the outsider in the context in order to understand what it feels like to participate in a
particular culture.

In ethnographic research, it is also important to bear in mind the dynamic
characteristics of cultures. As Clifford writes '"Cultures' do not hold still for their
portraits". The dynamism of social phenomena calls for a different stance on the part of
the ethnographic researcher. First of all, she is not looking for the truth, that objective
reality that is outside there to be discovered. Rather,

ethnographers believe that human behaviour cannot be understood without
incorporating into the research the subjective perceptions and belief systems of
those involved in the research, both as researchers and subjects (Nunan,1992)

Although ethnographic experiences can be "fragmentary and vicarious"
(Atkinson (1990,82), they also provide us with a "poliphonal and collaborative text"
(ibid.) which is an interaction of multiple perspectives and voices (ibid.) which contrasts
with the “objective” third person point of view of positivist research.

Looking at the features of ethnography as a form of social research, Atkinson and
Hammersley (1994), state that there are four elements that are usually present in
ethnographic research. As Fig. 5.3 shows, they clearly contrast with positivist research
procedures.

Fig. 5.3 Features of ethnographic research, adapted from Atkinson and Hammersley
(1994)

Ethnography in applied linguistics has not been uncommon. In 1988, Watson-
Gegeo wrote that ethnography had become "fashionable" in ESL research. The reason
for this was the "promise for investigating issues difficult to address through

129

<<   <   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   >   >>