engaging in “invisible” improvement in their daily work, in “specific activities such as scheduling, establishing patient relationships, designing physical space and building supporting resources”. The authors suggested that these practices were devalued in comparison to more formal improvement activities, justifying the utility of the ‘adaptive expertise’ theory in bringing the daily improvement practices to light.

Challenging current problems and perspectives

We identified studies that challenged or reframed existing improvement problems e.g. Mishra [ 50 ]. This role removes the ‘blinkers’ of improvement research [ 51 ], and can ‘dissolve’ previously intractable implementation problems. For example, Boonan et al. [ 52 ] studied the practice of bar-coded medication from the perspective of nurses using the intervention. In their discussion, the authors challenge the assumption that if you introduce technology, then you will mitigate human factor risks. They highlighted that external pressures on hospitals perpetuate this perspective, and that “nurses and patients are consequently drawn into this discourse and institutional ruling, to which they are not oblivious”. Their recommendation was to understand the skills of nurses in tailoring technology to meet individual patients’ needs rather than trusting in systems blindly.

Learning is defined as harnessing curiosity and using reflective processes to extract meaning from experience.

Inviting reflection

We noted that some studies did not make explicit recommendations for improvement, but wrote their findings in a manner that would invite reflection on its subject matter. For example, Thomas & Latimer [ 53 ] wrote that they view their role as provocateurs of new ideas, stating that their intention “is not to propose specific policies or discourses designed to change or improve practice. More modestly, we hope that by analysing the everyday and by theorising the mundane, this article will ignite reflexive, ethical and pluralistic dialogues – and so better communication between practitioners, parents and the wider lay public – around reproductive technologies and medical conditions” (authors’ underline; p.951-2) [ 53 ]. Others such as Mackintosh et al [ 54 ] used their discussion section to examine their results in the context of other theories and provide illumination: “Our focus on trajectories illuminates the physiological process of birth and the unfolding pathology of illness (and death). This frame provides a means for us to link the agency of those involved in organising the care of acutely ill patients with the wider socio-political factors beyond the clinic, such as governmentality and risk (Heyman 2010, Waring 2007), death brokering (Timmermans 2005) and the medicalisation of birth and death (De Vries 1981).” (p.264). These two examples show that ethnographic work can be offered as an opportunity for learning and reflection, without a translation to specific recommendations.

Supporting a more ethical, expansive, inclusive, and participatory mode of healthcare

Problem-finding is highlighted as an important part of learning in improvement [ 19 ]. Several studies paid attention to multivocality and power, using this to find problematic, unethical and exclusive practices in healthcare. For example, some studies reported previously unheard viewpoints [ 55 – 57 ], or identified restrictive organisational barriers and normative assumptions [ 58 , 59 ]. Others promoted ethnography as a way of exploring ethics and morality [ 47 , 60 , 61 ], such as criticising research that prioritizes the needs of individuals over the good of society [ 62 ]. Ross et al. [ 63 ] suggested that it is also more ethical to use critical ethnography than other evaluative methods in researching vulnerable populations (e.g. neurological illness), by being able to “explore perceived political and emancipatory implications, [clarify] existing power differentials and [maintain] an explicit focus on action” .

Some studies directly researched power within the healthcare setting. For example, Batch and Windsor’s study of nursing workforce suggested that senior nurse leaders should use their positions to advocate for better working conditions [ 35 ], “ Manageable nurse/patient ratios, flexible patient-centred work models, equal opportunity for advancement, skill development for all and unit teamwork promotion”. Challenging traditional cultural assumptions that have produced and reproduced stereotypes is problematic because they most often are, by their very nature, invisible. In a more critical approach, Gesbeck’s thesis [ 62 ] on diabetes care work challenges the very mechanism of achieving healthcare improvement through research, stating that “we need to change the social and political context in which health care policy is made. This requires social change that prioritizes the good of the society over the good of the individual—a position directly opposed to the current system oriented toward profit and steeped in the ideology of personal responsibility.”

Systems thinking

Systems thinking is defined as seeing whole systems as well as their parts and recognising complex relationships, connections and interdependencies.

