Introducing Long-term Ethnography: Positioning Long-term Ethnography as a Valuable Tool for Long-Term Ethnographic Research

Trends in Ethnography have changed over the years, and just as in the initial years, fieldwork and the Participant Observation method replaced armchair ethnography, shorter-duration in locales close to the Ethnographer’s residence have come into vogue. Ethnographic studies have traditionally been long, stretching for durations of twenty-four months or more, and in exotic faraway locations driven by a desire to study exotic cultures. Bronislaw Malinowski’s study of Trobriand Islands spanned several years and the ethnographer stayed with his subject for extended durations. Radcliffe Brown likewise spent a considerable amount of time in the Andaman Islands studying his subjects in great detail, just like Margaret Mead did in Samoa, studying adolescence and puberty. Of late, shorter ethnographic studies have become commonplace and in urban settings closer to the Ethnographer’s residence. In some cases, the same subject has been studied more than once by different Ethnographers. Of late, the research dimension of ethnography is being emphasized along with its use in problem solving. In a previous paper we recommended that ethnography be used in Economics and economic theory formulation, complementing its use in Developmental studies. However, long-term ethnography which is a planned long-term study using the same or different teams (often combined with Critical ethnography and other techniques) can up the ante a little more, and take it towards the fulfilment of its objectives.