Using Ethnographic Data: Interventions, Public Programming, and Public Policy

Ethnographer's Toolkit #7

by Jean J. Schensul, Margaret Diane LeCompte, G. Alfred Hess Jr.

Increasingly, ethnographic research has been used to analyze policy, evaluate social and cultural programs, and design interventions. In this brief volume, the various uses to which qualitative data can be put are explained in simple, practical language. The authors describe ways to make research policy-relevant, how to deal with policymakers and the media, how to use ethnography to design, operate and evaluate programs, and how qualitative information can assist community organizations to create and manage change. Checklists, extended case studies, definitions, and cross-references aid the reader in understanding this important set of research tools.

Contents:
Chapter 1. Introduction, Jean J. Schensul, Margaret D. LeCompte
G. Alfred Hess Jr. / Reporting, Disseminating, and Utilizing Ethnographic Data
Chapter 2. Bonnie K. Nastasi and Marlene J. Berg, Strengthening and Evaluating Intervention Programs
Chapter 3. Lynne Williamson, Jeremy Brecher, Ruth Glasser, and Jean J. Schensul, Using Ethnography to Enhance Public Programming
Chapter 4. About the Authors, Artists, and Editors
Chapter 5. Index

Genres: Ethnography

190 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 1999

About the author

Jean J. Schensul is a medical anthropologist and senior scientist at The Institute for Community Research, in Hartford, Connecticut. Dr. Schensul is most notable for her research on HIV/AIDS prevention and other health-related research in the United States, as well as her extensive writing on ethnographic research methods. She has made notable contributions to the field of applied anthropology, with her work on structural interventions to health disparities leading to the development of new organizations, community research partnerships, and community/university associations. Schensul’s work has been dedicated to community-based research on topics such as senior health, education, and substance abuse, among others.