Suggesting reorientation to new ‘problem’ areas

We found that many ethnographic studies emphasised skills of synthesis and connection-making, reorienting improvement to different areas, for example in overarching policy recommendations (e.g. Hughes [ 36 ]; Liu et al. [ 64 ], Matinga et al. [ 65 ]), or resetting priorities. For example, Manias’ [ 66 ] ethnography of communication relating to family members' involvement in medication management in hospital suggests that “greater attention should be played on health professionals initiating communication in proactive ways ” [p.865]. In another example, Cable-Williams & Wilson’s (2017) focussed ethnography captures cultural factors within long-term care facilities. Their discussion suggests that acknowledgement of death is under-represented in front-line practice and government policy, reorienting discussions towards an integration of living and dying care.

Exposing hidden practices within the everyday

We found that several studies drew attention to ‘hidden’ practices in healthcare work, allowing them to evaluated and improved. For example, we found reference to practices such as coordinating [ 67 ], repair [ 68 ], caretaking [ 69 ], scaffolding [ 68 ], tinkering [ 52 ] and bricolage [ 58 ]. We also found that some studies had new interpretations of ‘the everyday’ or ‘taken-for-granted’ (e.g. nursing culture [ 34 , 35 , 45 , 70 ], interprofessional practice [ 67 , 71 – 75 ]). Authors’ outputs included frameworks [ 76 ] or models [ 69 , 71 , 77 , 78 ] that map these types of practices in a way that is helpful for intervention development or quality improvement. For example, Mackintosh et al. [ 54 ] looked at rescue practices in medical wards and maternity care settings using Strauss’s concept of the patient trajectory. Their findings highlighted the risks inherent in the wider social practices of hospital care, and suggested that improvement was needed at a level “beyond individual and team processes and technical safety solutions.”

Influencing

Influencing is defined as engaging others and gaining buy-in using a range of facilitative processes.

Direct translation of findings to targets for improvement

Lucas suggests that to be influential, ethnographic studies need to have some empathy with clinical reality, whilst being facilitative and comfortable with conflict [ 19 ]. This was shown in ethnographic studies that made pragmatic recommendations, such as in Jensen’s study of clinical simulation. They advised that simulation might be useful in staging “adverse event scenarios with a view to creating more controlled and safer environments.” ( 80). In MacKichan et al. [ 79 ] observations and interviews were used to understand how primary care access influenced decisions to seek help at the emergency department. The authors made empathic, actionable recommendations such as “ simplifying appointments systems and communicating mechanisms to patients.” (p.10).

Evaluating the context of healthcare improvement

By capturing contextual and social aspects of healthcare improvement, ethnographic evaluations can support leaders and managers who are trying to implement improvement activities. This is a particularly helpful trait in ethnographic studies that pay attention to politics, governance and social theory in their evaluation of new interventions, “zooming out” [ 80 ] beyond the patient-clinician interaction to broader social networks. For example, Tietbohl et al. [ 81 ] investigated the difficulties of implementing a patient decision support intervention (DESI) in primary care through the theoretical lens of relational coordination between “physician and clinical staff groups (healthcare professionals)”. The authors’ recommended attention to the “underlying barriers such as the relational dynamics in a medical clinic or healthcare organization” when creating policies and programs that support shared decision-making using support interventions. This sort of insight can make it more likely that new policies or interventions will succeed. This skill was particularly fertile in the tradition of techno-anthropology, exploring technology-induced errors and the real-world interaction between people and technology, e.g. decision-support tools [ 81 – 86 ], the introduction of robot caregivers [ 87 ] and clinical simulations [ 88 ]. Other approaches included an investigation of one intervention or change but with a theoretical lens of inquiry.

Summary of findings

This scoping review has identified the methodological characteristics of 5 years of published papers that self-identify as ethnography or ethnographic in the field of healthcare improvement. Ethnography is currently a popular research method in a wide range of healthcare topics, particularly in psychiatry, e.g. mental health, dementia and experiential concerns such as quality of life. Focused ethnography is a significant sub-group in healthcare, suggesting that messages about the importance of research timeliness have taken hold [ 89 ].

