Ethnographic research follows a social scientific approach to the study of people and cultures. Much of the evidence gathering includes such key elements as field research, interviews, quantitative data, questionnaires, oral histories and, most of all, on-site observations and critical analysis. The articles by Valerie Yow, Gerri-Ann Galanti and Zora Neale Hurston can be helpful in getting started, identifying research methods and determining a concrete focus. You will want to be a participant-observer, someone who can gain the confidence of individuals in the group yet maintain enough critical distance so that your observations will be scientific rather than opinion-based and personally biased.
The first step in writing this paper will be to select a field study of a certain social practice, group activity, subculture, cultural event and/or a social problem to be analyzed. You will want to observe, collect and gather data in the form of reporting through conducting onsite field work. Secondly, after you have selected a topic and have gathered enough quality evidence, you will need to organize the data and make an interpretive argument based on your in-depth field research. Part of the essay will need to be descriptive, i.e. telling the reader the basic information and the general context, but please keep this explanation succinct and brief. Your main focus should be on interpreting the data and applying argumentative strategies to draw meaningful conclusions. The paper may include graphs, charts, diagrams, interview statements, data, photos, videos or appendices. Your actual writing must be approximately 5-6 pages in length, though what else you include might go beyond this basic requirement.
