How do I Make an Ethnographic Paper?

Ethnography is the study of ethnic groups and the cultures they create. Writing a paper on this subject can be a challenge, but with patience and the right method, it can be done. The basic ingredients to writing on ethnography are objectivity, clarity and specialization. Since ethnography often counsels students and writers to immerse themselves in a specific culture (including living among the people being studied), a high level of focus and specialization is necessary to make this work. In fact, this sort of immersion can lead to the objectivity and clarity that marks good ethnographic writing.

Instructions

1. Narrow down your frame of reference to develop an interesting and focused question. A tightly focused question frames the research project and creates a context that makes sense out of all the data. A bad example of this is: “A Study of Ukrainians in Cleveland.” This is too broad. A good example is: “Orthodox Ukrainians in Cleveland: the Celebration of Christmas.” This latter question is focused and narrows down research to an easily understandable topic. (Reference 1)

2. Collect all relevant data before coming to any conclusions. Once the basic question is asked, data must be collected. Using our example, this is researching Ukrainian religious history and the basic theology of the Nativity. Traveling to Ohio at Christmas time is a necessity, since real objective data should come from firsthand experience. One would then attend the Christmas service and interview many of the Ukrainians in the many Orthodox churches in that area. The general concept here is to use field research, library research and interviews (wherever possible or feasible) to get a strong, firsthand sense of the nature of the ethnic group, culture or way of life under study.

3. Draw out a thesis statement and general argument from the data collected. You are dealing with a specific culture in a specific context. Make sure that both of these forces are accounted for in your work. The data need to point somewhere. Examples could be things like Christmas as “new life” in a culture that has suffered intense persecution in the USSR. Since Orthodoxy (especially Ukrainian Orthodoxy) was banned in the USSR, the celebration of holidays of a religious nature became intense and powerful. Since our example is a persecuted people living in exile, these variables should be stressed and filled in with relevant interview and observational data. (Reference 2)

4. Remember context. Given the question, data, thesis and argument, context brings it all together. Cultures and ways of life exist for specific reasons and are affected by the place in which the cultures come to flourish, or are transplanted. The context of an exile community in a land that knows little of Eastern Europe must be an important variable in research. The thesis and argument then (which will make up the bulk of your paper) must take the data into account, but this data both affects and is affected by the context in which it is expressed. (Reference 3)

References

• University of Pennsylvania: Guiding Questions in Ethnography
• University of Pennsylvania: Developing a Thesis and Argument
• University of Pennsylvania: Theoretical Context

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish