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Crafting an Architectural Blueprint: Principles of Design for Ethnographic Research
Author(s) -
Scarduzio Jennifer A.,
Giannini Gino A.,
GeistMartin Patricia
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.2011.34.4.447
Subject(s) - blueprint , metaphor , ethnography , sociology , scholarship , value (mathematics) , epistemology , process (computing) , engineering ethics , computer science , visual arts , linguistics , engineering , anthropology , philosophy , political science , art , machine learning , law , operating system
The purpose of this article is to enrich our conceptual understanding of ethnography through principles of design by offering a blueprint for ethnographic ways of knowing. Drawing on published ethnographic research, this article develops and defines principles of design that help facilitate the process and product of ethnographic research. Through the metaphor of an architectural blueprint, we consider the epistemological value of identifying foundational principles supporting ethnographic research and writing. The architectural blueprint offers a foundation for creating, writing, revising, teaching, and evaluating ethnographic scholarship. The article closes with a discussion of the utility of the metaphor as well as how other metaphors that currently guide ethnographic research could be used in tandem with the blueprint metaphor.