Preface xi The Author xiii PART 1 the why and what of ethnography 1 1 WHAT IS ETHNOGRAPHY? 3 Ethnography: The Engaged, Firsthand Study of Society and Culture in Action 4 A Brief History 4 How Ethnography has Changed: Doing Contemporary Ethnography 8 Ethnography as Firsthand Research 11 Ethnographer as Research Instrument 13 Collaboration as Research Model: Ethnographer as Student 15 2 CHOOSING AN ETHNOGRAPHIC TOPIC 19 Where to Look for Possible Topics 22 Ethnographic Topics: Studying Places, People, or Events 23 The Benefits of a Relatively Specific Focus 23 Practices of Virtual Ethnography 25 Thinking About the Nonobvious as Discoverable 27 Cultural Knowledge and Behavior in Action as Research Objects 29 Practical Concerns 30 Considering Ethics from the Start: Your Obligations to Potential Informants 33 Topics You Might Want to Avoid 34 3 RESEARCH DESIGN 37 Turning an Idea or Topic into a Research Question 38 Linking Questions to Methods 40 Key Methods to Consider for the Ethnographic Project 41 What Is Practical or Feasible? Time, Availability, and Ethics 46 4 WRITING A PROPOSAL 50 Identifying and Reviewing Appropriate Literature 51 Statement of the Problem 54 A Clear Research Plan 55 Identifying Your Project''s Larger Relevance 57 Human Subjects Review and Approval 58 5 COLLABORATIVE ETHNOGRAPHY 62 Working in Ethnographic Teams 63 Implementing a Research Team 65 Strategies for Collaborating with Research Participants 69 PART 2 ethnography in the field: collecting data 75 6 A GUIDE TO COLLECTING DATA AND TAKING NOTES 77 The Fleeting Nature of Ethnographic Data 79 "Should I Write It Down Immediately?" 80 The Importance of Detail in the Ethnographic Record 81 Writing Notes Versus Using Recorders 82 The Prospects of Transcription 83 What Is Important and What Is Superfluous: "What Do I Need to Write Down?" 85 The Ethics of Collecting Information 87 7 PARTICIPANT-OBSERVATION 90 The Apparent Paradox: Participation and Observation 92 Balancing Participation and Observation 93 The Importance of Time 95 Depending on Informants as Teachers and Guides 96 Getting Started 98 Regular Versus Extraordinary Behavior and Conversations 100 8 INTERVIEWS 105 Starting with Informal Interviews and Conversations 106 Informal Conversation as an Avenue to "Real" Culture 109 A Good Interviewer Is a Good Listener 111 How to Record Interview Data 111 Using an Interview Schedule 112 How to Start an Interview 113 Good Versus Bad Interview Questions 115 When to Conduct Formal Interviews 118 9 ANALYZING ALONG THE WAY 121 Identifying Key Themes and Questions: Paying Attention to Your Data 122 How to Organize Your Notes 123 What Have You Learned? 124 What Do You Still Need to Do? 125 Has the Research Question Changed? 126 Tweaking the Research Design 126 Getting Feedback from Your Informants 127 Writing at the Midway Point 129 10 ETHNOGRAPHIC MAPS 132 Space and Movement as Key Components of Culture 133 The Importance of Space, Shape, and Distance 138 Large-and Small-Scale Geographic Maps 139 Mapping Interior Spaces 141 Cognitive or Conceptual Maps 143 Representing Movement and Behavior on a Map 145 11 TABLES AND CHARTS 147 Ethnographic Tables 148 Interpersonal Relationships as a Manifestation of Culture 148 Kinship as an Organizing Principle 150 Other Organizational Charts 153 12 ARCHIVES AND SECONDARY DATA 158 Cultural Artifacts as Sources of Information 159 Making Ethnographic Use of Archives 162 Contemporary Cultural Artifacts 164 Evaluating and Analyzing Cultural Artifacts 166 Analytical Sources Versus Popular or Primary Sources 167 PART 3 analyzing and writing 171 13 SORTING AND CODING DATA 173 Writing from Your Research Data 174 Identifying Key Themes and Questions 175 Identifying Important Research Moments and Experiences 176 Coding and Sorting the Ethnographic Record 178 Dealing with Apparent Contradictions: The Messiness of Ethnographic Data 180 14 ANSWERING QUESTIONS AND BUILDING MODELS 183 Fitting the Pieces Together 184 Moving from Data to Theory: The Inductive Process 189 Remembering the Big Picture and the Big Questions 190 Infusing Theory in Ethnography 191 15 CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE PRESENTATION STYLE 194 Common Ethnographic Conventions 195 The Importance of Ethnographic Detail 201 Matching Style to Audience, Subject, and Analysis 202 A Formal to Informal Continuum of Style 205 16 PUTTING THE WHOLE ETHNOGRAPHY TOGETHER 208 The Hourglass Shape as a Model 209 Alternative Models for Organizing an Ethnography 210 Incorporating Relevant Literature 211 Incorporating Maps, Charts, and Photographs 212 Demonstrating the Project''s Relevance 213 Evaluating and Revising Ethnography 214 Sharing the Ethnography 215 Incorporating Responses and Critiques 217 GLOSSARY 220 REFERENCES 226 INDEX 000.