Being Ethnographic: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Ethnography

by Raymond Madden

Full of practical ′how to′ tips for applying theoretical methods - ′doing ethnography′ - this book also provides anecdotal evidence and advice for new and experienced researchers on how to engage with their own participation in the field - ′being ethnographic′. Being Ethnographic clearly sets out the important definitions, methods and applications of field research while reinforcing the infinite variability of the human subject and addressing the challenges presented by ethnographers′ own passions, intellectual interests, biases and ideologies.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2010

Reviews

[SpentCello · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Review of the 1st edition]
This is a well-constructed and accessible introduction to conducting ethnographic research. It's laid out in a way that's easy to understand and navigate and would undoubtedly be a good resource for a student beginning their studies in anthropology. There are some holes, in particular, the absence of any discussion around cultural and intellectual property and the interactions ethnography has with issues of appropriation was striking. Back in the world of the early 2010s you would expect this to be largely in terms of copyright, especially with reference to traditional art and songs, however, there is not a single mention of copyright in here, or of the issues an ethnographer could run into when filming/photographing as part of their ethnographic research. This seems to me a major oversight, and is something that was already problematised in the field of anthropology at the time the book was published.

There were other minor weaknesses in the book. I found the reliance on cultural keywords such as 'sensible' and 'common sense' problematic, particularly in terms of how to go about 'being ethnographic'. These concepts are not easy to use cross-culturally and assuming that all students of anthropology at a university level constitute a single cultural group that has a clear shared meaning of 'sensible' or 'common sense' seems naïve and unhelpful. The conclusion of the book also went a bit wayward - this section partly doesn't work anymore due to the way internet use has changed (mailing list ethnography sounds ridiculous nowadays, and using message boards is not much better), but Madden seems to also ignore the entire subdiscipline of biological anthropology, which would certainly provide the missing link between ethnography and ethology that he is looking for.

This touches on my final issue with the book - the lack of breadth in the resources drawn on. I believe it is important, especially in a book aimed at students just beginning to study a discipline, to have as broad a range of referenced material as possible. This gives students springboards to jump off into the various paths that will help them in their various pursuits before they start to develop a more refined specialisation. Madden doesn't really have a particularly wide range of sources and sticks very closely to a certain historically driven kind of ethnographic research. While this helps him give a more clear 'how to' guide on the practice of ethnography, it hinders a well-rounded overview of anthropology and ethnography's place in the discipline.

I'm aware (and hope) that many of the issues I've raised may have been addressed in the second edition of the book, but overall, I found this textbook to be well-thought out and instructional, and I would highly recommend if you've just started anthropology and are somewhat floundering in how to go about doing ethnographic research. However, there are some holes that any ethnographic researcher should certainly be aware of and they should pursue further research to supplement the sources cited in Being Ethnographic.

[Hind Al-Qahtani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Priceless! I fell in love with ethnography after reading this and discussing it in seminars and study groups.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm heading off to my first fieldwork experience in a few weeks and felt incredibly unprepared. I kept asking people What do you actually DO when you get there? Most people said 'No one feels like they know what they're doing!' or 'You'll figure it out when you get there!'. Madden's book gave a clear, theoretically and experientially informed step-by-step introduction to field work and ethnography - from participating /observing and writing field notes to coding and analysis and interpretation. I feel much more comfortable heading out into the field - highly recommend for students and newbies to anthropology/ethnology (basically, me!).

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, simple, overview of ethnographic methods for beginners. It's nice that it is not discipline specific, and refuses a split between anthropology and sociology, though it is clearly anthropological. It contains some great insights, and it's especially helpful that the author uses examples from his own fieldwork to illustrate points. He could have done this even more, particularly in the section on field notes., where examples of jottings and different levels of fieldnotes would have been helpful for beginning students looking for models.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels like a good how to ethnography for non-ethnography students, which is people who are interested or need to learn; useful tips for journalists too, I think.

I read the book to dabble in ethnography in my PhD in interactive documentary storytelling possibilities for behavioural change/learning. I wrote three blog posts about what in his work sticks out to me. Here's one:

http://annlytical.com/phd/2011/2/18/r...

[Julia Gillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

lively introduction to ethnography - personal stories & extracts helped a lot also. many tiny typos!

[Monica Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive overview of ethnographies based on both the field itself and personal experience. Very good overview for those new to ethnographies.