ROUGH LECTURE OUTLINE - Spradley: pp 69-91

I. STEP 3 - Making an Ethnographic record (NOTE: I have built on Spradley, so there is added material or some revision of Spradley's explanations) An "ethnographic record" is simply the sum-total of your notes, whether taken from interviews, observations, reflections, or any other source that provides data. The "thicker" (ie, larger) your detail, the easier the writing of the paper. A. Language is our tool. Different types of language can creep into our data (note differences from Spradley's summary): 1) Researcher's language (our paraphrases, our words) 2) "Literature language" (the language of other scholars in the writings we read) 3) Language of the culture (groups or sub-groups in the setting we examine). For example, "biker gangs," "on-line culture;" "bartender culture". NOTE: Some groups may have different "languages in the same setting. For example, a study of prisons might have correctional officers, visitors, or prisoners. Within the group of prisoners, there would be "gang members," "independents," or ethnic and racial language differences. B. Language Identification principle Be aware of whose language you use. Your goal is to obtain the "language" of the participants, but it's very easy to let your own language creep in and replace it. Remember, IT'S THEIR STORY, NOT YOURS!" Note the material on page 73, which illustrates the importance of getting THEIR language ("names of things" are a critical--example: The "native language" gives hints about the culture, so don't replace theirs with yours). Examples: --"Noob" is a type of: newcomer --"Fish" is a type of: newcomer --"Patsy" is a type of newcomer --"Patsy" is a type of: potential prey/victim (note the differences in same words, which require contextual understanding) C. Types of field notes 1) Condensed account (short-hand summaries) 2) Expanded account (elaborate detail) 3) Verbatim accounts (direct from the informants) 4) Field work journal (your "diary") 5) Analysis/interpretation (analytic ideas that come to you) IV. STEP FOUR: Descriptive questions Spradley is self-explanatory, so read it. The key points: A. It's easiest to begin an interview by asking for a description of something: "Can you tell me what a typical day is like as a "computer gamer?" or, "could you describe what you mean by a "noob?" B. Types of descriptive questions 1) Grand tour 2) Mini-tour 3) Example questions 4) Experience questins 5) Native-language questions

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