Ethnography: Your Guide to Doing it Right

By Gavin Johnston, Chief Anthropologist

Introduction

Over the past decade, ethnography has been embraced by the business community. But the term "ethnography" has been used fairly loosely and expectations about the work and final outcomes vary as much as the people calling themselves ethnographers. Many researchers who feel at ease interviewing people in a "natural" setting claim to be doing ethnography but this is often not the case. Trained ethnographers do more than talk with people--they rely on a set of analytical tools that take experience and specialized training. Before deciding to use an ethnographic approach to answer your research question, it is imperative to know what to expect from a provider.

What Can Marketers Borrow From the Anthropologist's Toolbox?
by Paula Gray, AIPMM

Anthropology's toolbox can offer much to assist business practices, especially marketing. Anthropology answers the question of what it means to be human. It is the scientific study of humankind, human origins and human variation, wherever and whenever humans have been found. This can include humans in shopping malls, boardrooms and offices. What marketers can do is to use anthropological methodologies to help inform business activities, tasks, and decisions because customers are humans, too.

What is Ethnography?
by Paula Gray, AIPMM

In order to properly define ethnography we must look at what it is not. It is not the process of one person armed with a video camera and a microphone, interviewing customers as they shop. Nor is it a group of observers watching a sampling of individuals use a piece of equipment in a focus group setting. While these methods of gaining information are valuable, they do not constitute the whole of ethnography. Ethnography is the research process by which anthropologists observe and study human behavior in context. It is gaining more popularity as companies use the process to learn about their customers, inform their design of products and marketing programs.