Course description
This is a field course in cultural anthropological research, with emphasis on the techniques of ethnographic research. It will be conducted in conjunction with a partner community. Topics of study include qualitative and quantitative research methods, techniques of data analysis, ethical research, and anthropology and/or history related to the community involved in the field study program.
Course content
The course begins with two weeks (8 hours/week) in the classroom where topics including British Columbia history, ethnohistory, and ethnography, research methods, project design, and ethics will be discussed. Following that, four weeks is spent in a community setting conducting ethnographic research. The final two weeks of the course are spent at Douglas College synthesizing data, preparing reports, and presenting findings.
The course is designed around a common topic of research (defined by the community in conjunction with the instructor). Each student will work on a small project related to the larger project.
Learning activities
Lecture, seminar, participant-observation field work.
Means of assessment
The student will be assessed on his or her mastery of fieldwork techniques and contributions to the field project. Evaluation will vary according to the nature of the specific field project.
Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
A typical evaluation breakdown, however, would be as follows:
| Exam |
20% |
| Field Notes |
30% |
Subjective evaluation of student
performance in field |
20% |
| Project write-up, report, and/or presentation |
30% |
| Total |
100% |
Learning outcomes
The student will demonstrate knowledge and ability in the techniques of ethnographic research. This will include interviewing, archival research, note-taking, project design, project completion, and fieldwork ethics.
The student will complete detailed written records of the field research that will generate data for later analysis by the instructor or the students as part of their final project.
The students will demonstrate an ability to analyze the data generated, and present the findings in a report and/or in a public presentation.
Textbook materials
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:
To be determined by instructor; depends on where the field school is located.
Examples of methods textbooks in ethnographic and anthropological research include:
Hammersley, Martyn and Paul Atkinson. 2007. Ethnography: Principles in Practice. New York: Routledge.
Schensul, Jean J. and Margaret D. LeCompte. 1999. The Ethnographer's Toolkit (7 Volumes). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Examples of regional ethnographic materials (in this case for the Plateau region of the southern BC interior):
Ignace, Marianne B.1998. Shuswap. In Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 12: Plateau. Deward E. Walker, ed. Pp. 203-219. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Teit, James A.1909. The Shuswap. In Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. Franz Boas, ed. New York: American Museum of Natural History.