Ethnography then and now

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review some of the compositional and orientational shifts that have occurred in ethnography during the last 20 years.

Design/methodology/approach

Within the paper the author produces a series of reflections based upon his own experiences of writing ethnography, plus of reading the ethnographic accounts of others.

Findings

Ethnography remains relatively free from technical jargon and high‐wire abstraction. Because of its relative freedom from a thoroughly specialized vocabulary and a privileged conceptual apparatus, ethnography continues to carry a slight literary air compared to other forms of social science writing. Ethnography maintains an almost obsessive focus on the “empirical.” Despite attempts to develop a standard methodology over the last 20 years, there is still not much of a technique attached to ethnography.

Originality/value

The paper presents the original views of a renowned ethnographer about developments within the practice of ethnography during the last 20 years.

Citation

Van Maanen, J. (2006), "Ethnography then and now", Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 13-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465640610666615