Buy an essay on Practicing Ethnographic Methods–A Cross-Cultural Interview

Ethnography – a unique method of research, based on observation, but often combining a range of methods: observation of in-depth interviews, observation of respondents’ stories about themselves in focus group. This method helps to reveal the motivations, emotions and contextual factors that affect behavior.
Ethnographic research is usually conducted on a small group – about 6 to 14 people, and during particular time – from 4 to 10 hours.
Cross-cultural studies do not only examine the similarities and differences in behavior, thus explaining our knowledge about people, they also check the possible shortcomings of our traditional knowledge by studying people from different cultures. In its most narrow form of cross-cultural studies simply include participants from different cultural backgrounds and verify the possible differences between these divergent groups of participants. However, in its widest form, cross-cultural approach relates to understanding the truth and psychological principles as a universal (true for all people of all cultures) or as a culture-specific (true for some people of some cultures). Consequently, it may well be that even if a result is reproduced in studies including subjects from a given culture and society, it is not true for another culture or society, and vice versa.
One of the characteristics that distinguishes intercultural communication is the uncertainty or ambiguity about the basic rules of interaction. Because of the wide and deep influence of culture on all aspects of the communicative process, we can not be sure that the rules used by the two representatives of different cultures are identical. This uncertainty is inherent, and verbal and nonverbal behavior, as in the mode of coding and decoding: how to convey the message, turning it into signals that will be interpreted in accordance with our intentions, and how to open the parcel in accordance with the original intentions of the sender.
Members of intercultural interaction are often used when communicating the verbal language, which is not native to at least one of them, and sometimes for both. Thus, within the meaning of words is inherent uncertainty.

buy essay

Ethnographic studies tend to be descriptive and represent analysis of everyday practices of a particular community in terms of its culture (norms, values, language, myths) which differs in style and behavior patterns from the culture of the general population.
One of the methods is observation that is collecting information based on the direct contact of the researcher and the object of research. The development of ethnography as a science was associated with the transition from the collection of certain information about the culture of the peoples to a stationary observer, in which the researcher lived long enough among the studied group.
There are simple and participant observation, when the researcher “passively” captures the interest of its data, in the second – he penetrates the studied group and participates in its activities. In this case, the researcher can choose the following roles: full participant, participant as observer, observer as participant, full observer.
The degree of involvement of the researcher in the observed situation, which plays a key role in the typology of the roles described, is closely linked with another opposition: the description from the viewpoint of the “outsider” – a description in terms of participating in the events team member. In other words, the researcher must use a variety of roles in the search for a compromise between the objectivity, professional autonomy, empathic engagement and intellectual honesty.
Recently, observation is usually used as one element of a field expedition study, carried out by a specially designed program, using standard fixation techniques of symbolic elements of the rituals, dance, etc. Monitoring can be conducted over the actions, both individual and group and in the process of observation can be used tools of writing: voice recorders, cameras and video recorders.