ABSTRACT
Ethnography, in all its many manifestations and data-gathering methods, has a very long and complex history. Many of the changes taking place are related to the extensive involvement of non-academic organizations in ethnographic research. Among the non-academic entities doing ethnography, many of us are surprised to find a large presence of corporate, commercial interests participating in these activities. Focused ethnographic studies (FES) research projects are also examples of effective collaboration between academics and practitioners. A large number of non-academic organizations have extensive research agendas in agricultural and community development, education, community health, environmental issues, gender equity projects, poverty issues, and many other topical areas. In earlier decades, the standard research tools were very often quantitative surveys, supplemented with focus group discussions and various government statistics. More recently, however, ethnographic research methods have been taken up by many or most of those organizations, including widespread adoption of varieties of participatory methods.
