Naturalistic Observations and Evaluation
Conducting an ethnographic study is a fun way of gathering research about your social environment. You may have done an ethnography before without really being aware of it. In a small way, this assignment recreates what ethnographers do when they visit a new community to conduct research.
Complete the following:
Observation
• Choose a restaurant, library, mall, dining hall, coffee shop, or similar public location. You will visit this location twice.
• Document what occurs at this chosen location:
o Describe the establishment.
o Analyze the interactions between people.
Next, write a paper documenting and analyzing your observations of the location.
Observation Notes
Your observation notes should specifically include the following:
• Name and location of the establishment
• Dates and times you were there
• Place where you stood/sat and when you did your research
• Description of the physical characteristics of the inside and outside of the establishment (e.g. brick or concrete structure, paint color, seating arrangements)
• Number and types of people visiting the establishment while you were there (age, sex, type of clothing, probable occupations, ethnicity, etc.)
• Document interactions such as:
o specific nature of the interactions that take place in the establishment among customers, between customers and staff, and among staff
o types of languages used in the establishment and by whom
o any strange or unusual behavior
Analysis Summary
Include the following in your analysis:
• Comparison of similarities and differences of this establishment and other similar establishments you know about
• Nature of the treatment of customers in the establishment
• Relationships between customers and workers
• Any behavior that surprised you or was contrary to your expectations
• How it felt to do the research
• Most difficult aspects of the research
• What you found most interesting about the research.