Ethnographic research

Ethnography has to do with the cultural issue of the people; it includes customs, beliefs and behavior, of a certain group of people. When is used in an investigation, it needs that the investigator understand the way that particular community acts and way they do it so, and it is only possible by making the correct approach to the group and mixing and getting touch by the group analyzed.

For making a correct ethnographical research, it is important to have a close up with the group investigated, but also is important to include in the investigation topics like history, beliefs, even language must be taken into account in order to do a good investigation.

These kinds of investigations are made by “researchers trained in the art of ethnography” (according to Mr. MICHAEL GENZUK, PH.D, in the text: A SYNTHESIS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH).

For the research, the experts usually use some common methods like interviews with the people inside and outside the community been observed, observation of the way they live, how they act and other situations that define the way this certain group is; and finally documentation that includes an historical framework, some thoughts of the members of the group and other information that can be helpful for the investigation.

Ethnographic studies may be holistic; they may include all the different aspects that can affect the way of acting or living, etc. of the investigated group of people in order to have the most information as possible to do a certain description of the group of interest. It includes: the place where they live, the improvements they've made to that place, how they are making a living and providing food, housing, energy and water for themselves, what their marriage customs are, what languages they speak and so on.

It is important to be very open-minded and to let behind all the pre-concepts of the group investigated in order to have a non weighted point of view and make a better research and more specific one.

Bibliography:

1. Mr. MICHAEL GENZUK, PH.D, in the text: A SYNTHESIS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fM_CJ5vDK4

Answers:

Case 1:

the first case that will be analyzed, is a study made by “InsightExpress” in the United States to assess the barbecue preferences of the American consumers 18 and up. What they wanted with the research was to understand behaviors around barbecuing and condiment usage and to see firsthand the condiments consumers keep in their homes.

The research was made by the net, and the answers were analyzed and organized in order to take better conclusions, also the respondents were asked to take a picture of the condiments in their refrigerator using their mobile phone camera in order to make the research even more clear. InsightExpress surveyed 1544 respondents for the online phase of the research and 156 pictures were submitted, representing a 10% participation rate. (Case Study: Mobile Ethnography Research, Posted by Joy Liuzzo on February 5, 2009)

The research result shows that the most popular items to barbecue were: Hamburgers, chicken and steaks; and the most used condiments were: BBQ sauce, marinade and ketchup.

Taken from: http://mrspace.ning.com/profiles/blogs/case-study-mobile-ethnography

At this study, we can see that Americans prefer to barbeque hamburgers, chicken or stakes, if we take into account that there are more than 300 million people living in the US, with a considered purchasing power, we can conclude that this could be a good market for exporting this barbeque products, and also the result can tell us that other type of products are not going to be as well accepted as the ones mentioned before.

Case 2:

The second case is going to be invented by me in order to make it easier to understand for the reader.

The investigation is going to be about the acceptance of the president Chaves in Venezuela.

The investigations consist in living in Venezuela for one year (a year could be a regular time to understand what people feel about their president),and make some interviews with the people from all the society, even the higher and the lower classes to avoid weighted results; also it will include some observations of the things that happen inside the country and how they affect the image of the president.

The results shows that most of the people in against the president Chaves, this tendency is more notable in the higher classes but there is an non conformism feeling in the lowest spheres too.

This result is important for the people in the international business because it shows that is not a matter of love of the people what is going on in Venezuela but a matter of something different hat could change very easy and also the way that the nation is managed. It includes the international relations of the country and obviously that affect the commerce to and from the nation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWq6IhwxHbw