Innovations in Ethnographic Methods

Abstract

This article reviews innovations in ethnographic methods that have developed over the past 25 years, specifically the emergence of multisited and short-term fieldwork, digital ethnography, various kinds of participatory and collaborative ethnography, and the use of interviews. Ethnographic methods, once primarily employed by anthropologists, have now been embraced by many other social science practitioners. The article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of how these methods are being implemented and applied; the ethical challenges their use raises; and the kinds of novel modes of interpretation, analysis, and representations of research findings they are producing.

Positioning and Fit in Designing and Executing Qualitative Research

“…The tool we offer is grounded in classifications of various dimensions of qualitative research and fine distinctions in each of these dimensions. Such classifications are necessarily simplistic and reductionist and do not reflect the genres and subgenres of qualitative research (Bansal et al, 2018) or innovative methods in various subdisciplines of qualitative research, from ethnography (Seligmann & Estes, 2020) to computational methods of analyses that aim to measure culture and meaning (Mohr et al, 2020). Also, they may seem at odds with our understanding of qualitative research as non-linear and flexible.…”

Imagining Finland: negotiating the sense of self through return imaginaries

“…Due to the geographical distance and Covid-19, the interviews were conducted via Facebook's chat feature, instant messaging (IM) -a method seen as one of the 'innovations in ethnography' (Seligmann & Estes 2020). It was selected due to both its efficiency and social media's role as a natural everyday activity among the participants, an advantage noted by Barratt (2012) and Käihkö (2020).…”

Ethnography in Health Services Research: Oscillation Between Theory and Practice

“…These constraints are not inherently negative ( Pink & Morgan, 2013 ), but they alter ethnographic processes in ways that offer imagined benefits at the risk of methodological integrity. For example, using short-term fieldwork or ethnographic interviews effectively is largely dependent on previous time spent in the field, meaning good short-term fieldwork is actually part of a much longer field presence and research history ( Seligmann & Estes, 2020 ). Moreover, focused or short-term forms of ethnographic research are often designed to collect data-specific or predetermined questions ( Bikker et al, 2017 ), and this undermines the inductive quality of long-term engagement and its essential ability to surface questions that were not obvious or available at the outset.…”