ABSTRACT
Ethnographic fieldwork is the key research method by which anthropologists gather data. It involves acquiring knowledge of the complexities of life by spending extended periods of time studying in one or more locations, employing a variety of methodological resources, including participant observation, interviews, censuses, questionnaires, surveys, audio and video recordings, archival research, and the analysis of texts. Ethnographic research is a reflexive endeavour, in that it demands that the researcher question her or his assumptions, and it takes as a given that all knowledge is situated. Ethnography takes place in the context of social relations between the research and the research participants, which foreground ethical principles
