Relating to the systematic study and description of cultures and peoples through direct observation and participation. Emphasizes understanding behavior and beliefs from the participants' perspective.
From Greek 'ethnos' (people, nation) and 'graphein' (to write). Coined in the mid-1800s as anthropologists developed methods to 'write about peoples' - literally documenting cultures through detailed observation rather than speculation.
Ethnography is essentially 'people-writing' - researchers become temporary members of communities to write their stories from the inside out! The method revolutionized social science by insisting that to understand people, you must see the world through their eyes, not impose external frameworks.
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