Type
Poster
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/w0cr-6e94
Session Description
Ethnographic interviewing allows you to study your faculty in their own environment. Faculty share their perspectives which, combined with your observation, results in a better understanding of their work.
Type of Library
University Library
Keywords
ethnography, interviewing, libraries, faculty, researchers, agriculture
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Using Ethnographic Interviewing to Learn About Your Faculty
Fireplace Lounge
We were part of a nineteen institution ethnographic study on the research practices and support needs of agriculture faculty, under the auspices of Ithaka S+R in 2016. We will use our work to illustrate how ethnographic interviewing works. We will discuss:
- Training and preparation
- The process of recruiting and interviewing, and interview transcription.
- Coding & analysis of results, mapping findings from the interview transcriptions
- Our findings and conclusions which, though drawn from agriculture, are potentially applicable to a broader range of science researchers
Our message to attendees is that anyone can do this research with the right preparation and support. We hope to initiate a conversation about the process and outcome of ethnographic research, what participants can learn from it, and ideas on how to use that knowledge going forward.
The project was funded by the University of Connecticut Libraries, Ithaka S+R , and the US Agricultural Information Network.