Before we demonstrate how to write an ethnography dissertation, we need to understand what it is. The word itself originates from Greek origin. ‘Ethos’ stands for people, and ‘graphic’ relates to writing. Several scientific disciplines, such as cultural anthropology, use this subject matter to describe various social aspects of a culture.
Defining different human behavioural patterns and discussing their uniqueness in experiences is not an easy thing. Likewise, writing such a dissertation for ethnography students is complicated. If you are facing such complications, do not hesitate to seek dissertation writing help.
Coming back to the topic, let’s first define ethnography and learn how to intertwine field notes, ethnographic methods and the objectives of your research project together to write the best dissertation.
What is Ethnography?
Per the definition of Sage Research Methods, ethnography can be defined as a research method that is used to study a specific cultural or social group with the objective of understanding it better.
An ethnographer makes an analysis of a certain group of people by interacting with the group members, interviewing them, participating in their activities and more.
How to Write Ethnography Dissertation? Steps to Writing an Ethnography Paper
For writing a dissertation on ethnography, you have to be careful about following each and every step in writing. The top 7 secrets that can distinguish your work from that of your fellows are the following:
1. Understand Your Topic
When writing your papers, you first must know enough background information about your research project. Social behaviour is a broad area, and many students find it difficult to stay focused on the topic. Do not feel discouraged if you are going through the same situation; try to write a vague write-up instead.
You can ask for ethnography dissertation help online to get done with your papers effectively. Ask your supervisor to clear up your confusion about your research work.
2. Know Your Audience
When writing your papers, you need to know your audience so that you can tailor your tone to perfection. It’s simple: when you want to get your point across to your audience, you must know who they are. Explain your methods to your audience and tell them why you did the research the way you did.
If you are planning to publish your dissertation in a journal, make sure that it is written per the voice of the journal. Here are the top 7 characteristics of ethnographic research per the research paper Ethnographic Research is the Key to Really Understanding Your Customers’ Needs.
3. Engage with the Targeted Community
If you are not fortunate enough to engage with the community on which your participant observation is based, try to read the work of other ethnographers to get insights about your targeted community. To ensure this, you can read several ethnography dissertation examples online or from your department’s library.
Ensure that you have spent a long period of time studying your research topic so that there is a sense of connection in the information you present to the readers.
4. Write the Thesis Statement
The thesis statement of your dissertation concisely explains the nature of your work and explains the objectives of your research shortly. It is a key part of your dissertation and helps you integrate your results logically into your work. Also, your audience recognises the importance of the social aspect you studied better due to your thesis statement.
5. Craft Your Outline
After the determination of the central idea, theme and thesis statement, move on to the next step. Craft an outline for ethnographic writing. Utilise your fieldwork notes to facilitate your outline writing process. Needless to say, your writing process shall become easier for you once you have written the outline.
6. Reflexivity in the Writing
When writing your papers, make sure that you practise reflexivity in your work. Reflexivity in the context of your ethnography dissertations means that you should pay attention to the details of the research process. Elaborate the reasoning of the research methods and tools to collect the ethnographic data. Clarify the misunderstanding by the data analysis tools. Show to the readers how your research adds worth and value to the social sciences.
The image above, taken from Contextual Research, shows the basic methods for the collection of data for your ethnography research work.
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7. Structure of Work
There must be an inherent flow in your papers because it keeps the reader focussed on your papers, and the information flow is clear in the minds of the audience. Also, your ethnography dissertation structure must be defined in the outline you crafted earlier.
- The final draft must be error-free, and to ensure that, edit and revise your papers completely.
- All sections of your dissertation must be connected to each other.
- Make sure that all Ethnography Dissertation questions have been answered in your papers.
Interpret the ethnographic data taken from the field sites using authentic tools and the right research methods. It shall make the research and writing process much easier for you.
Ethnography Dissertation Topics
Some of the best ethnographic dissertation ideas are listed here. You can use these examples to get an idea of how to pick a suitable topic for your papers:
- An ethnographic research study of Chinese diets
- An evaluation of the satisfaction of a patient with the quality of care in different hospitals
- Explain the impact of language on the culture of a land
- What are the misconceptions and myths about the global connection?
- What are the cultural differences between different ethnic groups?
- Ethnographic studies to demonstrate the idea of politics and the U.S.
You can search for popular ethnographic research topics from famous journal articles and field magazines. Writing an ethnography paper becomes much easier when you have selected the right topic for your research.
Conclusion
So, these were the techniques to incorporate while you are working on the ethnography dissertation writing project. Make sure that your ethnographic fieldwork is on point and that you have briefly covered all the social interactions in your papers. Your literature reviews must be on point and backed with previous research and enough background information.
After reading this article, you should be sure about how to craft it in the best way. However, if you still need further guidance, you can get a dissertation writing service online.
