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Ethnography and Participant Observation

In: Doing Development Research

By: Jan Kees van Donge

Edited by: Vandana Desai & Robert B Potter

Pub. Date: 2011

Access Date: July 5, 2019

Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Ltd

City: London

Print ISBN: 9781412902847

Online ISBN: 9781849208925

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849208925

Print pages: 180-188

This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods. Please note that the pagination of the

online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849208925

Ethnography and Participant Observation

· · What is ethnography? · · Ethnography and development studies · · Ethnography and the

development practitioner · · The distinctive contribution of ethnographic methods

What is ethnography?

Ethnographic research methods attempt to study social life as it unfolds in the practices of day-to-day

life. These methods avoid as much as possible artificial research situations. Artificiality is obvious in some

instances, particularly in the highly controlled experimental method, but it is found also in other methods.

For example, the interview situation in surveys using highly controlled questions is a social construction. In

participatory rural appraisal (PRA), meetings are set up specifically to ask questions that people may never

ask spontaneously. From the ethnographic point of view, the ideal is not to be noticed as an observer and

to be accepted as a normal member of social life, as this results in minimal disturbance. Such participant

observation is, however, an ideal that is rarely reached in practice. Artificial research situations, to a certain

degree, usually enter the social field that is being studied. The word ‘ethnography’ emerged in the period of

European expansion to denote the observation of exotic peoples. It is thus in its origin closely associated with

the confrontation of different cultures. The latter makes it especially relevant for development studies as a

confrontation between cultures is inherent in development work.

Ethnography and development studies

There is widespread scepticism about the suitability of ethnographic methods in the field of development.

Research for development management has often to give answers to support urgent decision-making.

Ethnography, on the other hand, often requires a large investment in time. First, one must gain the confidence

of the people to be studied so that one can be near to them and therefore able to carry out the research.

Second, it often involves the need to at least get acquainted with another language. If one masters the

language, one must ideally be at home in specific group languages. Third, systematic observation of

behaviour takes time. An image is gradually built up of what is happening in a particular social setting on the

basis of continued observation.1 As research proceeds and one gathers more and more data, the question

arises as to when data change into insights. The moment of wider understanding usually occurs when one

gets repetitive results, but it is difficult to say when exactly that happens. Boredom is often a threat to the

researcher when stories become repetitive, but that is usually the sign of understanding. In ethnographic

research it is therefore difficult to see how far one has progressed, and this is obviously difficult to reconcile

with the need for deadlines. Ethnographic research methods were therefore a major butt of attack in Robert

Chambers's call for more relevant development research: he argued that ‘quick and dirty’ research methods

were needed if findings were to be related to practical action (Chambers, 1974, 1983).

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Nevertheless, development organizations these days increasingly commission ethnographic-style research.

A major reason for this is dissatisfaction with the PRA methods. Indeed, these can make development

organizations quickly acquainted with a community, but the answers they give often lack depth. The same

answers emerge in many different situations; for example, wealth ranking will usually result in distinguishing a

few rich households, a large number in the middle and an underclass of extremely poor. This is compounded

by an increasing awareness that dominant interests often overshadow others in participatory meetings. The

relevance of observation, the hallmark of ethnographic methods, to check and deepen these images through

watching people and situations, taking notice of casual conversation and the divergent opinions of individuals

therefore becomes apparent.

A second major reason for development organizations favouring ethnographic-style research is the growing

awareness of the unexpected effects resulting from development interventions. The open-minded observation

employed by ethnographic methods, more than other methods, can focus attention outside the field of

expected outcomes. This can be illustrated with an example (see Box 19.1).

Box 19.1 Unexpected outcomes and ethnographic methods

Family Life Training Centres were established in Central Kenya where mothers of

malnourished children could regain strength and learn about methods of nutrition. An

evaluation found that these did not perceptibly change knowledge or patterns of nutrition,

nor did they have any long-term impact on the growth of children. It found, however,

that many women attending these nutrition centres were poor and in the process of

divorce. Land in Central Kenya is in the hands of men and therefore divorce provokes

for women a crisis in livelihood in this peasant society. A stay in a nutrition centre was

a way to reorganize their lives. The centres had thus no effect on malnutrition, but

their establishment had important effects as shelter for women in a vulnerable situation.

