What is ethnography?

Ethnography is a scientific study of human social phenomena and communities through means such as field work. It is considered a branch of cultural anthropology, a branch of anthropology, which focuses on the study of human societies. Some people use interchangeably "ethnography" and "cultural anthropology", although cultural anthropology includes more research techniques than ethnography. While trying to maintain objectivity, ethnographer lives everyday life between people and works with informants who are particularly informed or well placed to collect information. This field work may take a longer period of time; Usually more than a year and sometimes much longer.

At the end of the field of work, ethnographer writes about his experience. This writing includes a catalog of everyday life of discussions about rituals, phenomena and assortment of other events. Many people who work in ethnography integrate more disciplines; Using biology, for example, to analyze available food supplies or geologie to study the terrain and the environment.

While many people visualize ethnography as a study field about "other" people, such as dark indigenous tribes in the South Pacific, ethnographers also work in environments that can quite well known. For example, someone may decide to live between gangsters in the inner city or ethnographer can follow the nudist colony in the wilderness of northern California. Ethnography is about studying the whole human experience, from nomadic tribes in Asia to rich mothers from Slope Park.

The area of ​​ethnography is a very important part of cultural anthropology, because many anthropologists in their work use other people in the field of other people. It can also provide traces to trends in human society and ethnographers can be found in some surprising places. For example, many advertising agencies use ethnography in their work to ensure that ads are effectively focusedy on the desired population.

People who are interested in watching ethnography as a career should start by studying cultural anthropology. If possible, they should take advantage of the off -road opportunities when they appear at school to see if ethnography is something they enjoy. A good ethnographer is able to calculate statistics, quickly pick up new languages ​​and immediately assess a number of situations. Above all, ethnography about observation and cataloging and written communication skills is a strong benefit for someone who is interested in this academic field.