A How to Guide for The

Ethnography Hudson

A How to Guide for the

Ethnographic Method

By

Carl Hudson

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

A Brief History 4

Significance of Ethnographic Research 4

Methodology 4

Design Cycle 4

Procedure 4

Step 1: Preparation 5

Step 2: Conducting the Field Study 5

Step 3: Analysis of the Data 6

Step 4: Reporting 6

Potential Problems 7

Example: Taxi Cab – Dispatch System 8

Annotated Bibliography 10

Introduction

Ethnography is a method of research typically used in anthropology and sociology. This document is a brief guide to conducting such a study. It is in no way complete. Perfecting the methods could take years and vary enormously from one context to another. Because of its origins in social science, ethnography is typically described in following ways:

·  a method of observing human interactions in social settings and activities (Burke & Kirk, 2001)

·  a holistic observation of people in their ‘cultural context’

·  the study and systematic recording of human cultures; also : a descriptive work produced from such research (Merriam-Webster Online).

Note that these definitions often relate ethnography to the study of culture. Culture can be described as the way of life of a group of people. In the realms of anthropology and sociology, cultures are usually analogous to ethnic groups. But, in the realm of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and product design, groups of people can be as small as a cluster of employees in a particular department. Thus there are two general forms of ethnography: the classic form and the modern design form. More comparisons of these two forms of ethnography are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1: Comparisons between two types of Ethnography

Roots of Classic Ethnography / Design Ethnography
·  Describes cultures (Anthropology/Sociology)
·  Uses local language
·  Objective
·  Compares general principles of society
·  Non-interference
·  Duration: Several Years / ·  Describes domains
·  Uses local language
·  Subjective
·  Compares general principles of design
·  Intervention
·  Duration: Several Weeks/Months (depends on task(s) studied)

Ethnography is always conducted in the local language of the people being observed. In the classic form, this investigation involves learning the language of a particular culture including slang phrases and words of expression. In the design form, this method involves learning the terminology or jargon used in a particular workplace. Tighter time constraints also exist in design and so ethnographic methods are usually more intervening to ‘speed-up’ the data collection process. To meet deadlines, ethnographers can gather such information by stepping away from pure observational field work and becoming actively involved with ‘learning the ropes’. Research can be accomplished by asking prying questions, conducting interviews, and performing tasks themselves. Often ethnographers will need to become more intrusive -- sacrificing objectivity to achieve their goal(s). This trade-off is common in ethnography.

A Brief History

Ethnography as we know it today was invented by Bronislaw Malinowski (Anderson, 1997; Malinowski, 1967; Kuper 1983). In 1915, Malinowski started a three year ethnographic study of the natives of the Trobriand Islands off the coast of New Guinea in the southwest pacific. During his three year visit, Malinowski documented three forms of data about the tribes there:

·  Synoptic Charts organizing massive amounts of information into an easier to understand format

·  Detailed descriptions of day to day lives and activities

·  All stories, narratives, myths, etc.

Using this holistic approach to studying the social interactions of the islanders, Malinowski discovered many interesting things such as their beliefs about kinships, magic, religion, and trade practices. Malinowski fashioned the modern analytic component to ethnography. Without this painstaking level of data collection and analysis, we would lose the ability to learn about ‘cultures’ from a unique inside perspective.

Significance of Ethnographic Research

With regards to design, ethnography is an ideal way to collect practical insider knowledge and experience about a group of people. Because of the ‘hands-on’ nature, it can be extremely useful for improving system design by revealing important aspects which may not seem obvious to designers. Strict observation alone does not always tell the whole story. Ethnographic approach allows one to look deeper at the behavior of people in certain group dynamics. An experienced ethnographer will have the ability to analyze the data thoroughly; allowing for the discovery of new relevant information.

