Ethnographic Debriefing

Abstract

Debriefing is not a substitute for ethnographic interviewing but a complement to it. It may be about content, context, or both. It is helpful in situations or descriptions of events in which recording is not possible or permitted. It is one of the best methods for supplying ethnographic context to interviews that the interviewer may have overlooked—it then becomes an interview about an interview. Debriefing may be self-debriefing, one-on-one, one information giver to a group of debriefers, or a group session. Particularly the latter is an excellent teaching tool for ethnographic methods.

Acceptability of mHealth Technology for Self‐Monitoring Eating and Activity among Rural Men

“…Field notes and reflexive memos were documented pertaining to the men, research activities, dialog, unstructured observations, chronological events, and reflections throughout the study. Team members also debriefed via reflective memos recording the context of the events (Schoepfle & Werner, ).…”

Language alternation and choice in a formal register: Spanish and English in bilingual Catholic services

“…Schoepfle and Werner (1999) note that 'any person, ethnographer, or native who experiences something significant or knows something of value to the research project is a potential source for debriefing' (p. 159). During the debriefing, the priest described the extensive evaluation of and planning for the bilingual services that he and a committee conducted on a weekly basis.…”

The ‘weekend effect’ in acute medicine: a protocol for a team-based ethnography of weekend care for medical patients in acute hospital settings

“…The team debriefs will include the qualitative lead (CT), who will take the lead in asking questions of the other researchers. 33 Debriefs will be structured in a similar format to those laid out by Schoepfle and Werner consisting both of overarching or ‘grand tour’ questions and ‘mini tour’, or more detailed questions that will encourage the flow of both contextual and in-depth information. The researchers will collectively talk through their field notes and describe their interpretations of what happened at their fieldwork site(s).…”

“…The researchers will collectively talk through their field notes and describe their interpretations of what happened at their fieldwork site(s). During each session, which will last up to 3 hours, each ethnographer will recount his or her stories from the field in a way that he or she is most comfortable with, 33 but will be encouraged to be open to questions from other team members in order to ‘co-produce accurate descriptions rather than test the memory of another participant’. 33 Coproducing descriptions therefore means trusting other researchers within the team to be able to share and speak openly without fear of censure.…”

“…During each session, which will last up to 3 hours, each ethnographer will recount his or her stories from the field in a way that he or she is most comfortable with, 33 but will be encouraged to be open to questions from other team members in order to ‘co-produce accurate descriptions rather than test the memory of another participant’. 33 Coproducing descriptions therefore means trusting other researchers within the team to be able to share and speak openly without fear of censure. 29 This approach, argues Scales, results in researchers having to be collaborative in nature and having to ‘share their observations, and confront inconsistencies between interpretations’ (p. 24).…”