A number of useful texts discuss methods of ethnographic data collection, data

analysis, and writing the results. We recommend that these or similar texts and articles

form the basis of the discussion of methodology and methods in both the proposal and in

the dissertation (e.g., in the section of Chapter Two‘s literature review on methodological

issues related to the project). The following list contains excellent general introductions

to ethnography, as well as more detailed treatments by practitioners of this form of

research design:

 

General introductions to ethnographic research:

 

Agar, M.H. (1986). Speaking of ethnography. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

 

Camic, P.M., Rhodes, J.E. & Yardley, L. (Eds.) (2003). Qualitative research

in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design.

Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

 

Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five

traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. See the sections on ethnography in

Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and the Appendix E by Henry Wolcott.

 

Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five

traditions, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Denzin, N.K. (1997). Interpretive ethnography: Ethnographic practices for the 21st

century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.) (2000). Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd

edition. See pp. 851-869.

 

Morse, J., & Richards, L. (2002). Read first for a users guide to qualitative methods.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods, 3rd edition. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage., See the sections in Chapter 3 on ethnography and

ethnomethodology (a related approach); and Chapters 6 and 7 on field work and

qualitative interviewing.

Schensul, J. & LeCompte, M.D. (Eds.) (1999). Ethnographer‘s toolkit, 7 Vols. Walnut

Creek, CA: AltaMira

 

Stewart, A. (1998). The ethnographer‘s method. Qualitative Research Methods Series,

Vol 46. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Taylor, S, J. & Bogdan, R. (1984). Introduction to qualitative research methods: The

search for meaning. 2nd edition. New York: John Wiley.

 

Thomas, J. (1993). Doing critical ethnography. Qualitative Research Methods Series,

Vol 26. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

 

Detailed treatments of ethnographic methodology and issues:

 

Aronson, J. (1994). A Pragmatic View of Thematic Analysis. The Qualitative Report, 2,

Number 1. Retrieved January 20, 2003, from

nova.edu/ssss/QR/index.html

 

Becker, H. & Geer, B. (2000). Participant observation and interviewing: A comparison.

In Filstead, W.J. (Ed.). Qualitative methodology. Chicago: Markham.

 

Chambers, E. (2000). Applied ethnography. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.).

Emerson, R.M., Fretz, R.I., & Shaw, L.L. (1995). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

 

Fetterman, D.M. (1989). Ethnography: Step by step. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

 

Goffman, E. (1989). On fieldwork. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 18, 123-132

 

Hodder, I. (2000). The interpretation of documents and material culture. In Denzin and

Lincoln (Eds.).

 

Jorgensen, D.L. (1989). Participant observation: A methodology for human studies.

Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

 

LeCompte, M.D. & Goetz, J.P. (1982). Problems of reliability and validity in

ethnographic research. Review of Educational Research, 51, 31-60.

 

LeCompte, M.D. & Schensul, J. (1999). Designing and conducting ethnographic

research. Ethnographer‘s toolkit, Vol 1. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.

 

Spradley, J.P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago: University

of Chicago Press.