Methodology

Design Cycle

Ethnography is used in a variety of stages in the design cycle. Typically, it is best utilized in the conceptual or pre-design stage. It also holds useful in the iterative designing stage, affording alterations to the blueprints along the way. Ethnographers can also pose as users in the evaluation of the new design potentially saving money in the long term. In fact, the earlier ethnography is implemented into the design cycle, the sooner problems can be identified, saving the company money. Unfortunately, ethnography does not always get implemented soon enough and time deadlines tend to constrict its effectiveness.

Procedure

The way in which one conducts an ethnographic study depends on a variety of factors. It depends on time constraints imposed by the company or the design team. It depends on the size of one’s research budget, the focus of the study, when it will be implemented in the design cycle, instrumentation/materials at hand, the freedom/flexibility of the ethnographer, etc. Rose et al. (1995) present four steps which provide a rough guideline as to how to conduct an ethnographic study. These steps are in no way concrete.

Step 1: Preparation

Before conducting a study, on must make several preparations to determine the feasibility of the study and to ensure success. Firstly, determine the focus of the study. Ethnography by nature involves the collection of vast amounts of data. Outlining the goals will help sort through all the data later on. One should prepare questions which are of particular importance. Often these questions can be guided by concerns the design team has; however limiting goals only to the needs of the design team may be too narrow. Too fine a focus may abolish the chance of discovering new findings. A balance in the amount of focus is needed.

Secondly, as an ethnographer one must begin to familiarize oneself with the organization policies, procedures, and general work culture. By gaining an understanding of these aspects of the work environment ahead of time, one will free up resources. Gathering details about day to day events, the flow of work, and other relevant things already takes up valuable time when conducting the study. Lightening the ethnographer’s plate is vital. On that note, it is also a good idea to familiarize oneself with the current system(s) and its history.

Finally, one must find out how to gain access or permission from the proper authorities within an organization to conduct the study. Often people who may prevent access are deemed ‘gate-keepers’ and those who may help lift these road blocks are your ‘sponsors’. One of the greatest challenges is to convince sponsors that the research is worthwhile.

Step 2: Conducting the Field Study

While conducting the field study there are a number of things one needs to do to ensure it runs smoothly. It is a good idea to establish a healthy rapport with managers and users. This will launch an open dialogue that will encourage managers and employees to share their knowledge. A good rapport will also foster effective interviews which may complement recorded observations.

A good practice it to be highly meticulous. Record all kinds of subjective/objective and quantitative/qualitative data. It may include observations, impressions, feelings, hunches, emerging questions, etc. Data can be recorded in a variety of ways such as field notes, open ended interviews and audio/video recordings. The key is to record every visit with detail and to record it immediately to ensure its accuracy. Finally, be sure to follow any leads that emerge from any visits. Leads provide an opportunity to discover innovative ideas about system design and justify the whole purpose for using ethnography.

Nielsen (2002) provides some useful tips when conducting a field study. Some of these points are summarized below.

Table 2: Dos and Don’ts for conducting a Field Study

Don’t / Do
·  Ask simple Yes/No questions
·  Ask leading questions
·  Use unfamiliar jargon
·  Lead/guide the ‘user’ / ·  Ask open-ended questions
·  Phrase questions properly to avoid bias
·  Speak their language
·  Let user notice things on his/her own

Step 3: Analysis of the Data

Unlike other scientific methods, ethnography does not require collecting all the data before analysis. In fact, it is better to continually interpret the data as it is being conducted. Compile the collected data into numerical, textual, and multimedia databases as soon as possible. This helps to simplify, clarify, and refine the massive amounts of data: bringing emerging patterns to the surface. Refinement forces the ethnographer to continually redevelop ideas about the design. Organization also makes it easier to report any updates to the design team. Having quantifiable data and compiled statistics available help to solidify arguments to designers and engineers.

Step 4: Reporting

When writing or presenting any findings be sure to consider the multiple audiences and their particular goals. Managers, users, designers, and engineers all have different ideas of what to take away from the study. Once more, they also speak different ‘languages’. Be sure to use appropriate examples for each audience.

