Kyle’s Reviews > On Ethnography: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research > Status Update

The brief history of ethnography in language and literacy studies was similar enough to the history of the East India Trading Company as observed by a tea leaf: some much of what every researcher has already done has its place within the grand scheme. Fortunately, the authors limited their examples to two scenes, British and American, and mention the importance of reflexivity. It seems I have been drafted into ethno.

While there are a bewildering variety of ethnographic styles to choose from, many of the assorted theories that were introduced in my theoretical frameworks class, the authors keep me grounded with the reminder about the juggler's performance: simply a matter of keeping two or more bits in the air while handling one item. The trick comes with transcribing all of it so it makes sense later on, a true act of balancing!

How timely that learning about research questions coincide topically with organic farming, with me reading this chapter on a day usually reserved for a trip to the farmer's market. With so many questions that come up at nearly every stage of research, from proposal to dissertation, it seems very daunting that the ever-present demand to be concise is met with the reply: not enough details. Where do researchers begin?

Once the researchers have got the idea for what to study, the main focus to be constantly curious about is how things happen, leaving aside questions of why for others to pick up on: how is all that they can observe. Much of what has happened before needs to be referenced, and a good ethnographer will find valuable resources. The participants will provide answers to many how questions: how often, how easy and how so?

Hard to believe that this is the first book that Street and Heath both collaborated on, but obviously not their last project. Am glad that I started reading On Ethnography so soon after my first assignment was graded and returned to me. Seems like I was doing a few things right without knowing the technical process of juggling various details of institutional and organizational forces on everyday practices.