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Rewards and Challenges of Using Ethnography in Family Research

University of Connecticut

Ethnography offers many potential benefits to family researchers, such as providing on-the-ground knowledge of the contexts that affect family functioning and processes. This article describes ethnographic methods and reviews how they have been and may be used in family research, whether alone or in combination with more traditional approaches. The author's fieldwork experiences are used to discuss some of the rewards and challenges of ethnography. The ways in which issues of personal identity and power may impact the relationship between the ethnographer and research participants are examined. Also discussed are the ways in which contemporary constructions of private and public space and time affect the ethnographic process. The goal of the article is to highlight the value of ethnography to family research and to increase awareness of some of the factors to be considered while planning such work.

Key Words: ethnography • fieldwork • mixed methods • qualitative methods • research methods

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