(Summarized from Hoorweg and Niemeijer, 1981)

This finding was actually revealed through a survey, but it illustrates the need to have an open mind in planned

intervention. If one simply compares intended output with outcomes, then one must come to the conclusion

that the Family Life Training Centres are a failure. However, such a position overlooks important, unintentional

effects of the intervention, which in this case can be valued positively. Free-ranging observation outside the

bureaucratic, programmed culture of terms of reference, etc., is particularly valuable for this.

The work of Norman Long (2001) is particularly significant in this respect. He sees development interventions

as taking place in an interface of cultures where there is a continuous adaptation, struggle and meshing of

cultural elements and social practices. The language that talks in terms of target populations and that expects

a linear process from intervention to outcomes is wanting. The intervening actors are not steering society as a

machine but are only some actors among the many in the ongoing struggles to create social practices. Long's

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perspective on planned intervention clarifies a wide spectrum of policy interventions. Such interaction at the

interface can, for example, be seen in election observation. Observers will stress neutrality: adherence to

international standards often based on human rights. However, their presence and findings play a significant

role in the ongoing local political process. Interaction between a local political culture and the political culture

of outsiders is essential to understand what is going on. There is thus a growing awareness that confrontation

between cultures is inherent in development practice.

While development practitioners may thus increasingly appreciate the value of ethnographic assessments,

they still have need of short-notice information relevant to management. To fulfil this need, researchers,

especially social anthropologists, increasingly provide ethnographically inspired reports at short notice. This

is possible because the stress on the long-term commitment in ethnographic methods appears to have been

too simplistic. First, some societies are much more open than others, and this allows the researcher to enter

relatively quickly into the culture. Second, if ethnographers have done an elaborate study before, then they

can often work much faster on subsequent occasions. This is especially the case if the previous study was in

the society in question or a closely related one. Third, ethnographic methods are difficult to codify, but training

in anthropology gives people a penetrating attitude towards looking at social practices that is often referred to

as the ‘anthropological eye’.

Ethnography and the development practitioner

The anthropological eye refers to an ability to observe oneself and the social environment. The usefulness

of this ability is not necessarily restricted to researchers but can be very beneficial to practitioners as well.

They can be participant observers in their own situation. Researchers in development are often not sufficiently

aware that the principal may direct attention to the target population, whereas participant observation

in a development project including the principal may be more productive. The probable reason for this

obliviousness to their own social context is the demythologizing, sometimes even subversive, character of

exercising the anthropological eye: if it is used in an all-embracing manner, discrepancies between what

people (including practitioners as well as the target population) say and how they act become apparent. A

beautiful example of this comes from the work of David Mosse on participatory rural appraisal methods based

on his own participation in these exercises:

While from the point of view of the ‘outsider’ development workers an organized PRA is an informal

event, in social terms the PRA is often highly formal and public: PRAs are group or collective

activities; they involve important and influential outsiders (even foreigners); they take place in public

spaces (schools, temples, etc.); they involve the community representing itself to outsiders; and

information is discussed publicly, recorded and preserved for use in planning. Such activities are far

from informal, everyday life. It seems highly probable that this social formality imposes a selectivity

on the kind of information which is presented and recorded in PRAs. (Mosse, 1994: 508)

A training in ethnographic methods makes journal-keeping — generally an ordinary part of development work

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— a more productive exercise. Ethnographic research requires extensive journal-keeping to keep track of all

the observations. These notes usually seem random in the beginning and not leading anywhere. However,

insights into social practices often suddenly emerge from these notes. For example, I had difficulty collecting

meaningful statements from people while doing research in the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania. People talked

a lot but said very little. I interpreted this as a failure on my part to penetrate that society. However, another

interpretation emerged while I was repeatedly writing about those remarks without social meaning. It was an

essential trait of that society to avoid commitment in conversation, as they did not trust each other: people

were gregarious (e.g. they came together in large numbers around Catholic churches on Sunday and on

market days), but they were extremely private as regards emotions and opinions.

An anthropological eye — and ear — entails the ability to build insights on interpretations of everyday life and

this enriches working with research assistants who are insiders in the societies being studied. While working

in a ranching area in Namibia, we found ourselves in a situation where doubt arose about the number of

cattle kept on a particular farm. We heard from a neighbour that there were far more animals on the farm than

stated by the farmer in question. It also transpired then that the informant was a close friend of the research

assistant's mother. She was a Tswana whereas the neighbour overstocking the farm was Herero. Implicit in

the remarks made was a confrontation of cultures showing distrust between the two groups.

