Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of it all—piece by piece. The initial stage in analysis involves simple percep-
tion. However, even perception is selective. The ethnographer selects and iso-
lates pieces of information from all the data in the field. The ethnographer's
personal or idiosyncratic approach, together with an assortment of academic
theories and models, focuses and limits the scope of inquiry. However, the
field presents a vast amount of material, and in understanding day-to-day
human interaction, elementary thinking skills are as important as ethnographic
concepts and methods.
A focus on relevant, manageable topics is essential and is possible through
the refinement of the unit of analysis. But then the fieldworker must probe
those topics by comparing and contrasting data, trying to fit pieces of data into
the bigger puzzle—all the while hypothesizing about the best fit and the best
picture. This includes searching for data that may disprove a hypothesis or way
of seeing the world.
The ethnographer employs many useful techniques to make sense of the
forests of data, from triangulation to use of statistical software packages. All
these techniques, however, require critical thinking skills—notably, the ability
to synthesize and evaluate information—and a large dose of common sense.
TRIANGULATION
Triangulation is basic in ethnographic research. It is at the heart of ethnographic
validity, testing one source of information against another to strip away alter-
native explanations and attempt to prove a hypothesis. Typically, the ethnogra-
pher compares information sources to test the quality of the information (and
the person sharing it), to understand more completely the part an actor plays in
the social drama, and ultimately to put the whole situation into perspective.
During my study of dropouts, students often showed me their grades. One
young friend told me he earned straight As that semester. I compared his ver-
bal information with a written transcript, the teacher's verbal confirmation,
and unsolicited information from his peers. His grades were excellent, but
information from his teacher and his peers suggested an “attitude problem.”
According to them, “success went to his head.” Thus, one program goal (better
grades) had a problematic side effect (an overbearing attitude). This outcome
was in conflict with another program goal: cooperation and harmonious rela-
tionships with others in the program. This piece of information was extremely
useful to me in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the program. In
this case, triangulation not only verified the student's claims about his grades
but also provided useful data about his role in the program. This information
