Deck 10: Ethnography

Question 1

Karen Ho's ethnography studied "up" instead of "down." This is seen in her emphasis on

A)uplifting the lower and middle classes through financial policies.
B)upward mobility among the bottom 1% of the world's population.
C)the subculture of investment bankers.
D)modern society (instead of traditional or indigenous cultures).

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Sociologists from the "Chicago school" studied immigrant groups' assimilation processes in U.S.cities.Such studies may be called research on subcultures,because subcultures

A)are groups within a larger culture.
B)almost always assimilate into the mainstream.
C)originate from foreign nations.
D)are located in remote places.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Margaret Mead's ethnography in the Admiralty Islands represents anthropology more than sociology because,at the time,anthropologists

A)were more often female,and sociologists were more often male.
B)conducted fieldwork,but sociologists did not.
C)studied families,whereas sociologists studied individuals.
D)studied people from different cultures,while sociologists studied their own societies.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When Eliot Liebow described the research method that "tries to participate as fully as possible in the life of the people being studied," he was referring most specifically to

A)anthropology.
B)going native.
C)qualitative research.
D)participant observation.

Question 5

Dr.Zhang plans a fieldwork study on a remote island of Indonesia.Taking globalization into account,Dr.Zhang expects the people of this island to

A)be culturally and linguistically isolated.
B)have lost cultural distinctiveness altogether,in favor of a homogenized "world culture."
C)be aware of,and participate in,the world beyond their island.
D)express suspicion toward fieldworkers,because they've been studied so often.

Question 6

Michael conducts a fieldwork study of the kitchen workers at a restaurant.He informed the workers that he was doing the study and that he would be fitting in as much as possible by working as a dishwasher.Michael follows informed consent standards for ethical fieldwork,so he

A)reminds the workers each day that he is conducting a study.
B)reminds the workers weekly that he is conducting a study.
C)makes their written informed consents visible in some way at the field site.
D)assumes ongoing consent by their acceptance of his presence.

Question 7

W.E.B.DuBois's The Philadelphia Negro is best classified as a

A)community study,because it is similar to most ethnographies about whole villages or tribes.
B)community study,because the African American subculture is similar to a community within a society.
C)neighborhood study,because it is about a neighborhood within a big city.
D)neighborhood study,because at the time,African Americans lived within one neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Question 8

Which of the following settings is MOST likely to be suitable for covert observation that is both effective and ethical?

A)a demonstration outside the U.S.Capitol
B)a public school classroom
C)a dorm room
D)a courtroom

Question 9

Ethnography is different than journalism because ethnography ________,whereas journalism ________.

A)creates or tests a social science theory;tells a story
B)interprets social life;reports facts
C)is conducted in premodern societies;reports on modern life
D)empathizes with insider points of view;maintains neutrality and objectivity

Question 10

Imagine that an ethnographer is beginning a study about how models gain access to the industry,and what daily life as a model is like.The best classification for this research is

A)community study.
B)studying "down."
C)workplace ethnography.
D)covert ethnography.

Question 11

Which of the following is a systematic observation of park use?

A)stand at the park entrance and ask every tenth guest to take a survey
B)analyze official park data by month or by year
C)watch and record the number of park users at the playground every three hours
D)count parking pass sales figures from log books

Question 12

Knut begins a study of nose-picking at Home Depot,but after informing potential participants,he finds that no one picks his or her nose.He wants to reduce the Hawthorne effect,so he

A)waits,because people will resume their usual behavior fairly quickly.
B)begins in another location where he does not ask for consent.
C)goes native and picks his own nose in public.
D)shifts his role from participant observer to observer.

Question 13

In a study about cheating,the researcher finds that students believe cheating is wrong,but they do it anyway.The most common justification was,"If the teacher doesn't catch it,then he must not mind.It's the teacher's job to stop us from cheating." This reasoning helps resolve

A)confusion.
B)cognitive dissonance.
C)subcultural confusion.
D)cultural norms in tension.

Question 14

A research role of complete participant involves ________,whereas going native involves ________.

A)immersing oneself in a research role and keeping it secret;losing one's original identity
B)losing one's original identity;living with indigenous people for many years
C)fully participating in the daily life of the people being studied;immersing oneself in a research role and keeping it secret
D)just living with the people being studied,and no longer taking notes;living among the people being studied after the project is completed

Question 15

A researcher might wish to adopt the role of participant observer,but finds that observer is the better option.Among which social group would this MOST likely be the case?

