Abstract
Selected essays from the Contexts forum on ethnographic best practices explore the practice of ethnographic “masking,” IRBs and legal counsel, and gaining access to vulnerable populations.
Ethnographies are works of deep research based on in-depth, open-ended interviews and keen observations of how people go about their lives in different contexts. Researchers often spend years in their research sites to get to know the people and places they study in a way that can’t be done using other methods. Ethnographies are arguably the most visible and relatable research products sociologists have to offer the general public. They tell stories about our social world backed up by rigorously gathered data. That’s pretty cool. … While ethnographers are very much expert in their research domains, their work is increasingly subject to public scrutiny. It is important for sociologists to develop and maintain professional standards that allow them to conduct the best research without compromising quality in the face of potential criticism and controversy. Recent conversations about the practice of ethnography have been spurred by the responses—public and academic—to high-profile books in the past few years. But that is just the current manifestation of an evolving dialogue about the best ways to do ethnographic work. A number of important issues have featured in this conversation: data preservation and sharing, replicability and confidentiality, peer review, and funding and research support, for a start. … At the suggestion of the American Sociological Association’s Council, Contexts organized a special forum with some of the top practitioners in the field. Here you’ll find three of the six papers we received; all six are available at contexts.org. … Taken together, we shouldn’t—and cannot—consider these a blueprint for criticism-free research or a set of “how-to” papers. But it’s close. So read, learn, enjoy, and, if you’re an ethnographer, go forth and do your thing!