Anthropology

1) What is “ethnographic research” and what is its primary goal? Drawing on examples from assigned readings, discuss the ways that “ethnographic research” may differ from other types of research in the social sciences. Discuss the various obstacles to conducting and, especially, achieving success in “ethnographic research,” paying particular attention to such basic concepts as “culture shock,” “ethnocentrism,” “naïve realism” and “ethical choice.”

Ethnographic research is not like your average social science. It is unique in the way it is conducted. Most scientists including many, who view people in social context, approach there research as detached observers. As social scientist, they observe the human subjects of their study, categorize what they see, and generate theory to account for their findings. They work from the outside, creating a system of knowledge accounting for other people’s behavior. Although this is a useful way to conduct research it is not the main task of an ethnographer. Ethnography is the work of describing and discovering culture. Ethnographers seek out the insider’s view point. Because, culture is the learned shared knowledge that people use to generate behavior and interpret experience.

Ethnographers use participant observation when conducting ethnographic research. This is the research strategy to gain close familiarity with a group and their practices through intense involvement in their natural environment. This can be over a long period of time. The main goal of an ethnographer is to never lose sight of the purpose of the research. The purpose of the research is to gain a better understanding of cultural determinism, which is the way that culture views and understands the world, through their point of views. Some examples of ethnographic research include Richard Lee’s Christmas in the Kalahari and Clair Sterk’s Prostitution Field Work. In Christmas in the Kalahari, Lee’s purpose was to understand a more in-depth...