Ethnography

• Ethnographic techniques were initially developed in sociology.
• Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) by Margaret Mead.
• I like Cresswell's statement on emphasising the everyday experience of individuals.
• Revealing how people describe and structure their world.
• It uses observation, and in depth interviews.
• Again, it has a lot to do with holism.
• It seems like this methodology has some applicability to Knowledge Management.
• It's a way of getting involved with the people who are using the knowledge.
• They also think it's important for the researcher to be explicit about their background and biases.
• The researcher should still try to overcome these biases, but stating them is a start.
• Somewhat surprisingly I found that ethnography informs design by revealing deep understanding of people and how they make sense of the world.
• You can find out about local beliefs and perceptions.
• Problem oriented research.