ethnography
ethnography A term usually applied to the acts both of observing directly the behaviour of a social group and producing a written description thereof. Sometimes also referred to as fieldwork, the term is most commonly linked with the research techniques of social anthropology, although sociologists involved in a community study would certainly do fieldwork, as might those doing almost any form of case-study. The principal technique of ethnographic research is participant observation. A classic example is William Foote Whyte's study of the social structure of an Italian slum district in an American city (Street Corner Society, 1943). Subsequently, Whyte also wrote a fine piece of descriptive methodology, reflecting on his ethnographic work (Learning from the Field: A Guide from Experience, 1984).
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ethnography