Ethnographic Out-of-Class Observation Exercise

Ethnographic Out-of-Class Observation Exercise
Objectives: Through this exercise students should

• Have a chance to practice their observation skill
• Develop practice with head notes, scratch notes, and field notes
• Demonstrate abilities at creatively describing the scene through field notes
• Demonstrate the ability to create tentative conclusions and possible directions for research from a brief observation

Details: To accomplish this exercise, students should:

• Choose a site for observing for approximately 1 hour (not less than ½ hour). This should be consistent observation—that is, if you are going to observe at a restaurant, the observation should not be while you are eating (especially with another person). You want to really be able to observe. Previous sites have included things such as:
  • Sports Bar (strangers interacting in Sports Bar)
  • Restaurant/coffee shop
  • Sports event
  • Bowling Alley
  • Concert/movie line or event itself
  • Work site (not your area)
• Choose a site where you can observe rather unobtrusively. You don’t want people walking up to your table and asking why you’re staring at them or anything. Until you have better training and practice observing, you probably want a site where you can take scratch notes (not just head notes).
• You may “participate” in the scene—even ask “ethnographic questions.” It is best to be open and not covert.
• Your field notes should be in paragraphs, single spaced with blank lines b/t paragraphs. I would expect 7 paragraphs of notes only on 3 pages.
• Try to include more than just the visual sense.
• Be sure to separate observations from interpretations as you write!
• Your write up should summarize the event, tell what you learned (both about observing and about the field/scene/site in question) and suggests potential directions for research.