Ethnographic Method and Project Design

This course challenges you to identify the relationship between your chosen topic and field of research, as well as your research questions and the methods you may use to generate data in a systematic and ethically responsible manner.

The course provides insights regarding general methodological approaches in the social sciences with a particular focus on ethnographic methods and the anthropological research process.

In this course, you will also acquire knowledge regarding how to develop and design your own research project, where there are logical relationships between research questions, choice of theoretical perspectives and methods.

A student who has completed this course should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

• You will have ethnographic and thematic knowledge regarding the field and topic for your research project.
• You will have in-depth knowledge regarding how theory and methods relate in ethnographic research, and are able to choose methods on the basis of the topic you wish to research.
• You will have in-depth knowledge regarding project development and how the different elements of a research project relate.
• You can identify and reflect on ethical dilemmas that the research project and field research raise.

Skills

• You can find, assess, and discuss existing research literature on a given research topic.
• You can formulate and operationalize research questions and problems.
• You can develop and finalize a research project.
• You will have obtained skills to critically assess the methodological choices of a project in relation to research questions and source material.

General competence

• You can critically evaluate the feasibility of a research project.
• You can assess the relationship between ethnographic methods and data materials.
• You can critically assess risk and ethical problems pertaining to a research project.

Lectures, workshops, and library course. Lectures will be in both Norwegian and English.