Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
other similarly equipped users worldwide. I use videoconferencing to conduct
follow-up interviews and observations at remote sites, after initially inter-
viewing on-site and establishing rapport in person. I also use it to consult with
colleagues and staff members on the ethnographic research team. Most video-
conferencing software programs have a “chat” window, allowing participants
to type instantaneous messages or notes to each other (this is particularly valu-
able when the quality of the telephone line or wireless connection is seriously
degraded).
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Some videoconferencing programs have “white boards” that
allows users to draw diagrams on a virtual white board on their screens. I have
used a white board to diagram my understanding of the organizational hierar-
chy in a site, and my key actor corrected me on the spot by “erasing” and
“replacing” some of my lines and adding her own (see Fetterman, 1996a,
1996b; also see Bonk, Appleman, & Hay, 1996, for additional details).
Videoconferencing was instrumental in a $15 million Hewlett Packard-
funded Digital Divide project (Fetterman, 2004a). The purpose of the project
was to help people “bridge the digital divide,” specifically establishing wire-
less communication within and outside the reservation. Videoconferencing
facilitated communication throughout the project. In addition, digital pho-
tographs of videoconference exchanges between Native Americans in the Tribal
Digital Village and ethnographers at Stanford University were used as
evidence that the project was successful (see Figure 4.2).
Online Surveys
One of the most useful Internet-based tools is the online survey.
Ethnographers can design a survey in consultation with local community
members as they have in the past. However, instead of mailing copies of the
survey, reminding people to complete them, and then entering the data into a
database, they can do all of it in one step. Ethnographers can design a survey
with local community assistance (to make sure it is grounded in local concerns
and is literally in a language that people can understand). The survey can be
posted on the Web. The ethnographer can e-mail out the location of the survey.
Community members complete it and the moment they submit the survey
(pressing one button after answering all the questions), it is sent, compiled, and
visually represented in bar or pie charts. It can be shared with the community
instantaneously. It is a significant time-saver and can be shared with commu-
nity members to help them conduct their own inquiries (see Figure 4.3). One
argument against online surveys is that not everyone has access to them and
some people are computer phobic. Their concerns should be respected.
However, even if 25% of the population refused to use this medium, the ethnog-
rapher can use the traditional hard-copy approach or even interview them and
