ABSTRACT
In the 1980s, Susan C. M Scrimshaw and Elena Hurtado found themselves in a position where they wanted to use anthropologically informed ethnographic approaches, yet had a limited budget and too little time to carry out a long-term research project. This chapter provides a general overview of the field of rapid ethnographies and the application of these approaches in organizations. It discusses published examples of rapid ethnographies carried out in organizations, identifying their contributions in the study of organizational cultures and processes. Different labels have been used to describe rapid ethnographic approaches that vary slightly in terms of their focus, design and types of instruments used to collect and analyse data. The chapter presents two case studies: a lone researcher rapid ethnography in hospitals in Argentina, and a team-based rapid ethnography in hospitals in the UK. The chapter concludes with a critical reflection of the advantages and disadvantages of carrying out rapid ethnographies in organizations and outline areas for future development.