The distinctive contribution of ethnographic methods

While ethnographic research may essentially entail an attitude rather than a set of codified methods,

nevertheless, there are a number of definite elements to be found in ethnographic work.

First, ethnographers depend primarily on observation. An ethnographic approach adopts a distrust of society

as it is presented to us. On entering a community, one is presented with a particular interpretation of

the social reality. A confrontation of these ideas with observations makes this explicit. For example, in an

attempt to find the ultra-poor in Dedza district in Malawi, observing housing, clothes, etc. could identify only

these. Agricultural extension workers considered them as failures and thus not interesting. Chiefs wanted to

introduce relatives in the first place as benefits were expected from contacts with outsiders. On the other

hand, observation is an important tool to correct preconceived ideas of researchers. For example, small

livestock is often overlooked in African rural studies, and casual observation may show the importance of

goats, sheep, etc.

Second, ethnographic research implies an open approach. It avoids as much as possible framing a research

situation beforehand, for example through formulating particular, detailed questions. Ethnographers often use

checklists to fall back on when asking questions or observing, but these should be continuously adapted in

the light of information gained. The purpose of interaction with informants is to elicit responses rather than get

answers to particular questions. The fundamental awareness in ethnographic research is that one has to learn

gradually the language that allows one to ask sensible questions as one penetrates deeper into that society.

During my research in the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania I was regularly confronted with the remark ‘he has

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water’ (ana maji) or the reverse. The meaning of this statement became clear only when I discovered how

important access to a small perennial stream was for irrigating vegetable plots in the dry season. Whatever

one hears in open or loosely structured conversation should always be checked against observation. If one

works with research assistants, it is often fruitful for each to write up independently what each has seen and

heard and then confront each other with differences. In this way, interpretation is built up as well.

Third, ethnographic research uses the case study method. It studies particular situations in depth and makes

no claims to be statistically representative. It is wrong, however, to conclude that case studies have no wider

significance. Indeed, if a case study is merely an apt illustration of a particular point made, then its importance

is marginal. However, a good case study involves systematic analysis in depth.

This can be done in two ways. First, it is possible to collect a large number of instances that are then

classified to see particular patterns emerging. For example, in a study of land conflicts, I collected cases from

regular court sessions. These were then categorized as relating to sale of land, border disputes, inheritance,

etc. It transpired that an appreciation of inheritance and the social construction of a past was crucial to

understanding the number and virulence of these conflicts. Second, it is possible to study a particular situation

intensively so that a very detailed analysis emerges. This process has been dubbed by the anthropologist

Geertz (1993) as ‘thick description’. This methodology is particularly associated with the Manchester School

in social anthropology. Gluckmann (1961: 5) gave the following concise definition: ‘The anthropological case

study is a method that seeks to illuminate principles of social organisation by examining in detail a single

social event, or case’. It is also referred to as the analysis of social drama or the extended case study method

(Van Velsen, 1967). Intensive analysis of social situations leads to the emergence of a particular social

structure and/or culture. This then allows us to perceive similar or contrasting patterns in other situations (see

Box 19.2 for an example).

Box 19.2 Anthropological case study as a method of ethnographic research

Porter et al. studied the Australian-sponsored Magharini project in Western Kenya. After

a few years it appeared that this project was based on wrong assumptions. Nevertheless,

there were strong pressures to continue. The authors provide an elaborate analysis of the

use of surveys and cost-benefit analysis in these struggles. Cost-benefit analysis is based

on the assumption that we know future costs and benefits reasonably well. Its value is

limited in situations where that is not the case. Nevertheless, actors in this case clung to

the arguments in the form of cost-benefits. Porter et al. then analyse it as a ritual to cope

with insecurity. Proper reading of this case leads to the asking of sceptical questions in

any situation where cost-benefit analysis is used. (Summarized from Porter et al., 1991)

Fourth, ethnographic methods try to understand society from the inside. The essential question to be asked

is: How would I feel if I were in the situation of the people studied? Ethnographic research is often closely

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related to symbolic interactionism. It tries to understand through language the lifeworld of people — their

interpretation of the world — that structures social practices (Berger and Luckman, 1966). For example, in

