Conducting qualitative research in cultural anthropology

Ethnographic fieldwork is cultural anthropology's distinctive research strategy. It was first developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by anthropologists seeking to create a rigorous methodology to learn about cultural groups throughout the world. Ethnography refers to both the methodology of research and the end result: the written product. An ethnography is therefore a thorough, contextualised description and analysis of a particular group of people at a particular time and place, as well as the process by which data are collected to produce such a report. As a qualitative research approach, ethnography is unique in its reliance on participant observation, cultural relativism and the weaving together of insider and outsider perspectives. Currently, cultural anthropology has no central paradigm to drive research. Early positivist approaches have fallen to the wayside as the legitimacy of research methods of the past, the imbalance of power between fieldworker and the people being documented, and the validity of the knowledge base of the discipline are being freshly critiqued. These concerns have yielded a surge in activism by anthropologists pushing for greater public awareness and proactive engagement in spheres such as human rights, feminism, environmental protection, preservation of indigenous cultures and lands, and so forth. While the future remains uncertain for ethnography in cultural anthropology, we predict some researchers may return to the discipline's holistic origins, while others will continue to pursue highly specialised pathways.