A Review of an Ethnography Investigation

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The article by Wang (2013) contains an analysis of a case of ethnographic research, which focuses on the relationships between the researcher and those researched. This case can be employed to discuss some critical elements of an ethnographic study, as well as the ethical considerations associated with it. In the present paper, the article will be dissected to present and illustrate this information.

Different elements of ethnography have been identified over the years, but the following features are relatively stable. Ethnography is characterized by focusing on long-term data collection in natural settings (fieldwork) with a reliance on participant observation and personal engagement as methods and instruments, and it is typically holistic in nature, aiming to document and understand the meanings that humans attribute to the various phenomena in their lives (Chesnay, 2014; Hammersley, 2018; McLeod, 2011; Murchison, 2010).

It is noteworthy that because of the close collaboration with participants, ethnographic research requires careful ethical considerations and, in fact, may demonstrate ethical challenges that are not as pronounced in other designs (McLeod, 2011). The article by Wang (2013) illustrates all these features very well.

From the perspective of the methodology, the study by Wang (2013) was carried out over the course of six months, and it involved fieldwork in the form of exploring the organizational communication of a Chinese international boarding school. It employed a sample of four students (class 2 grade 11), the lead teacher of their class, three other teachers, and one teacher counselor.

The author stated that this approach to sampling allowed observing the organization of the class in its entirety (including all the different types of stakeholders), and the choice, which ended up including people aged 17-64 (male and female), was deliberately meant to expand the observed relations from just those between school children to those between more stakeholders.

Wang (2013) also made sure to explore that organization in the natural context of the class and focused on cultural and institutional factors that could be of importance both for the observations and the researcher-researched relationship. In other words, all the key elements of ethnography could be found in this research.

It involved prolonged work with participants (six months), and they were observed in their natural setting; the information provided by them was viewed as a credible source that described the specifics of their organization. These features are typically viewed as a part of ethnography (Chesnay, 2014; Hammersley, 2018; McLeod, 2011; Murchison, 2010), which helps to categorize the research by Wang (2013).

In terms of data collection, twice a week, Wang (2013) performed observation sessions during the lessons of the enrolled teachers and took notes based on an existing framework. Additionally, there were interviews, which employed an unstructured protocol meant to determine the communication experience of participants. Thus, it can be proposed that the methods that are commonly used in ethnographies were employed by Wang (2013) (Chesnay, 2014; McLeod, 2011).

It is noteworthy that observations are a critical element of this approach to inquiry, and by including this method of data collection, Wang (2013) follows the common requirements for ethnography (Chesnay, 2014; Hammersley, 2018; McLeod, 2011; Murchison, 2010). Overall, however, the reliance on different sources of data can be considered a form of triangulation, which Wang (2013) described as a method of improving the quality of the collected information.

In Wangs (2013) work, sampling was a continuous process and involved obtaining the permission to carry out the research (based on an informal relationship with the schools master) and a threefold effort to continuously negotiate access to the participants (Wang, 2013, p. 766). The latter included the multiple access strategy achieved through other acquaintances, the strategy of mutual benefits (in terms of benefits from the research and personal help as an associate teacher), and the strategy of increased contact and positive relationship-building with the participants (with the help of informal and formal gathering participation).

This is the first element of ensuring appropriate researcher-researched relationship in the study, which would be ethical and would take into account the specifics of ethnography (McLeod, 2011). On the one hand, this approach demonstrates and considers the fact that ethnographers become immersed in the natural setting and engage with their participants (Chesnay, 2014; Hammersley, 2018; McLeod, 2011; Murchison, 2010). On the other hand, it recognizes that the researcher-researched relationship is inherently not equal and tries to balance it out with the help of introducing the mutual benefits of participation.

Additionally, Wang (2013) explains the issue of researcher-researched relationship in ethnography by highlighting the falsehoods that can become foundational to them. Specifically, relationships built during research are less authentic since participants are compelled to demonstrate extra effort in creating them.

Furthermore, the multiple roles that the members of these relationships play may be confusing, and the same can be said about the specific to ethnography effort to make the research settings fully coincide with natural settings. As a result, it may be difficult to highlight to the participants the true nature of the research, which the author managed with the help of informed consent, as well as sharing the field notes with them.

Indeed, an ethnography researcher has a significant amount of power in how the participants are represented by their research, which is why sharing this power can help to balance out the power dynamics between the two stakeholders and make the research more ethical. Wang (2013) highlights that in order to maintain informed consent, the participants needed an understanding of the methodology, which was achieved by giving them access to the field notes and their analysis.

