Research Methods, Ethnography

Ethnography is a research method that stresses direct observation of people in typical social environments. [Page 722]Its goal is to build a detailed, holistic description of individuals' behaviors, attitudes, and interpretations of other people. This is done by joining a group under study as a participating member, often for weeks or months. Thus, the researcher gathers information on the group's activities (e.g., television viewing in a typical family's home) within the context of day-to-day living. A second goal of ethnography is to present the group's experiences in their own words and images. Usually, the ethnographer is not an original member of the group, so he or she must bridge the barriers against constructing this insider's perspective. This means that the language, routines, and cultural values of the group must be described in detail by a virtual stranger.

A few researchers have applied the ethnographic method to studies of media and children's daily lives. Two studies, one by Jennifer Bryce and Hope Leichter and one by Amy Jordan, used ethnographic methods to study family media use. Their studies showed that families operate as a system of interrelated components (e.g., parents, children, home organization, media) that create daily routines and a shared sense of reality. The researchers showed that families' media use reflected their attitudes about the use of time. Middle- and upper-class families defined time as a precious resource. Rules for watching television were reflected by pointing out “good” and “bad” uses of time. Jordan revealed that media were often used to punctuate parts of the day, initiating or ending the family's various routines. One example was the use of electronic tapes and books at bedtime to console children and help them sleep.

Other proponents argue that ethnography's strengths lie in the unstructured nature of observations, permitting researchers to show family life (and media's place in it) as it is lived. This can be as simple as tracking media use in the home or as complex as exploring the way the people's interpretations of media content show up in their ideas about “normal” family life. Ideally, the result is a realistic picture of media and social life. However, it is hard to get people to consent to participate in ethnographies. Once the ethnographer is admitted to the group, it is hard to know if what he or she sees is “real” and not altered for appearance's sake. This complicates the goal of faithfully describing media's role in daily life. Furthermore, ethnographers looking so closely at these activities can sometimes overlook broader social forces that shape them (e.g., media corporations' influence on available media choices).