The principles of ethnography are explained and placed within the domain of social research. Qualitative research in communication is evaluated in terms of the role of interpretation in science, the balance of subjectivity and objectivity in social research, and beliefs about science in American culture. (Author/JDD)

Explores communication ethnographically in six text-based virtual realities through four items of jargon: spoof, spam, lurk, and lag. Suggests that articulated aesthetics serve as rules for proper behavior, markers of experience and belonging, metaphors for poetic expression, and resources for play and challenge within the community. (RS)

Responds to contentions that accommodation media ethnographies are incapable of addressing matters of ideology or significant social-historical variables. Explores the theoretical sources to which many accommodation ethnographers turn, sources which suggest that the theoretical bases of accommodation approaches make provisions for studying…

Reports on an ethnographic study of part-time teller assimilation in a large branch banking organization. States that although strict adherence to rules was advocated, there were contradictions between policy and reality that were never resolved. Finds that contradictory assimilation messages interfered with newcomers' developing feelings of…

Addresses trends in ethnographic studies of media audiences. Asserts that, although rethinking of ethnography is necessary, it has the potential to paralyze research and continue building an abstract theoretical narcissism. States that the future of cultural audience studies lies with attempts to improve ethnographic practice. Argues that feminist…

This analysis examines integration of people with developmental disabilities in terms of an ethnography which contrasts an old narrative based on segregation and a confined form of space and time with a new narrative of interdependence achieved through a cyclical form of space and time. This new narrative requires the accommodation of differences…

This article describes communicative norms associated with two clinical discourse styles (adult centered and child centered) and explores the ethnographic concepts of thick description and indefinite triangulation in utterance interpretations. Clinicians are urged to evaluate client utterances from multiple communicative perspectives. (DB)

Examines literacy construction and use in four subcontexts in a preschool classroom. Sees a reciprocal dynamic between the patterned life of each subcontext and the patterns of literacy accomplished there. Notes that teachers and students have their own reasons and purposes for invoking literacy as a social tool. (RS)

Asserts that behind the issues of reliability and validity and ethnographic storytelling lurk the definitions of ethnography. Discusses ethnography's position in writing research and the author's problems with reconciling ethnographic research with positivistic methods. (PRA)

Adult educators should identify their perspective on diversity: deficit/assimilation, multicultural, or empowerment. Ways to explore culture in practice include (1) exploring meanings of cultural phenomena; (2) avoiding generalizations; (3) using ethnographic techniques and participatory approaches; and (4) developing code-switching abilities. (SK)

Discusses the nature of ethnographic work, particularly in relation to the study of deafness. The kinds of information presented in ethnographies is explored, as are ethnography's limitations. Problems of and strategies for doing ethnographic research and writing ethnographies about deaf communities are explored. (20 references) (JL)

Reviews the contributions of G. Spindler and L. Spindler to anthropology in "The American Cultural Dialogue and Its Transmission" (Falmer Press, 1990), "Interpretive Ethnography and Education: At Home and Abroad" (Lawrence Erlbaum, 1987), and "Education and Cultural Process: Anthropological Approaches" (Waveland…

Elaborates on two major aspects of the author's research: the significance of heritage museums as contemporary ideological and performative sites; and the fruitfulness of a "dialogic narration" perspective for the study of sites of cultural representations. Concludes with a brief discussion of the potential role of ethnographic fieldwork. (RS)

Melanesian bigmanship is recounted as an anthropological metaphor for entrepreneurship. Demonstrates conceptual uses of ethnographies for developing grounded theory and methodological implications of ethnographies. (125 references) (MLF)

Discusses the processes involved in a field study of technological change in radiology and how researchers can design a qualitative study and then collect data in a systematic and explicit manner. Illustrates the social and human problems of gaining entry into a research site, constructing a research role, and managing relationships. (63…