Ethnography
Ethnography is the study of people as well as their culture, geography and societies. At its heart it consists of a researcher immersing him or her self in the culture for prolonged periods of time. Information about the people and their culture can then be observed and documented from the inside. Sometimes this research may take years to complete.
The Wikipedia article over Ethnography unfortunately came across as a little to technical and dull for my tastes. It did however contain a large amount of useful information about ethnography and how ethnographic studies need to be carried out to be successful. It is critically important that all methods used to gather data in a study are carried out without disruptions to the natural culture and practices of those being researched. It's also important to document any information gathered during the research to later be used in the evaluation of the field study. In order for an ethnographic study to be evaluated to be successful it must meet five metrics: substantive contribution, aesthetic merit, relativity, impact, and if it expresses the reality of those being studied. The article also addresses the common difficulties faced by ethnographers. Since they are in a culture that is not native to them and they are aiming to gather information from those around them, it is unnecessary for them to live out a small lie. This can cause a great deal of difficulty during the course of the case study. Most ethnographers display at least one of the "classic virtues" which will cause trouble later in the research. These include presenting themselves to be nicer than they actually are, working under the assumption that they can not dislike anyone, and presenting the people being studied with the research goal. Each of these causes far more trouble than it aids the researcher.
Of all the articles read, the Wikipedia entry over Coming of Age in Somalia was by far my favorite. It provided an accurate real life example of what an ethnographic study should consist of. Mead gained the trust of the girls she was interested in studying by joining them in their village. It also granted her the ability to observe first hand the everyday cultures and traditions that differed greatly from the cultural norms in America at the time. She relied heavily on interview, daily observations, and journals(and a translator) to gather her information. The importance of her methods was made more apparent through Freeman's later attacks on her work after her death. Even though his intent was to tear down everything she had done, his attack forced the scientific community to closely study her methods and ultimately determine that she had been telling the truth. Personally, I think Freeman was just hoping to gain a little recognition by discrediting someone that was unable to defend their arguments. In hindsight it seems obvious that Freeman would not be able to get as truthful of a reaction out of the Somalian girls as Mead did. His research was decades later, and even if they where still willing to provide truthful information, most peoples' recollection is not that good. There is also the fact that he was an elderly gentleman while she was a girl near in age to the Somalians that were being interviewed. My largest complaint about the article was that it spent much more time discussing Freeman's attacks on Mead than it did discussing exactly what it was that Mead had done to gather her research.
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