A)Internet trolls
B)a political group with which the researcher disagrees
C)brain surgeons
D)a German language club

Question 16

Aaron wants to develop an ethnographic study that continues the work of W.E.B.DuBois,Herbert Gans,and William Whyte.Accordingly,Aaron studies

A)the subculture of the federal intelligence community.
B)global economic and financial elites.
C)religious cults that force people to separate from their families.
D)a newly developing Minneapolis neighborhood of Liberian immigrants.

Question 17

Fieldwork is a scientific method with a particular purpose: to develop

A)hypothesis-based knowledge.
B)persuasive,nearly artistic,portrayals.
C)objective facts.
D)interpretive understanding.

Question 18

You use Randy Alfred's study of Satanists as a model for your own study of a cultural group with practices and values very different than your own.If you take the role of complete participant,as he did,you might expect to

A)adopt the group's values and "go native."
B)lose the ability to observe from a scientific point of view.
C)develop sympathies for people in the group.
D)pay a high price in alienation from your own social group.

Question 19

You are conducting a study of how chemistry majors do homework.You sit with a group of chemistry majors and try to observe their homework processes.You quickly realize you will need to alter your research methods,because you have inadvertently triggered reactivity.You are confident of this assessment because the chemistry majors are

A)using vocabulary and concepts that you don't understand.
B)explaining chemistry to you,rather than doing their homework.
C)doing homework that is not chemistry.
D)acting stressed.

Question 20

The most common role adopted by researchers doing ethnography today is

A)complete participant.
B)participant observer.
C)observer.
D)covert observer.

Question 21

Missy Carranza is a Hispanic anthropologist studying gender at an all-white fraternity in Vermont.She reflects on Robert Merton's "insider-outsider problem," so she considers

A)how,as a woman,she will gain access to her field site.
B)how,as an outsider by both ethnicity and gender,she will establish rapport with her subjects.
C)whether a white man could understand this population better,or less well,than a Hispanic woman.
D)which research role would generate the best data.

Question 22

Lauren conducts a study of hospice (end-of-life)care.She reaches verstehen when she

A)establishes strong rapport with the research subjects.
B)faces her fear of death and experiences deep grief.
C)works with a gatekeeper to gain entry to the field site.
D)develops external validity for the study.

Question 23

When Eliot Liebow began his research on lower-class black men who hang out on street corners,he was grateful when a man named Tally introduced him to friends and guided Liebow in developing relationships that would benefit the study.In these actions,Tally served as a

A)key informant.
B)friend.
C)rapport developer.
D)research assistant.

Question 24

Reliability refers to consistency or "repeatability" of measures in research.Participant observation has

A)high reliability because ethnographers often rely on grounded theory.
B)low reliability because it relies heavily on researchers' perceptions and interpretations.
C)reliability that varies greatly depending on the ethnographer's role in the setting.
D)such low reliability that it is better classified as an art than a science.

Question 25

Sven begins an ethnographic study of luchadores (Mexican wrestlers).In his first weeks,his experience of ________,is fairly typical of early fieldwork interactions.

A)overconfidence,a false sense that he truly understands the luchadores
B)insecurity,anxiety,and loneliness,which are part of learning to adjust to a new world
C)a honeymoon period of elation,which is often part of meeting new people
D)deep depression and troubling anxiety,because he is detached from the world he has known

Question 26

Michael Burawoy began his research by reading Marxist theory about class consciousness.He then conducted fieldwork with factory workers,with the goal of improving or modifying theory.He calls this approach

A)grounded theory.
B)extended case study.
C)community study.
D)neighborhood study.

Question 27

Graduate student Elisa set out to do an ethnography about public library patrons but found nothing new or interesting to investigate.She worried that her project was failing,but she followed Alice Goffman's research experience (the work that resulted in the book On the Run),so she

A)changed her research role from observer to participant observer.
B)quickly abandoned the first project and developed a new one in a different setting.
C)stayed in her setting,but followed a different line of inquiry.
D)replicated an existing ethnography that was successful.

Question 28

Matthew Desmond describes ethnography as a unique type of research because while doing fieldwork,the ethnographer becomes

A)neutral and unbiased.
B)suspended between insider and outsider.
C)a research instrument.
D)entirely an insider.

