Ethnographic research involves studying contemporary people and cultures and often entails engaging with them first-hand in everyday contexts such as work, leisure, home life, in transit between places and a variety of social actives. Sometimes ethnographic research centers on a group of people, while other times and more traditionally, it centers on a place and the people related to that place. Such a place could be a city, a town, a neighborhood, a park, a store, or one city block. The people related to each of these spaces are numerous and unique in their own ways. No matter how hard we try, we will never understand all of them completely. Nevertheless, we try.
Why is wondering important for ethnographic research?
Wondering is about raising questions in the most open of ways. When we approach an object of study, in this case, people within the worlds they inhabit, we bring along with us countless assumptions and biases. This is completely normal and a necessary component of existing in a meaningful world. With this in mind, when we approach an object of study, we can avoid being overly influenced by our own assumptions and biases by wondering - being open to new and different ways of seeing, which includes bringing our attention to things that we often take for granted.
Wondering is not about being correct. Rather, it is about allowing thoughts to come up naturally and not dismissing them because they might seem silly or irrational. Wondering is kind of like brainstorming, but without an agenda of any kind.
Example of Wondering
Let's say you're in a class and have been given an assignment to conduct some ethnographic research. Maybe more specifically, you've been asked to visit a location and engage in some participant observation with the people there. Remember, participant observation is when the ethnographer conducts observations while participating in activities with the people being studied to try to get an insider's point of view. Let's say the location is a park in a city. You know the city relatively well, but you don't know this park in particular - or at least you haven't spent any notable amount of time there. To prepare, take some time to let yourself wonder and jot down some notes. Keeping in mind we are studying people situated in a particular place, below are some things you might wonder about.
For more examples of wondering in ethnographic research, click here to check out the Examples page.
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