Using Ethnographic Methods in the LibraryQUALITATIVE METHODS IN THE LIBRARY, PART 2JANUARY 2017

CELIA EMMELHAINZ – ANTHROPOLOGY LIBRARIAN – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY

Image: contextualresearch.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/the-ethnographic-research-cycle.png

Stages of qualitative research: Develop an anthropological questionLit review and conversations for focusChoose a methodChoose a sampling strategyCollect data ethicallyAnalyze data by coding for themesShare results and apply in your communities

Isaacs (2014) “An Overview of Qualitative Research Methodology for Public Health Researchers,” p. 318-21

Methodological frameworksPhenomenology: how do humans make meaning?

Ethnography: what’s going on in this setting or culture?

Institutional Ethnography: how do people act in organizations?

Grounded Theory: how can I build insight from data?

Discourse Analysis: what do people do with language?

Methods: getting into their world

Physical / online trace ethnography

Trace ethnography of the Grove City Public Library, Ohio; images by Celia Emmellhainz.

Digital observation

(Image from Judi Briden, “Photo Surveys,” (p. 40-47), in Foster & Gibbons 2007, Studying Students)

Patron diaries (photo, audio, video, text)

(Image: Donna Lanclos, http://www.donnalanclos.com/?p=21 )

Cognitive mapping

Exercise 1: Mapping

Draw a map of your day across campus or your library.

(five minutes)

Focus groups

Interviews

(Image of fieldnotes: Dunne 2016, dx.doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2016.1168747; image of librarians by Celia Emmelhainz)

Participant observation (fieldnotes)

2: Surprise! Participant Observation / Recall

Write several spatial or social dynamics you’ve observed in this

workshop so far.

(five minutes)

Oral history and narratives

Pile sorts

Image: www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2014/12/revisiting-the-pile-sort-method-of-user-research.php)

Social network or relational charts

Document / ephemera analysis

Exercise 3: Methods

Write one or two methods that stand out as useful for your research

question.

(three minutes)

Ideas for samplingConvenience: who can I get easily? Snowball sampling: unlisted or hard to reach peopleHomogenous: shared characteristics in depthDeviant: focus on the extremesMaximum variation: diversity of viewsQuota sampling: sample from a known populationTheoretical sampling: select to answer questions well

Exercise 4: Sampling

Write down a sampling strategy that may work for your research.

(two minutes)

Questions & Feedback