Q: Maria wonders, “Does ethnographic research have any one ‘recipe’ for ethnographic research design? I am focusing on the research design, not the methodological approach to the research. Can you help?”

A: Hi Maria,

I don’t think there is any one recipe for the design of ethnographic research. In fact, I like to say that ethnography is more an approach to understanding than a particular methodology. The two elements that seem to need to be present are that it really needs to take place in the natural environment—where the action is occurring; and it needs to be inductive—you need to start the project without a preconceived notion of what you will find. Usually a variety of methods have to be used during any particular research project. We tend to use participant and non-participant observation, open ended interviewing, context mapping and archive collection in most of our projects. Still, ethnographers must be flexible in their approach to project design, data collection and analysis. They have to be prepared to use whichever methodology helps them to best approach their research question inductively, knowing that the needs of their research may change at anytime as they are immersed in real life and real life is rarely linear or predictable.

Melinda