Africa urban migrants often continue to cultivate strong links with the rural areas from which they or their

relatives originate. This structures in turn investment behaviour, as shown in the following example from

Buhera in Zimbabwe:

Even after a lifetime of urban employment and urban family life, people want to be buried in

their rural homestead. Thus we can also understand a migrant worker's effort to establish a rural

homestead (musha) at some stage in his urban career. Although he may stay with wife and children

in town and has no economic need to supplement urban income with agricultural production, a

‘traditional’ round cooking hut has to be constructed. It is possible, therefore, to see homesteads

that are occupied by family members, or absent migrant workers who leave their fields uncultivated

or hire people to work the land for them. Building a homestead on a plot of some few acres is

an expression of a migrant worker's membership of the rural community and, subsequently, of the

naturalness of being buried there. (Andersson, 2001: 106)

Such an interpretation of cultures is, of course, most relevant for development interventions. In the case of

Buhera district, it meant, for example, that the interest in rural links was not synonymous with an interest in

agriculture. With regard to any intervention in agriculture, it must be borne in mind that urban migration is the

dominant and most prestigious way to make a living, despite appearances to the contrary, as shown in the

building of houses.

Development interventions usually assume a logic of intention or cause and effect. Such a logic may not

make sense in particular cultural configurations. This is a field where ethnographic assessments can be

a particularly potent means of analysis. This is also an area where methods can be developed that give

relatively fast results. For example, one can translate project documents into local languages and read

these to key informants to hear reactions. Another way in which the logic of development interventions can

be confronted with local cultures is through developing a set of statements that refer to the logic of the

intervention. These should be balanced, with an equal number of statements supporting or opposing the

intervention. The idea that there is a correct answer should be avoided; the statements are primarily meant to

elicit responses. For example:

The targeted input provision (TIP) programme in Malawi distributes free inputs ? fertiliser and seeds

? to poor households. Underlying this programme is the belief that people value growing their own

food rather than buying it and that this is especially the case for poor people. We asked respondents

to react to fifteen statements relating to this, and their responses showed a clear and consistent

cultural pattern.

In response to the statement: ‘Not growing one's own food is a reason for shame’, people typically

gave responses such as the following:

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‘It is shameful when you do not have your own food because whenever you go looking around for

maize to buy, people perceive you as a beggar who is totally desperate and stranded for food. This

is unlike when you have your own food whenever you have need of it.’

‘Not growing one's own food results in a loss of trust in rural areas because the reliable source of

livelihood is farming.’

In response to the statement: ‘People who do not grow their own food are not necessarily poor’, we

had comments such as:

‘This is not true because, in a village set up, most of the people that are poor are also those who do

not grow their own food.’

‘Someone who has food is in control of the money because those who have nice clothes do not have

then to exchange their clothes into food. In fact, for someone to put on trousers means his belly is

full. Without food, the trousers will fall down. (Summarized from Van Donge et al., 2001: 20–21)

Ethnographic methods can thus be an inspiration to develop new ways of obtaining relevant cultural insights,

clarifying what is happening around development interventions. However, it is difficult to give a toolbox

to that end. First, it depends upon something that can be cultivated but not learnt: empathy with people

who live totally different lives from ourselves. Second, ethnographic methods often involve a cultivation and

development of observation, an essential activity in everyday life. The best way to develop an aptitude for

ethnographic research is therefore to read ethnographic studies that stimulate emulation. Above all, one

should beware of one's own cultural dispositions. Often, a particular rationality is imputed to actors where

there may be none, or where there may be one functioning in quite different values systems. For many people,

it is tempting to see behaviour as resulting from conscious choice guided by what is perceived as immediate

economic self-interest. Such a culturally determined assumption in behaviour is common in North America

and Western Europe, but ethnography is needed precisely to set this culture in its relative place.

Summary

Ethnographic methods study the daily flow of social life.