Question 29

Professor Begay uses purposive sampling to select three Native American charter schools in the Southwest where he can study language instruction.Professor Begay

A)uses statistical randomizing to be sure all schools are given equal chance to be in the study.
B)identifies one school,and then asks the principal for referral to other schools.
C)identifies important features for selection,and chooses schools based on those features.
D)selects the three schools most convenient to his funding and travel capacity.

Question 30

Which statement is most often true? Ethnographers begin their research

A)with a topic,and then choose a site that fits the topic.
B)sometimes with a topic or sometimes with a site.
C)with a field site,and then generate a topic that fits the site.
D)with both site and topic firmly established.

Question 31

It is important to establish rapport in the course of fieldwork so that the researcher

A)won't be lonely and lost in culture shock.
B)can offer friendship as compensation for participating in research.
C)may develop empathy and strong communication with research subjects.
D)can solve the insider-outsider dilemma.

Question 32

How did Alice Goffman,a sociology graduate student at the time,gain access into the lives of low-income Philadelphia men on the run from police?

A)As a complete participant,she posed as a drug addict on the run from police.
B)As a covert observer,she watched these men from her vehicle or from nearby buildings.
C)As a participant observer,she gained access by tutoring young people and meeting their families.
D)As an observer,she gained access by observing public school students along with other school professionals.

Question 33

Why would an ethnographer seek out a gatekeeper?

A)to receive IRB approval
B)to gain access to a field site
C)to develop a sample
D)to choose a topic

Question 34

When Elijah Anderson began his fieldwork with street corner men on Chicago's South Side,he had no research question.This choice was valid because he was using the grounded theory approach,which involves researchers

A)generating theory based in the data itself.
B)co-constructing theory and focus with research subjects.
C)reading theory and relevant literature after fieldwork,instead of before.
D)doing ethnography from a literary point of view,instead of scientific.

Question 35

The power dynamics of site access suggest that a(n)________ would be a more difficult field site to access,in contrast with a ________.

A)members-only golf club;public park
B)inner-city community;gated community
C)diner;public library
D)Canadian field site;Rwandan field site

Question 36

Max Weber's idea of verstehen continues to be an important ideal for ethnographers today because it is important to

A)conduct research in an ethical manner.
B)develop a deep,empathetic understanding.
C)choose a researcher role that allows for good data collection.
D)link contemporary fieldwork to classical theory.

Question 37

Henry wants to take high-quality field notes,so he records

A)direct observations in his field notes,and his feelings and reactions in his personal journal.
B)direct observations,inferences,and guesses about what is happening,and his feelings and reactions,all in his field notes.
C)only direct observations,saving inferences and interpretations for the time after fieldwork has ended.
D)neutral observations and sociological analysis in field notes,and subjective material such as inferences and personal feelings in a private journal that won't contribute to the study.

Question 38

Why is Randol Contreras's ethnography The Stickup Kids considered so important?

A)His study is a replication of an earlier ethnography,probing the reliability of ethnography as a research method.
B)The external validity of his study is particularly strong,addressing social inequality issues more broadly.
C)Contreras is an insider-ethnographer,returning to the social location of his upbringing to do ethnography.
D)The research explored the ethics of covert research and deception.

Question 39

Devon is a graduate student beginning an ethnography of a preschool soccer team.He seeks site entry by contacting the gatekeeper(s):

A)the parents,because the children are under age 18 and cannot give informed consent.
B)the coach,because she has the authority to allow an outsider into the team.
C)his academic adviser,because he determines whether the study can proceed.
D)the children themselves,because establishing rapport with subjects is essential.

Question 40

Matthew Desmond's Evicted is based in Milwaukee,WI,but makes claims about poverty and housing throughout the United States.Ethnographic research often draws conclusions that reach beyond the field setting,which assumes

A)reliability.
B)an absence of bias.
C)external validity.
D)inconvenience samples.

Question 41

Dr.Bourgeault decides to write up her ethnography of emergency room nurses as a realist tale.Accordingly,Dr.Bourgeault focuses the ethnography on

A)a third-person account of the lives of emergency room nurses.
B)her own experience of fieldwork and her role in the emergency room.
C)advocating for policy changes that would improve working conditions for nurses.
D)a fictional account that evokes the human truth of the situation.

