Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the volatility of the social group and the occasion. On a deeper level, the
fight was more revealing about the program's social dynamics. One fighter
had been in the program for some time; the other was new. The new mem-
ber threatened to have his group take over the program and “trash it.” The
old member was protective of the program, viewing it, as his peers did, as
“a big family.” Thus, he protected the program in a way both parties would
understand. The fight was actually a minidrama in the bigger struggle
between the two groups. It was also a rite of passage into the program: The
display of loyalty said more about the program to the new participants than
the fight itself.
Key events are extraordinarily useful for analysis. Not only do they help the
fieldworker understand a social group, but the fieldworker in turn can use
them to explain the culture to others. The key event thus becomes a metaphor
for the culture. Key events also illustrate how participation, observation, and
analysis are inextricably bound together during fieldwork.
MAPS
Visual representations are useful tools in ethnographic research. Having to
draw a map of the community tests an ethnographer's understanding of the
area's physical layout. It can also help the ethnographer chart a course through
the community. Like writing, mapmaking forces the ethnographer to abstract
and reduce reality to a manageable size—a piece of paper or a computer
screen. The process of drawing also crystallizes images, networks, and under-
standings and suggests new paths to explore. Maps, flowcharts, and matrices
all help to crystallize and display consolidated information.
FLOWCHARTS
Flowcharts are useful in studies of production line operations. Mapping out
what happens to a topic in a research library, from the time it is received on the
shipping dock to the time it is cataloged and available on the shelf, can provide
a baseline of understanding about the system. We found that one library used
to accept the topics at the loading dock and then have them moved to the oppo-
site end of the library instead of opening them up and processing them right
by the dock. The simple act of creating a map or flowchart made the ineffi-
ciency apparent. Flowcharting a social welfare program is also common prac-
tice. The analytic process of mapping the flow of activity and information can
also serve as a vehicle to initiate additional discussions.
