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An introduction to the issues, methods and ethical considerations involved in carrying out ethnographic research.
From small villages to complex bureaucratic organisations, ethnography offers important
tools for understanding how various human worlds operate. This paper provides an introduction
to research? methods and techniques used by contemporary anthropologists, including
participant observation, interviews and popular culture analysis.
The paper
encourages students to explore the relationships between project design, data collection
methods, data analysis and theory by working collaboratively on a 'real life'
group research project that explores the nature of friendship. ANTH 211 thus provides
an opportunity for students to undertake an individual interview on friendship followed
by a group analysis of all students' interviews in a well-structured, ethically
approved, on-going longitudinal research project led by the lecturer. At the same
time, students will have the opportunity to explore the most recent debates in theoretically
informed ethnographic methods as revealed in contemporary discussions about the newly
emerging field of the anthropology of friendship.
Paper is offered in yearly rotation with ANTH 210.
| Paper title | Contemporary Ethnographic Research |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ANTH211 |
| Subject | Anthropology |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2021 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $913.95 |
| International Tuition Fees (NZD) | $4,073.40 |
- Prerequisite
- ANTH 103 or ANTH 105 or 54 points
- Restriction
- ANTH 320
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Contact
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
This paper is particularly valuable for students who are interested in conducting research using ethnographic methods. The paper is 100% internally assessed. The paper also involves active learning, and so students are requested to read their required readings before coming to class.
Assessment:- Research interview (20%)
- Three coding exercises using nVivo qualitative research software (30%)
- Three reading journal entries based on any three required readings for the course (15%)
- A written analysis of one of the major analytical themes that emerged from the shared group analysis of the friendship interviews conducted in class (35%)
- Teaching Arrangements
- Lectures and seminars
- Textbooks
- Required readings from journal articles and book chapters are available electronically through the library using course reserve.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the paper, students will:
- Enhance their capacities for conducting ethnographic research focusing on the value of the interview as a research tool
- Appreciate the heuristic value of theoretically informed research questions for any ethnographic project (Block 2)
- Be aware of the limits and advantages of ethnographic research and contemporary critical debates around its use (Block 2)
- Develop a comparative perspective on ethnographic approaches
- Be able to place ethnographic inquiry within the wider array of qualitative research methodologies
- Understand the cultural complexities implicit within notions of 'friendship'
Timetable
An introduction to the issues, methods and ethical considerations involved in carrying out ethnographic research.
This paper focuses on qualitative research approaches. Long-term, immersive, ‘bottom-up’ methods help social anthropologists gain holistic perspectives on a diverse range of cultural phenomena and lifeways. In this paper students will learn how ethnographic methods can be applied across settings from small villages to complex bureaucratic organisations to illuminate issues of contemporary importance. Topics will include:
- Planning a research project, including writing a research proposal
- Conducting a range of data collection techniques including participant observation, systematic fieldnotes, in-depth interviews, focus groups, photographic methods, and Participatory Learning and Action approaches
- Thematically coding materials (including through specialised software) and analysing results
- Negotiating ethical concerns and working collaboratively with research partners in communities
The course seeks to equip students with social scientific research skills sought after by employers.
Examples will draw from diverse sub-disciplines, such as medical anthropology, environmental anthropology, and the anthropology of international development.
The paper is offered in yearly rotation with ANTH 210.
| Paper title | Contemporary Ethnographic Research |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ANTH211 |
| Subject | Anthropology |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 1 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for 2022 have not yet been set |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- ANTH 103 or ANTH 105 or 54 points
- Restriction
- ANTH 320
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Contact
- More information link
Please visit the Programme of Social Anthropology
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
100% internally assessed.
- Teaching Arrangements
- One two-hour lecture per week.
- One one-hour tutorial per week.
- Textbooks
Course readings are provided through eReserve on Blackboard.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking,
Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the paper, students will be:
- Familiar with the qualitative research project cycle
- Equipped to develop sound research questions and plan methods that align with these
- Familiar with an array of data collection techniques, including interviews
- Able to manage and thematically code qualitative data
- Aware of a range of ethical issues pertaining to cross-cultural and ethnographic research
- Able to place ethnographic inquiry within the wider array of qualitative research methodologies