Frequent reporting is highly recommended. The sooner findings are presented to the rest of the design team; the sooner it can be incorporated into design. Furthermore, once a prototype is developed, an ethnographer can act as a “substitute user in a ‘user-centered’ systems design process” (Bently et al., 1992). Even short debriefing meetings can ensure the relevant discoveries from the ethnographic method are communicated effectively.

When writing an ethnographic report, Randall (1996) suggests the following format to present the findings of the study in a succinct manner.

·  Purpose Statement

o  Outline the focus and goals of the study. Generally, the purpose of the study is to describe/analyze work activities, identify problems in work routines/practices, suggest solutions, identify current weaknesses in study and suggest new research directions.

·  Executive Summary

o  A quick synopsis of key items mentioned in statement.

o  Brevity is the key. Some audience members will only read the summary and not the main body version.

·  Main Body

o  A full account of findings, arguments, conclusions, and recommendations.

·  Future Research

o  Identify current limitations to the study and justify why more research is required.

·  Debriefing

o  Drive home ideas, arguments, problems & solutions.

o  Justify conclusions and prove that ethnography was worth the time & money.

·  Appendix

o  Include concrete examples and data charts to support your arguments.

Potential Problems

Randall (1996) suggests that a huge problem may arise in the communication between ethnographers and the system designers. A dichotomy exists between these two groups due to the nature of each of their work. Ethnographers analyze data, try to be impartial and non-judgmental and usually have lengthy timeframes to complete their work. Software engineers are the exact opposite. They synthesize data and must be judgmental due to the frequent deadlines they have. Randall (1996) suggests this dichotomy can be bridged by an iterative approach to ethnography where frequent communication between the two is a foundation for understanding.

There are other problems one must deal with when conducting such a study. The rest of the issues are outlined as advantages and disadvantages in Table 3. Many of which have been discussed previously. Often these characteristics can be seen as tradeoffs between each other.

Table 3: Advantages & Disadvantages to Ethnography

Advantage / Disadvantage
·  Provides relevant ‘real-world’ data
·  Provides in-depth understanding of people in an organization.
·  Identifies assumptions that maybe taken for granted by system designers
·  Can be economical (if you ‘do it yourself’). / ·  Context too specific, not generalizable to other organizations or systems.
·  ‘Going native’ – develops a bias for analysis and interpretation.
·  Multiple Roles
·  Must negotiate access (see gatekeepers/sponsors in Step 1: Preparation)
·  Time & Money (hiring, training, managing, conducting, analyzing data, etc.)
·  Data is messy and often unstructured. Too much data, not enough time to tell a complete story.
·  How do you assess significance? (Did we learn something new, valuable?)

In closing, ethnography can prove to be very useful to the design process. Its effectiveness is of course dependant upon the freedom given to the ethnographer. Tight restriction such as deadlines, small budgets, or an unequal position on the design team may compromise effectiveness. In fact, if these restrictions are too tight, a different methodological study may be more effective. One of the constant struggles with this method of study is that it requires continual justification. Managers, designers and engineers do not always see the benefit of such a study until the near end.

Example: Taxi Cab – Dispatch System

The example I will illustrate here pertains to the taxi driver industry. The design team wishes to implement a new computerized cab-dispatch system. The software company has hired ethnographers to determine what problems exist with the current system. Specifically - what problems arise when using the device while driving?

Step 1: Preparation

·  Familiarize yourself with the

o  Radio codes

o  Cab driver procedures

o  Questionnaires

o  User demographics

o  Users’ feelings towards current system. Easy to use? Easy to learn?

·  Focus of the study.

o  What problems arise when using the dispatch system and driving?

·  Who are the Gatekeepers? Sponsors?

o  Unions?

·  How much time do you have?

·  Resources available?

o  Money? Cabs?

·  How will we record data?

o  Video camera(s) in cab? On what?

o  Ethnographer as cab driver? Make field notes between customers?

Step 2: Study

·  Establish rapport with drivers and dispatchers

o  Small talk

o  Assure them that their performance/job is not at stake. We are looking at problems with the dispatch system and how to improve it.