Ethnographic Approaches: Types, Trends and Themes.

Ethnography is a methodology based on direct observation. Of course, when conducting ethnography, it is also essential to listen to the conversations of the actors ‘on stage’, read the documents produced in the field, and interact with people, asking questions. However, what most notably distinguishes ethnography from other methodologies is the more active role assigned to the cognitive modes of observing, watching, seeing, looking at and scrutinising. Ethnography, like any other methodology, is not merely an instrument for data collection. It was born at a particular moment in the history of society and thus embodies certain of its cultural features.