An ethnographic Action Research Approach

Short description:

Mapped and described by Jo Tacchi, Don Slater and and Greg Hearn, ethnographic action research is a methodology, which provides a flexible and adaptable approach to gather knowledge about community media centres, their users and wider communities. The methodology is based on combining two research approaches: ethnography and action research:  Ethnography is a research approach that has traditionally been used to understand different cultures. An ethnographic approach ensures that project development takes place within a broad understanding embedded in local contexts and needs.  Action research is a research approach used to promote new activities through new understandings of situations. It is based on a cycle of plan, do, observe and reflect – and this enables the collection of rich research data through an ethnographic approach to be fed back into project activities on an ongoing basis.

Used to:

The ethnographic action research approach encourages CRs to develop a ‘research culture’ as a part of their routine. The research itself is always aimed at helping the CR to develop and to work more effectively in its local context. Underlying the research process are four key questions that need to be addressed throughout the life of CRs:

• What are we trying to do?
• How are we trying to do it?
• How well are we doing?
• How can we do it differently/better?

How to put into practice:

Examples:

Online resources:

For further study:

For a full introduction: UNESCO’s Ethnographic Action Research: A User’s Handbook (Tacchi et al. 2003).

Author(s):

Birgitte Jallov (under construction)

Contributions from: