Misc,
Turn to landscape Mode – Visualizing ethnographic research findings by harnessing cartographic metaphors
online pdf, (February 2018)
DOI: 10.13140/rg.2.2.30395.11040
Abstract
Research in general and ethnographic in particular gets convincing, if findings are plausible To a particular audience. This refers to one of the main problems of modern social science-social phenomena are contingent. Their occurrence in a certain manner is possible, but not necessary. It does not follow a grim principle. Furthermore, causalities derived from a social science study, have to be made plausible to at least the scientific community. To plausibilize findings one usually quantifies findings and relies one the convincing power of numbers (Hempel and Oppenheim 1936; Bryman 1984). Usually (organizational) ethnography cannot use this strategy, because of its specific empirical approach towards social phenomena (Morrill and Fine 1997). Digging deep into a certain kind of field means that research is interested in the practical interrelations and 'surprising' effects that have emerged from social practice. Although social practice especially the one framed by organizations maybe mainstreamed, conventional or isomorphic, but changing the point of view to an ethnographic one, opens up the chance to grasp the chance of alteration. Moreover, ethnographic approaches allow to contextualize these rare events with e.g. organizational and institutional settings and ask how they are intertwined. In other words, ethnography facilitates organizational studies to ask for the interfering effects of practice and structure (framing). But how to tell a convincing story without having the compelling force of large numbers at one's disposal? The silver bullet may be to take the reader (audience) by the hand and lead them through the different stages, research has undergone. Completing these steps, usually represented in the style of scientific articles, shows that the ethnographer respects and is proficient in the rules of scholarly standards. One sums up in an introduction what the paper is about and announce the order of the argumentation. This is followed by a literature review, where the own research question is linked to the main discourse within this field of research and one relates his/her position to a certain theoretical position. Afterwards the methodology and the empirical sample are presented, before one can start to present findings and finally draw some conclusions. This is the blue print of how to present (ethnographic) research findings to the (academic) public (Derntl 2014) .
Turn to landscape Mode-Visualizing ethnographic research findings by harnessing cartographic metaphors (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322861455_Turn_to_landscape_Mode-Visualizing_ethnographic_research_findings_by_harnessing_cartographic_metaphors accessed Mar 03 2018.
