Shows how archaeological interpretation based strictly on the evidence of architectural remains may lead to inaccurate conclusions about social patterns in extinct societies. An ethnographic study of an Iranian Kurdish village is used to illustrate the possible variations of residential social relationships within buildings with similar…

Argues that archaeologists should not assume a one-to-one correlation between the number of houses and households. A case study of a contemporary Iranian village is presented where most households do not live in self-contained dwelling units. Methods of recognizing this fragmented household pattern in the archaeological record are discussed. (AM)

Ascribes difficulties associated with the use of ethnography in educational research to faulty or partial transmission of traits from one sociocultural system to another. Maintains that the appropriate use of ethnography demands that the whole trait complex be borrowed. Describes educational studies that used ethnographic methods. (Author/MJL)

Implications of controlled studies for health professions education are explored. An alternative research strategy is proposed, in which descriptive account of a situation allowing the important factors to become apparent throughout the observation is emphasized. This facilitates an hypothesis-generation strategy. (GK)

Suggests that teachers can observe and research the processes of cultural transmission occurring in the classroom, and that their descriptions of "what is" can serve as a real-life database for the decisions of curriculum planners, present models for future study and evaluation, and illuminate questions of educational significance. (JD)

Describes ethnography as a form of research that allows the researcher to be part of daily events within the school setting. This form of research combines the objectivity of an outsider with the sensitivity necessary for understanding settings in which information is exchanged. (KC)

The ways in which the social scientist approaches field work and ethnographic research have consequences for the final results of the investigation. (ST)

Data reported here were gathered in three educational research settings (a single school, a school district, and a research center/school district team). Described are perceptions of subjects of ethnographic observation (teachers, administrators, and program coordinators) regarding ethnographic techniques, the roles of ethnographers, and their own…

Discusses the tendency to formalize qualitative research methodologies in order to clarify basic issues inherent in contemplating ethnographic research. Presents a critique of social phenomenological positions in educational research and suggests two alternative qualitative approaches, one conceived by A.W. Imershein and the other by J.W. Knight.…

A Chicana ethnographer working in a Latino community describes her multiple identities and ways that she as a "native" researcher was co-opted by the dominant culture. She challenges researchers from dominant, as well as marginalized cultures, to recognize their own complicity and form new identities as citizens-scholars-activists rooted…

Quantitative methods such as logical positivism often view nondominant groups as deviant and purport to be objective. Qualitative methods such as ethnography help educational gerontologists understand diverse elderly populations and allow elders to participate in the process of defining reality and producing knowledge. (SK)

Describes a project that required graduate nursing students to conduct qualitative meta-synthesis of ethnographic research, using Noblit and Hare's approach. Discusses the process of meta-synthesis, interpretation of outcomes, and students' reactions to the project. (Contains 16 references.) (SK)

Qualitatively analyzes the stories that 23 preadolescent foster children told about their lives. An ecological framework in conjunction with the social constructionist understanding of stories guided the ethnographic semistructured interviews. These stories contained both common and unique features and provided insight into the lives of foster…

Describes the variety of literacies demonstrated among a group of "thru-hikers" walking the length of the Appalachian Trail. Explains ethnographic field notes, archival data, and interviews showed the presence of multiliteracies and the use of "ecological literacy," the ability to interpret the natural surroundings. Provides suggestions for…

Research anthropologists are using experimental ethnographic writing to reveal the kinds of hidden agenda that both researchers and informants bring to anthropological field work, questioning what constitutes truth in an ethnographic account. (MSE)