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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Ethnographic research has been described as inductive. What does that mean?
2. Is generalization a goal of ethnographic research?
3. How is participatory design similar to ethnographic research? How is it different?
4. What are three potential challenges in finding a group to study?

5. What are the four most common settings for doing ethnographic research in
human-computer interaction?
6. Participating in a group implies changing it. In the most obvious sense, the
group has one more member after the ethnographer joins it. More subtly, the
addition of a new member might alter the dynamics of communication and
interaction between group members. How does the role that the ethnographer
plays influence the extent of the changes that his presence might bring? Can
you suggest any approaches that ethnographers might use to minimize the
impact of their presence upon groups being studied?

7. Some people might think that the ultimate form of participant research would
be to conduct an ethnographic study of a group of which one was already a
member. For researchers, this might mean studying research groups, academic
departments, corporate teams, or professional societies. What concerns would
you have about the appropriateness and validity of such research?
8. Go back and reread the Researching Online Dating sidebar. How could
ethnographic methods be used in researching online dating communities? How
could you study the community in a way that is both ethical and did not greatly
influence how people would act towards you?

9. Workplace ethnographies present specific challenges in navigating the often
complicated interactions between employees at differing levels of authority
and responsibility. If you are hired by management, workers may feel that they
have nothing to gain by participating in your study, and potentially a great deal
to lose, in terms of job security or responsibility. To make matters worse, you
may not know all of the motivations behind the study: management might, in
fact, be hoping to use the results of your work to build systems that change how
work is done. Finally, you may be given an initial goal and problem description
that is too narrow or inappropriately focused. Given all of these challenges,
what strategies might you use to work with both employees and management
to build the trust and participation necessary for conducting a methodologically
sound study?
10. Working closely with research participants raises questions of trust regarding
material that should or should not be included in a study. Particularly when
working closely with an individual in a home or workplace setting, you may