The nature of a particular mediation [fieldwork encounter] will depend on the nature of the traditions that are in contact during fieldwork. The received view's concept of "objectivity" becomes obsolete. Ethnography no longer claims to describe a reality accessible by anyone using the right methods, independent of the historical or cultural context of the act of describing. On the other hand, there is no justification for the complete relativism of what Hirsch (1976) calls "cognitive atheism" either. There is a human group out there who lived in a world before the ethnographer appeared and who will continue to do so after he or she leaves. The research is a function of the group studied as well (Agar 1986:19).
Michael Agar points out that the result of ethnography-the ethnographic description or monograph-is a result of a complex interaction between informants, field researcher, and the audience. But that is not the only reason, or perhaps even the main reason, why ethnographies of the same place may differ. They may also differ because the researcher is asking a different question or writing for a different audience.
Ethnography is a multifaceted method and makes for a theoretically complex topic. The word is used to label a "complex whole," made up of grab-bag of separate interviewing, observational, archival, and other methods. These methods are tied together by the goal of constructing a way for the reader to understand a world view or social organization that may be quite different from his or her own. These techniques are designed around the ideal of seeing these things from the "native's point of view."
There are innumerable examples of ethnography available, and much ink has been spilled analyzing how, when, and where it should be done. For simplicity's sake this section of the bibliography is limited to examples of ethnography that we believe will be most useful to those planning to include short-term ethnography as part of a multimethod research project. While some of these books do describe more lengthy fieldwork than many readers are likely to indulge in, they remain classic examples of the uses of ethnography and the potential results of a well done ethnographic project. A few other entries are useful guides to actually doing ethnography.
References:
Agar, M. H. (1986). Speaking of Ethnography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Agar, M. H. (1996). The Professional Stranger: An Informal Introduction to Ethnography. (second ed.). New York: Academic Press.
Anderson, E. (1978). A Place on the Corner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Anderson, E. (1990). Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Becker, H. S., Geer, B., Hughes, E. C., & Strauss, A. L. (1961). Boys in White: Student Culture in Medical School. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bernard, H. R. (1994). Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Davis, F. (1980). The Cabdriver and his Fare: Facets of a Fleeting Relationship. In L. Coser (Ed.), The Pleasures of Sociology (pp. 515). New York: New American Library.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine.
Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with Words: Language, Life, and Work in Communities and Classrooms. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Helitzer-Allen, D. L., & Kendall, C. (1992). Explaining Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Data: A Study of Chemoprophylaxis during Pregnancy. Health Education Quarterly, 19(1), 41-54.
Jessor, R., Colby, A., & Shweder, R. A. (Eds.). (1996). Ethnography and Human Development. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Johnson, A., & Johnson, O. R. (1990). From Quality to Quantity: On the Measurement Potential of Ethnographic Fieldnotes. In R. Sanjek (Ed.), Fieldnotes: The Makings of Anthropology (pp. 161-186). Ithica, NY: Cornell University Press.
Kempton, W., Boster, J., & Hartley, J. (1995). Environmental Values in American Culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Levine, H. G., Gallimore, R., Weisner, T. S., & Turner, J. L. (1980). Teaching Participant-Observation Research Methods: A Skills-Building Approach. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 11(1), 38-54.
Liebow, E. (1967). Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Nichter, M., & Nichter, M. (1994). Acute Respiratory Illness: Popular Health Culture and Mother's Knowledge in the Philippines. Medical Anthropology, 15, 353-375.
Shweder, R. A. (1996). True Ethnography: The Lore, the Law, and the Lure. In R. Jessor, A. Colby, & R. A. Shweder (Eds.), Ethnography and Human Development: Context and Meaning in Social Inquiry (pp. 516). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Spradley, J. P., & McCurdy, D. W. (1972). The Cultural Experience: Ethnography in Complex Society. Chicago: Science Research Associates.
Stack, C. B. (1974). All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. New York: Harper and Row.
Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Weisner, T. S. (1996). Why Ethnography Should Be the Most Important Method in the Study of Human Development. In R. Jessor, A. Colby, & R. A. Shweder (Eds.), Ethnography and Human Development: Context and Meaning in Social Inquiry (pp. 305-324). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Whyte, W. F. (1955). Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum. (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Williams, T. (1992). Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Yoder, P. S. (1995). Examining Ethnomedical Diagnoses and Treatment Choices for Diarrheal Disorders in Lubumbashi Swahili. Medical Anthropology, 16, 211-247.