Question 42

List the four different roles a fieldworker can take when conducting an ethnographic study.Briefly describe an advantage and a disadvantage of each.

Question 43

Miguel wants to write a postmodern,confessional ethnography in the style of Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a Day.Miguel's study is about the lives of fast food workers.He writes

A)as objectively as possible about the workers' lives,keeping his own experience in the background.
B)politically,keeping data focused on policy solutions that would improve workers' experiences.
C)reflexively,focusing mainly on his own experience and on the nature of ethnographic knowledge.
D)about himself as a fast food worker and the main character in the story,with other workers included as well.

Question 44

Mimi plans a visual ethnography project about nursing home visitors.She plans to

A)observe visitors through a one-way mirror.
B)ask nursing home residents to videotape interactions with their visitors.
C)look for ways to encourage loved ones to visit nursing homes more often.
D)live in a nursing home for several months so she can experience a longing for visitors.

Question 45

Design an approach for taking field notes that includes the four major elements of field notes.Your approach should also include time (when to record notes)and materials.

Question 46

Tomas is learning ethnography so he can become a usability expert.In this role,he will study how

A)cultural symbols are used by insiders and outsiders.
B)consumers engage with websites and technology.
C)gatekeepers and ethnographers use each other.
D)ethnography can be used as a tool for social and political change.

Question 47

Choose one of the following: W.E.B.DuBois's The Philadelphia Negro or William Foote Whyte's Street Corner Society.What was one of the key findings of this classic neighborhood ethnography? Design an ethnographic study that you could conduct today that would bring key questions or insights from the classic study into the present.Your design should include a setting and a research question.

Question 48

The Federal Front Door study used ethnography to understand

A)how people feel when U.S.Census workers knock on their front doors.
B)prison recidivism (avoiding the "revolving door").
C)how people experience the process of navigating federal bureaucracies.
D)neighborhood interactions among public housing residents.

Question 49

Which type of ethnographic writing is MOST common?

A)confessional tales
B)advocacy tales
C)critical ethnographies
D)realist tales

Question 50

You are proposing an ethnographic study about brain surgeons in the operating room.Of the four fieldworker roles,which one will you most likely choose,and why? Choose one other role and explain why it would not be suitable.

Question 51

Dr.Silverstein knows he has reached saturation in his ethnographic study of shark attack survivors when

A)the research subjects are reluctant to participate in additional interviews.
B)he reaches his goal of interviewing a certain number of people.
C)additional data are no longer yielding new insights.
D)his intuition,or "gut," says the project is reaching completion.

Question 52

You are conducting an ethnographic study of human rights abuses in Afghanistan.Would you choose to write a mainstream/classical ethnography,a confessional/postmodern ethnography,or an advocacy/critical ethnography? Why?

Question 53

Do you think ethnography is more of a science,more of an art,or both art and science? Explain your answer.

Question 54

List and describe two ways in which globalization has affected fieldwork and ethnography.

Question 55

Nancy Scheper-Hughes writes an ethnography about human rights abuses involved in global human organ acquisitions,and advocates for policy changes related to this issue.Her ethnography may be understood as

A)postmodern,because it addresses global issues and is not limited to a single field site.
B)reflexive,because it looks back and forth between rich and poor.
C)documentary,not ethnography,because it documents and advocates on an issue.
D)critical,which is a valid form of ethnography that reports an injustice and advocates for change.

Question 56

Would it be easier for a researcher to write a grant proposal for an ethnography if he or she were using a grounded theory approach or an extended case study approach? Explain.

Question 57

Cyberethnography,or netnography,refers to

A)the use of computers to contact research subjects for in-person interviews.
B)the study of how people behave in the online world.
C)the dissemination of research online.
D)online research in which the researcher-subject division is completely erased.

Question 58

Some sociologists see ethnography as more of an art than a science because

A)it is totally subjective.
B)its written product is expected to be persuasive.
C)it is highly personal,yet also has scientific rigor.
D)reflexivity is not part of science.

Question 59

If Dr.Bodley were to triangulate his data,he would

A)use ethnography along with other methods to enrich findings.
B)save data in at least three locations,in case any of it is compromised.
C)develop a team ethnography with several researchers.
D)return to the field site on at least three separate occasions.