Ethnographic survey and its methods

An ethnographic survey is a qualitative study in which the researcher lives with or closely observes a community to understand its culture, beliefs, social structure, livelihood and problems from the people's own point of view. It answers "how and why people live and think the way they do", which numbers alone cannot show.

Key ethnographic approaches and methods

1. Participant observation – the researcher stays in the village, takes part in daily work, festivals and meetings, and records what people actually do (not only what they say).
2. Key informant interview – long, open talks with knowledgeable people such as elders, teachers, health workers, ward members and local healers.
3. In-depth / semi-structured interview – a checklist of topics is used, but the talk is flexible so that new issues can come up.
4. Focus group discussion (FGD) – 6–12 people of similar background (e.g. women farmers) discuss one topic guided by a facilitator.
5. Case study and life history – detailed story of one household or person, e.g. a migrant worker's family, to show causes and effects.
6. Participatory (PRA) tools – resource mapping, social mapping, transect walk, seasonal calendar, wealth ranking, Venn diagram, time line; people draw and rank things themselves.
7. Field notes, photographs and documents – diaries, sketches, local records and audio/video kept for later analysis.

Suitability to collect data and information

Overall suitability: ethnographic methods are most suitable when the aim is to understand culture, social relations, gender roles, traditional knowledge and real needs before planning a project (e.g. a drinking-water or road scheme). They give rich, trustworthy and context-specific information and build rapport with the community. They are less suitable when quick, statistically representative numbers are needed; then they should be combined with a structured questionnaire survey (triangulation).