Hours |
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Main Library | 7:30am – 2:00am |
Circulation Desk | 7:30am – 2:00am |
Digital Humanities Lab | 7:30am – 2:00am |
Interlibrary Loan Office | 8:00am – 5:00pm |
Reference Desk | 9:00am – 10:00pm |
“Ethnography literally means ‘a portrait of a people’. Ethnography is a written description of a particular culture – the customs, beliefs, and behavior – based on information collected through fieldwork.” –Marvin Harris and Orna Johnson, 2000.
For this Teaching Circle, we will be exploring the use of Qualitative research methods, particularly ethnographic methods, in Library Science research.
Read "Chapter 3: Ethnographic research practices in library settings" from Qualitative Research and the Modern Library. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/lib/ugalib/reader.action?docID=1583645&ppg=62 or http://proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=679484&site=ehost-live
Ethnographic Methods belong to the traditions of Qualitative research which seek to understand a group. Ethnographic methods include the observation of people in their natural setting for an extended period of time. In-depth interviews are used to clarify observations. An ethnography is both a process and a product, a result of close observation, reading, and interpretation of the studied group. Ethnographic researchers (also known as "participant observers") work “in the field,” in the culture which they are studying. The activities they conduct are also often called fieldwork. Ethnographic research usually involves observing the studied group in their natural setting, rather than in the artificial setting of a laboratory or focus group. The aim is to gather insight into how people live; what they do; how they use things; or what they need in their everyday lives without interfering.
How would knowing this type of information about our users help with the Libraries' mission?
Data collection comes from the immersion of participant observer (researcher) inside the site of research, within the group being studied. This is achieved through:
The steps of Ethnographic Research include: