Ethnography
Ethnography is “the art and science of describing a group or culture” (Fetterman, 1998). A central tenet of ethnography is the idea of naturalism: social events and processes are examined and explained in terms of their relationship to the natural environment in which they occur. A second distinction of ethnography is captured in the German term verstehen; meaning, the researcher aims for a sympathetic understanding of phenomena from the perspective of its participants. I was trained in ethnography at UCLA's Department of Sociology by Jack Katz and the late Melvin Pollner.
Specifically, I practice scientific ethnography (Sandstrom & Sandstrom, 1995) which illuminates the human experience through qualitative field methods (i.e. participant observation, interviewing); and captures the features of information artifacts and environments through objective measures (i.e. inventories, surveys, bibliometrics). The dual character of scientific ethnography is ideal for examining everyday life holistically as both a lived experience and a setting that manifests a great variety of fascinating information artifacts and practices.
Specifically, I practice scientific ethnography (Sandstrom & Sandstrom, 1995) which illuminates the human experience through qualitative field methods (i.e. participant observation, interviewing); and captures the features of information artifacts and environments through objective measures (i.e. inventories, surveys, bibliometrics). The dual character of scientific ethnography is ideal for examining everyday life holistically as both a lived experience and a setting that manifests a great variety of fascinating information artifacts and practices.
Visual (photographic) Research
I have found visual, photographic methods to be especially effective to study information in context. The tradition of visual research in the social sciences holds that “images can be used to capture the ineffable, the hard-to-put-into words...images can make us pay attention to things in new ways...images can be used to communicate more holistically, incorporating multiple layers, and evoking stories or questions” (Weber, 2008, pp. 44-45). In my dissertation research, I photographed the culinary information collections in the homes of gourmet cooks. An article, co-authored with former student Leslie Thomson, "Visual Approaches and Photography for the Study of Immediate Information Space" appears in JASIS&T.
Teaching Ethnography and visual research methods
At the Faculty of Information, I teach ethnography and visual research methods to information professionals in the courses INF2330: Information Ethnography and INF2332: Information Behaviour, and I have offered training in photographic data gathering methods in the workshop Snap Happy Research at the 2006 Connections conference in Syracuse, New York.
Arts-informed, visual methods and the draw-and-write technique
I have been experimenting with arts-informed approaches. Arts-informed methodology is "the creative meshing of scholarly and artistic endeavors" (Cole& Knowles, 2008, p. 65). It combines the systematic and rigorous qualities of conventional qualitative methodologies with the artistic and imaginative features of the arts. Pablo Picasso reflects the crossroads in the quip, “I never made a painting as a work of art, it’s all research." See my iSquare research program website as an example.
Related Work
Hartel, J. (2013). New views of information. Alternative event at the Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science (panel convener). (Copenhagen, DK, August 19-22, 2013). [PDF] [webpage on the study] [exhibit ]
Hartel, J., & Thomson, L. (2011). Visual approaches and photography for the study of immediate information space. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(11), 2214-2224. [abstract] [PDF]
Hartel, J. (2011). Understanding information technology in the home via photographs: A detailed analysis of Swan and Taylor. International Visual Methods Conference, Milton Keynes, UK.
Hartel, J. (2011). Introductory note to the special issue on ethnography. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 3(2), 4-6. [Table of Contents]
Hartel, J. (2009). Introducing the information experience in context. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 2(1).
Hartel, J. (2006). A visual approach to the study of home libraries. ALISE Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. (conference presentation).
Hartel, J. (2006). Snap happy research: Conducting a photographic inventory of information space (workshop convener). Connections Conference, Syracuse, NY.
Hartel, J., & Thomson, L. (2011). Visual approaches and photography for the study of immediate information space. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(11), 2214-2224. [abstract] [PDF]
Hartel, J. (2011). Understanding information technology in the home via photographs: A detailed analysis of Swan and Taylor. International Visual Methods Conference, Milton Keynes, UK.
Hartel, J. (2011). Introductory note to the special issue on ethnography. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 3(2), 4-6. [Table of Contents]
Hartel, J. (2009). Introducing the information experience in context. Faculty of Information Quarterly, 2(1).
Hartel, J. (2006). A visual approach to the study of home libraries. ALISE Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. (conference presentation).
Hartel, J. (2006). Snap happy research: Conducting a photographic inventory of information space (workshop convener). Connections Conference, Syracuse, NY.
References
Fetterman, D. M. (1989). Ethnography step by step. Newbury Park: Sage.
Sandstrom, A. R., & Sandstrom, P. E. (1995). The use and misuse of anthropological methods in library and information science research. Library Quarterly, 65(2), 161-199.
Weber, S. (2008). Visual images in research. In J. G. Knowles and A. L Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 44-45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sandstrom, A. R., & Sandstrom, P. E. (1995). The use and misuse of anthropological methods in library and information science research. Library Quarterly, 65(2), 161-199.
Weber, S. (2008). Visual images in research. In J. G. Knowles and A. L Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 44-45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.