What ethnographic research methods do Information Studies professionals use to explore and understand how individuals make meaning from their lives and the communities to which they belong? How does fieldwork unfold and what ethical quandaries and complexities do ethnographers confront during the course of their research? This course serves as an introduction to ethnographic research methods, achieved through reading, discussion, workshopping, and practical engagement in fieldwork. Students will gain insight into how ethnographers conceive and structure their research endeavors, engage in participant observation within their chosen communities (including digital spaces), compile fieldnotes, prepare for and conduct interviews, and experiment with multimedia tools to analyze their data. During the quarter, we will discuss ethical and socio-political issues that ethnographers wrestle with as they immerse themselves in field research. This will encompass considerations of accountability, responsibility, and reciprocity, alongside the predicaments that emerge due to factors such as gender, race, class, and other potential inequities within social structures.