• Ethnographic methods used to be considered unsuitable for development research as they were

time-consuming and not immediately policy relevant

• There is a growing re-appreciation of ethnographic methods in development because of: (a) the

realization of the limitations of PRA methods; (b) an awareness of the unexpected effects of

development intervention; and (c) the emerging view of development as a cultural encounter

• Development practitioners can benefit from training in ethnographic methods as it enriches the

understanding of the situations in which they find themselves

• Good ethnography is dependent on standard techniques only to a limited degree, but it requires

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a sensibility to culture, an appreciation of the value of observation and intuitive empathy. These

elements are sometimes referred to as the ‘anthropological eye’, which is difficult to define

• Nevertheless, there are concrete elements that distinguish ethnography as a method: (a) a reliance

on observation; (b) an open approach in questioning; (c) a reliance on the case study method; and

(d) an understanding of behaviour from inside a society instead of imposing a logic of cause and

effect on social situations

Note

1. Ethnographic methods are closely related to the idea of grounded theory: one starts research with as few

pre-conceived ideas as possible but general concepts are formulated as they emerge from the observations

(Strauss and Corbin, 1990).

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Why would development practitioners call for an ethnographic study instead of

other methods when results of an intervention are unexpected?

What is the benefit of ethnographic methods in the training of development

practitioners (policy analysts or managers)?

Why is the idea of a cultural interface so important in development interventions

and why is this relevant for ethnographic methods?

Ethnographic study stresses observation above all. Why can this be particularly

fruitful in a social situation where normative discourses on development

dominate?

Futher Reading

The best way to understand the special contribution of ethnography to development studies is reading

exemplary work. The following article is an ethnographic account of a development intervention in the field of

health: Yamba, Bawa(1997) Cosmologies in turmoil: witchfinding and Aids in Chiawa, Zambia,Africa, 67: (2),

200–223

The work of David Mosse is especially influential in the promotion of ethnographic methods in development

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studies: Mosse, David(2004) Is good policy unimplementable? Reflections on the ethnography of aid policy

and practice,Development and Change, 35: (4), 639–673

The following book does not contain consistent ethnographic work, but it gives a superb insight based

on close ethnographic observation in the search for certainty in development interventions: Porter, Doug,

Allen, Bryant and Thompson, Gaye(1991) Development in Practice: Paved with Good Intentions, London:

Routledge, Chapter VI ‘Institutions for managing uncertainty’.

The link between ethnographic methods and a general theoretical orientation stressing an actor-oriented

approach can be found in: Long, Norman(2001) Development Sociology: Actor-Oriented Perspectives,

London: Routledge.

References

Andersson, Jens A. Re-interpreting the rural-urban connection: migration practices and socio-cultural

dispositions of Buhera workers in Harare, 71(1)(2001)82–112

Berger, Peter L. and Luckman, Thomas(1966) The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the

Sociology of Knowledge, Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

Chambers, Robert(1974) Managing Rural Development: Ideas and Experience from East Africa, Uppsala:

Scandinavian Institute of African Studies.

Chambers, Robert(1983) Rural Development: Putting the Last First, London: Longman.

Geertz, Clifford(1993) The Interpretation of Cultures, London: Fontana.

Gluckman, Max Ethnographic data in British social anthropology, 9(5)(1961)5–17

Hoorweg, Jan and Niemeijer, Rudo(1981) The Effects of Malnutrition Rehabilitation at Three Family Life

Training Centres in Central Province, Kenya, Leiden: African Studies Centre.

Long, Norman(2001) Development Sociology: Actor-Oriented Perspectives, London: Routledge.

Mosse, David Authority, gender and knowledge: Theoretical reflections on the practice of participatory rural

appraisal, 23(3)(1994)497–527

Porter, Doug, Allen, Bryan and Thompson, Gaye(1991) Development in Practice: Paved with Good

Intentions, London: Routledge.

Strauss, Abselm and Corbin, Juliet(1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures

and Techniques, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

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Van Donge, Jan Kees, Chivwaile, Mackenzie, Kasapila, William, Kapondamgaga, Prince, Mgemezulu,

Overtoun and Sengore, Noel(2001) A Qualitative Study of Markets and Livelihood Security in Rural Malawi,

Module 2.2 of the evaluation of the TIP 2000–2001 Targeted Inputs Programme, Lilongwe: DFID Malawi and

Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Malawi.

Van Velsen, Jaap(1967) The extended case study method and situational analysis, in Edited by: A.L.

Epstein (ed.), The Craft of Social AnthropologyLondon: Tavistock.

van DongeJan Kees

http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849208925.n19

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http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849208925.n19

Ethnography and Participant Observation

In: Doing Development Research