Ethnography

Doing Research in Fashion and Dress:

An Introduction to Qualitative Methods

Ethnography

In this chapter, Yuniya Kawamura discusses the history and understanding of the research method, Ethnography. She takes the reader thru the process of ethnography by addressing Joanna Eicher’s ethnographical studies on Nigerian beads and beadmakers (1998), Dalby’s work on Japanese kimono (1998), Tarlo’s study in a Gujarati village (1996), and Hodkinson’s study on the Goth subculture in the United Kingdom (2002). Kawamura concludes that ethnography “is a process that attempts to descibe and interpret social expressions between people and groups. We examine the context and nature of the interactions between them.”

“While ethnography is practiced by cultural anthropologists as well as sociologits, sociologists differ on the conceptual meaning of ethnography and its application. In an attempt to differentiate this style of research from anthropological ethnography, many sociologists have called their ethnography “street ethnography” or “urban ethnography. The direct observation of the activity of members of a particular social group, and the description and evaluation of such activity, constitute ethnography.” (48)

“An ethnographer is an objective observer while placing himself or her among the insiders. Physically, he or she is in, but emotionally, he or she is detached, but that separation in one’s mind is sometimes difficult to maintain because mind and body are connected as one.” (54)

What about an individuals privacy when being observed in public spaces?