That branch of knowledge which has for its subject the characteristics of the human family, developing the details with which ethnology as a comparative science deals; descriptive ethnology
A descriptive, qualitative market research methodology for studying the customer in relation to his or her environment Researchers spend time in the field observing customers and their environment to acquire a deep understanding of the lifestyles or cultures as a basis for better understanding their needs and problems (See customer site visits)
'The study of people in their natural settings; a descriptive account of social life and culture in a defined social system, based on qualitative methods (eg detailed observations, unstructured interviews, analysis of documents)' - Bowling (1997)
Ethnography is the branch of anthropology in which different cultures are studied and described. the scientific description of different races of people. Descriptive study of a particular human society. Contemporary ethnography is based almost entirely on fieldwork. The ethnographer lives among the people who are the subject of study for a year or more, learning the local language and participating in everyday life while striving to maintain a degree of objective detachment. He or she usually cultivates close relationships with "informants" who can provide specific information on aspects of cultural life. While detailed written notes are the mainstay of fieldwork, ethnographers may also use tape recorders, cameras, or video recorders. Contemporary ethnographies have both influenced and been influenced by literary theory. See also Bronisaw Malinowski; cultural anthropology
The study of people in their natural settings; a descriptive account of social life and culture in a defined social system, based on qualitative methods (e g detailed observations, unstructured interviews, analysis of documents) This method is used by anthropologists in studies of 'non-western' cultures and ethnographers for studies of sub-cultures within western societies (eg drug cultures, soccer hooligans, sex workers etc) and its institutions (eg the Police) There is much debate concerning the use of covert and overt methods here
(1) "the task of describing a culture from the perspective of the people for whom it is a way of life" (McConnell 2000, 325); (2) "a methodology that looks for significant patterns of behavior in social contexts and seeks to interpret them according to the insider's perspective" (Davis 2000, 326); (3) a manuscript describing the results of ethnographic research
A form of anthropology where a variety of anthropological practices and field research techniques are used to study people in their daily lives and activities
an approach to analyzing users' needs involving in-depth study of users, their practices, and their artifacts, in the context of their existing work environment
The study of mankind and human races Ethnographic parallels with primitive modern societies, such as San & Kalahari bushmen, Australian aborigines, the Hadza of Tanzania, and the Inuit, have suggested many ways of interpreting and extrapolating prehistoric evidence
a written description of a culture based on anthropological field work; usually the anthropologist lives with the people for a period of time in order to observe the culture in action