Workshop Facilitator: Tom Thurnell-Read

Ethnography is increasingly used as a research tool to provide a reliable evidence base and to inform policy and interventions in diverse disciplines (e.g. education, social sciences, medicine and health), as well as in professional settings. The approach has been adapted, developed and amended in creative ways in response to such demands and to wider social and technological change. This 2-day intensive course is specifically designed to: 1) address the many complex advances in contemporary ethnographic techniques and approaches, and 2) to consider the diverse issues around the application of ethnography to real-world problems and solutions.

The course is suitable for those who wish to take the approach and techniques forward in flexible ways for application to ‘real-world’ scenarios and applied research. It is also designed for those who wish to communicate their ethnographic research findings using non-traditional forms of technology such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs, to ensure they are confident to do so in an ethically sensitive and reflexive manner. The above aspects are unpacked via not just traditional ‘on the ground’ ethnography, but also via consideration of innovative and adaptive ethnographic methods that take the methods forward in finding ways to address atypical ethnographic encounters and specific challenges.

Indicative course content:

The application of ethnographic research in a range of settings and interdisciplinary contexts, including communities, public and private sector, and in informing policy and interventions.

• Methodological advances in contemporary ethnography: the role of reflexivity in the practice of applied ethnographic research; specific ethical issues encountered in innovative and flexible forms of ethnography; engaging participants; and the analysis of context and environment.
• Innovations in ethnography such as:creative techniques in the digital age, including virtual, visual, and arts-based approaches; techniques for dealing with atypical ethnographic encounters; innovative and specialist techniques for addressing specific challenges (e.g. short-term, focused research and applied ethnography).
• Achieving impact through ethnographic research: liaising with and understanding end-users, the way they work, and the various challenges they face in using ethnography; meeting deadlines; and producing theoretical and empirical reports to inform interventions; the wider context (the debates around impact agenda, changes to REF, and public ethnography).
• Practical sessions on communicating ethnography to diverse audiences and adapting ethnography for specific challenges.

For further information, please contact Denise Wade