Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
report. Advisory panels—composed of academics, practitioners, and govern-
ment commissioners—maintain quality control on the effort and the product.
In many cases, the panels play a direct role in negotiating the wording of key
passages.
An article is a cross-section or a highly condensed version of the ethnogra-
pher's overall effort. It often discusses a specific issue in-depth. The author
typically will briefly indicate how the work contributes to knowledge devel-
opment, theory, or methodology. The audience usually consists of academic
colleagues, who have a direct impact on the shape of the author's work in
refereed journals because they recommend publication or rejection.They also
recommend specific revisions. The author must respond to such suggestions
before the article is accepted for publication. Collegial influence can have a
dramatic effect on the final product—refining and improving it or forcing the
author to make an inappropriate detour (for more about writing journal arti-
cles, see Bogdan & Biklen, 1982, pp. 183-190;VanTil, 1985).
The greater length of a topic compared to an article provides the ethnogra-
pher with more latitude. The audience, once again, is composed primarily of
academic colleagues.The structure of ethnographic manuscripts varies, but an
ethnography typically discusses fundamental elements about the culture, such
as its structure and organization, history, politics, religion, economy, and
worldview. A specific theme that emerged during the ethnography might
become the focal point of discussion throughout the text.This theme might be
a critical feature of the culture, its ethos, or the manner in which members
adaptorfailtoadapttotheirenvironment.Onreceiptofamanuscript,thepub-
lisher requests reviews from appropriate colleagues in the field to help make a
go/no-go decision. The reviews can determine the fate of the manuscript as
well as its tone or emphasis.Authors can seek out other publishers or journals
if their work is rejected or if they disagree with the recommended changes.
Some publishers and journals are so prized in the field, however, that the
author has no realistic alternative. (See Powell, 1988, for a discussion about
the decision-making process in scholarly publishing.)
In addition to disciplinary and status differences among reports, articles,
andbooks,differencesexistinsubtopicfocusandinwhethertheorientationis
basic or applied. Whatever the work, the ethnographer must select the most
appropriate audience to write for—the readers on whom the work will have an
impact and who will judge it appropriately. Once the ethnographer has deter-
mined the appropriate audience, he or she then must gear the writing style to
that audience.
Reports usually have limited circulation, targeting sponsors, various gov-
ernmentagencies,programpersonnel,andsomeacademiccolleagues.Reports
may or may not be copyrighted and generally do not generate royalties; they