We have identified ethnographic methods reported in these papers, and considered their utility in developing skills and habits that support healthcare improvement. Specific practices associated with the ethnographic paradigm can encourage good habits (resilience, creativity, learning, systems thinking and influencing) in healthcare, which can support improvement. For example, using relevant theories to look at every day work in healthcare can foster creativity. The use of critical and institutional ethnography could increase skills in ‘systems thinking’ by critically evaluating how healthcare improvement problems are defined and solved, and by whom.

Comparison with previous literature

This scoping review is the first to consider how current ethnographic methods and practices may relate to healthcare improvement. Within the paradigm of applied healthcare research, there is normative value in being ‘useful’ or ‘impactful’ in our research, which affects our prospects for funding and career success [ 12 ]. However, our review has uncovered a multitude of ways that an ethnographic study can be useful in relation to healthcare improvement, without creating actionable findings. We found a spectrum of interactions with healthcare improvement: some authors explicitly eschewed recommendations or clinical implications; others made imperative statements about required changes to policy or practice. However, this diversity was not necessarily a reflection on how ‘traditional’ the ethnographic methodology was. This challenges the paper by Leslie et al. which puts ethnographic studies in two output categories with respect to healthcare improvement: critique versus feedback [ 8 ]. Instead, we uncovered a variety of ways that ethnography can support healthcare improvement habits, such as encouraging reflection, problem-finding and exposing hidden practices in healthcare.

We did find that supporting healthcare improvement through ethnographic research can require strategic effort, however. For example, we noted that several authors wrote multiple articles based on the same project, often for different types of journal to reach different audiences such as diverse readerships in health services and academic settings. For example, Collier and colleagues published two papers based on a video ethnography of end-of-life care (both in 2016), one in a healthcare quality journal [ 32 ] and one in a qualitative research journal [ 76 ]. The former is shorter, with explicit recommendations for patient safety, whereas the latter is longer, has more detailed results and long sections on reflexivity. Similarly, Grant published an article in a sociology journal [ 90 ] and a healthcare improvement paper [ 91 ] on the same work about medication safety. The sociological paper covered “spatio-temporal elements of articulation work” whereas the other put forward “key stages” and risks, suggesting that it was more closely oriented to improvement.

There have been some considerable debates about changes in ethnographic methods and tools, with concerns about lost researcher identity, dilution of the method, and challenges to “upholding ethnographic integrity” [ 92 ] . We contest this, suggesting that new variants such as focussed and cognitive ethnography are evolving in response to the complexity of hospitals and healthcare [ 93 ], while also being highly regulated, standardised and ordered by biomedicine. Such complex environments cannot be studied and improved under one paradigm alone. Ethnographic identity and method have also been affected by the cross-pollination of ethnography with other social science paradigms and applied environments (e.g. clinical trials, technology development). Debates about theoretical and methodological choices are not only made merely with respect to healthcare improvement, but also in response to professional pressures (e.g. university requirements for impact) [ 12 ], and the mores of taste situated within the overlapping communities of practice that evaluate ethnographic healthcare research [ 94 ]. That said, we echo previous authors’ calls for attention to reflexivity, particularly in embedded or clinician-as-researcher roles [ 95 ].

Our scoping review challenges a previously expressed concern that ethnographic studies may not produce findings that are useful for improvement [ 10 , 12 , 16 ]. By considering different ethnographic designs in relation to skills and habits needed for improvement, we have shown that studies need not necessarily produce ‘actionable findings’ in order to make a valuable contribution. Instead, we would characterise ethnography’s role in the canon of healthcare research methodologies as a way of enhancing improvement habits such as comfort with conflict, problem-finding and connection-making.

Strengths and limitations

This review has a number of limitations. The search may not have found all relevant studies, however the retrieved papers are intended as an exemplar rather than an exhaustive or aggregative review. The review is also limited to journal articles as evidence of researchers’ approach to improvement. This ignores many other ‘offline’ and ‘online’ activities such as meetings, presentations, blogs, books, and websites, which are conducted to disseminate findings and ideas. Our reliance on self-report for the identification of ethnographic studies will have excluded some studies within an ethnographic paradigm who chose different terms for their methodology (e.g. critical inquiry, case study). The strengths of this paper are its comprehensive coverage, incorporating all representative studies in healthcare research published within a five year period, and a wide range of ethnographic sub-types and healthcare subjects, drawn from an international pool of research communities.

