Doing Ethnographic Research. Kimberly Kirner

Doing Ethnographic Research

alt="A figure shows an example of a mind map for “religion and environment.”"/>Description

Figure 1.3 Mind Map for Religion and Environment

Your Mind Map

Activity 1.7: Finding a Topic: Your Research Project

Background: Building on Activity 1.6, it’s time to select a topic for your own research and begin to shape your research questions. So how to select a topic? In Activity 1.6, you started with your interests but also tried to be realistic about your resources. You needed to acknowledge that, as a student, your resources are pretty slim. The goal of an undergraduate or master’s-level thesis (even a dissertation) is to finish. Always remember that. What makes your project research is that you connect it to a purpose—theoretically and/or in application—and that you put in the hard work to plug in your small project to the bigger questions and paradigms of social science.

This activity will help you select a feasible research question, suitable for a senior-level undergraduate or master’s-level project, and identify potential merits of a research topic for other scholars (advancing the discipline) and for the public good (advancing societal benefit).

Problem 1.7a

Instructions

Start with your research interest and generate a research question related to this interest in the first box in Step 1 of the Research Interest Graphic Organizer (at the end of the chapter). Then, independently or in small groups of three to four, respond to each prompt in Steps 2 through 10, pausing to ask yourself whether or not the research project will work. If it won’t work, at any step, justify why it has become infeasible and go back to your research interest and generate a new research question. Repeat the process until you determine that your research question is feasible.

Common Mistakes

Common mistakes students make when filling in the Research Interest Graphic Organizer:

Insufficient critical thinking: The student does not thoughtfully reflect on each question/prompt.

Insufficient clarity in the research question: The student poses only an area of interest, not a research question, and/or the student does not refine the question to a feasible, narrow focus.

Ask Yourself

Do I check my work for coherence, accuracy, and completion?

(Use the worksheet at the end of the chapter to complete this problem.)

Problem 1.7b

Instructions

Using the Research Interest Graphic Organizer from Problem 1.7a, write a formal statement (abstract) that does the following:

Provides a clear description of your project question (maximum of three sentences)

Describes your population (one sentence) and justifies your choice, related to your project question (maximum of two sentences)

Describes your chosen field site(s) (one sentence) and justifies your choice, related to your project question (maximum of two sentences)

You will turn in your abstract in hard or digital copy, depending on your instructor’s advice.

Common Mistakes

Common mistakes students make when writing abstracts:

Lack of clarity: The abstract uses vague language that doesn’t sufficiently describe the student’s specific, narrow research focus.

Lack of detail: The abstract misses critical information about the proposed population and location (it is absent or vague) and/or does not justify research decisions.

Chapter 1 Reflection

See the Self- or Peer-Assessment rubric for assessing your mastery of Chapter 1 skills, based on your work in Problem 1.7b.

1 Did your approach to these activities involve a series of actions or steps you determined to complete each one? How did you determine the sequences of steps?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2 How did you determine which strategy would be most helpful to complete each activity?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 What is the “muddiest” point in this chapter? In other words, what is least clear to you? Or, what questions do you still have?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      Chapter 1 Worksheets

      Activity 1.2

      Problem 1

Problem 2

Activity 1.3

Problem 1

Purpose/main point of the study:

___________________________________________________

Unclear:

___________________________________________________

Problem 2

Purpose/main point of the study:

___________________________________________________

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Doing Ethnographic Research. Kimberly Kirner