In terms of anonymity and confidentiality, Wang (2013) altered the identifiable features of the participants and never announced the identities of the participants to the school, but the author still believed that the research could increase local conflicts if the participants were identified by their peers. The author also made sure to let the participants own their data and decide which information would be published. In other words, the participants were protected and provided with power that made the research more ethical, but the author acknowledged that certain risks remained topical.

Regarding participant expectations, which were important to avoid letting them feel used, Wang (2013) noted that they expected some help, anonymity protection, as well as their positive representation and role-appropriate behaviors. The expectation of positive representations, as well as suggestions related to it, was a major threat to data authenticity.

Other threats included increased identification with students and the differences in interpretations between the researcher and participants, both of which revealed potential biases in the researcher. Data triangulation and respondent validation were employed to solve those issues.

Finally, Wang (2013) pointed out that different factors affected the ability to collect data from the participants, including the varied opportunities for contact (limited by a number of issues from schedules to the teachers leaving the school to go home), field roles and impressions (which were managed through self-reflection and led to a student-like image, as well as a triple role as a researcher, teacher, and friend), and the presentation of the participants themselves (which depended on what the participants were willing to share).

Again, this consideration highlights the specifics of ethnography in that it gains its insights from participants, which affects its ability to produce authentic knowledge (McLeod, 2011). The author still proposes solutions to the issues, but they can be considered the limitations of the inquiry approach.

To summarize, Wangs (2013) study illustrates the key elements of an ethnography, and it also shows how its specific features can become a problem. In particular, the researcher-researched relationship in ethnography is unlike any other because the researcher spends a lot of time with the researched and deliberately works to create a relationship with them. The resulting multiple roles can be confusing and pose challenges for data collection, its authentic analysis, and participant protection.

Wang (2013) presented a detailed account of the methods used to manage these issues, and they included informed consent, anonymity, and power exchange (especially in terms of ensuring participant control over their data and analysis). Additionally, triangulation was employed to improve data authenticity. Thus, the author recognizes the difficulties that an ethnographer can encounter, and the proposed solutions can be used to illustrate some possible routes for resolving the issues.

The Ethnography of Online Gaming Addiction

In this paper, a short overview of the ways in which ethnography can be applied to gaming addiction will be presented. As an approach to observing and documenting human and social phenomena in natural settings, an ethnography would not be an unacceptable choice for the consideration of the proposed research topic. Indeed, the integration of a researcher in a community of gamers who experience online game addiction could provide insights into their experiences.

There is little to no research on the topic (Gong et al., 2019; Pietersen, Coetzee, Byczkowska-Owczarek, Elliker, & Ackermann, 2018), and producing direct accounts of such an element of life as it is lived by the people experiencing it would be helpful to understand this group of people (Pietersen et al., 2018). Therefore, the study of gamers way of life would assist in gaining insights into their understanding of addiction, as well as the processes and experiences associated with it (McLeod, 2011, p. 64).

Different aspects of gaming addiction can be studied with the help of ethnography; basically, the lived experiences of people with gaming addiction would be suitable in most cases. It should be noted that counseling and psychotherapy are not exactly compatible with ethnography because of the ethical implications of using psychotherapy approaches in research (McLeod, 2011). As a result, the process of treating gaming addiction through psychotherapy is not very suitable for ethnography.

However, the elements of the experience that are not related to psychotherapy should be suitable, including, for example, gaming highs. A search in Google Scholar returns almost no entries that would consider this phenomenon, which is why an ethnography that collects the information based on participant observation and documents their experiences should be helpful in starting to build the bulk of knowledge of the phenomenon. To summarize, ethnography is suitable for investigating gaming addiction, even though it might not be useful for inquiring into all the aspects of this experience.

References

Chesnay, M. (2014). Nursing research using ethnography: qualitative designs and methods in nursing. New York, NY Springer Publishing Company.

Gong, X., Zhang, K. Z., Cheung, C. M., Chen, C., & Lee, M. K. (2019). Alone or together? Exploring the role of desire for online group gaming in players social game addiction. Information & Management, 56(6), 1-12.

Hammersley, M. (2018). What is ethnography? Can it survive? Should it? Ethnography and Education, 13(1), 1-17.

McLeod, J. (2011). Qualitative research in counselling and psychotherapy. London, UK: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Murchison, J. (2010). Ethnography essentials: Designing, conducting, and presenting your research. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Pietersen, A. J., Coetzee, J. K., Byczkowska-Owczarek, D., Elliker, F., & Ackermann, L. (2018). Online gamers, lived experiences, and sense of belonging: Students at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. Qualitative Sociology Review, 14(4), 122-137.

Wang, X. (2013). The construction of researcherresearched relationships in school ethnography: Doing research, participating in the field and reflecting on ethical dilemmas. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, (26)7, 763-779.

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A Review of an Ethnography Investigation

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