We did not prescribe the right way for ethnographers to engage in healthcare improvement, indeed, we have identified that a variety of approaches can be relevant to improvement. The habits we identified may help ethnographers reflect on their approaches in planning healthcare improvement studies and guide peer-review in this field. Issues of taste, traditionalism and researcher identity need to be scrutinised in favour of value and audience. An important area of future research will be to understand how ethnographic findings are received by decision-makers, and further focused reviews on the relationship(s) between ethnographic methods, quality improvement skills and improvement outcomes.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Lorelei Jones, Natalie Armstrong, Justin Waring and Bill Lucas for their insightful comments and direction in the undertaking of this work.

Authors’ contributions

NJF and GB led the development and conceptualization of this scoping review and provided guidance on methods and design of the scoping review. GB, SVO and SM made contributions to study search, study screening, and all data extraction work. All authors analysed the data. All authors contributed to the writing and editing of the paper, and all authors have read and approved the manuscript.

This paper is independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research CLAHRC North Thames. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health and Social Care.

NJF is an NIHR Senior Investigator. GB is supported by the Health Foundation’s grant to the University of Cambridge for The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute.

Availability of data and materials

Declarations.

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

The original online version of this article was revised: due to incorrect figure 1 and the number of included papers need to be changed from "283" to "274".

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Change history

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1186/s12874-022-01587-9

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Research: Warehouse and Logistics Automation Works Better with Human Partners

René de Koster

A recent study suggests that blending human labor with robotics leads to greater efficiency.

A study of automation usage in warehouse and logistics companies around the world suggests that blending human labor with robotics leads to greater efficiency than full automation alone. While scalable robotic systems can handle up to 1,000 tasks per hour, they often face limitations where additional robots don’t improve performance. Human-robot collaboration, employed by companies like DHL and CEVA, enhances productivity, reduces worker fatigue, and increases job satisfaction. The incremental approach of integrating human roles with automated systems not only keeps operations cost effective but also leverages human adaptability for continuous improvements.

In every sphere of business, the use of automation is growing. In warehouses and distribution, for instance, the worldwide market revenue for robotics automation is projected to grow from $7.91 billion in 2021 to more than $51 billion by 2030, according to one Statista forecast .

RK René de Koster is a professor of logistics and operations management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.
DR Debjit Roy is an institute chair professor in the operations and decision sciences area at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India.

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Ethnography: An Analysis of its Advantages and Disadvantages

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Breaking Down Barriers – Using Ethnography to Build Cultural Understanding

Ethnography – An Introduction

Participant Observation

Cultural Informant Interviews

Analysing and Describing Ethnographic Findings

Best Practices for Conducting Ethnographic Research

How Ethnography Differs from Other Qualitative Methods

The Ethical Considerations of Ethnographic Research

Informed Consent

Code of Ethics

Gaining access to the people being studied

Time Commitment

Analysis and Interpretation

Conclusion – Ethnography is a Powerful Tool

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Ethnography: Methods, Types, Importance, Limitations, Examples

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There are various advantages of ethnography, which make it important to the field of sociological research. Some benefits of ethnography are:

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Introduction

What is ethnography?

How flexible is ethnography to social changes, globalisation and technological advances?

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Ethnographies: The Pros, Cons and Modern Solutions

What is Ethnographic Research in Marketing?

What Are the Advantages and Limitations of Ethnographic Research for Product Development?

Advantages of Ethnographic Research:

Marketers Get a More Realistic Picture

Uncovers Extremely Valuable Insight

Pinpoint Business Needs & Make Accurate Predictions

Extended Observations

Higher Scope of Available Data

Limitations of Ethnographic Research:

Ethnography Requires Time

Creating a Normal Environment Isn’t Always Easy

It’s More Difficult to Recruit

Traditional Approaches Have Geography Limitations

Overall Expense May Be Higher

The Power of Digital Ethnography:

Mobile Ethnography/Lifelogging

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