S o l u t i o n S y n c

Question:

What is the ethnographer’s role at the site?

Answer:

The roles to be played by observers within a site (household, workplace, shop, or other space) is determined by the project goals. We distinguish between a participant role, in which the observer is also a player in the scene, and external roles, in which the observer does not become involved as an individual in the setting but maintains the stance of an outside observer. Having determined their own appropriate role, the ethnographer then considers the degree of engagement with respondents from intimacy to detachment.