ethnography in nursing research
TRANSCRIPT
198 V. De Back
© 2000 International Council of Nurses
Ethnography in Nursing Research
Janice M. Roper and Jill Shapira,2000; Sage Publica-
tions, Inc. Thousand Oaks, California, USA: 150
pages.
Nurses often encounter puzzling questions. For
example, why do some people engage in positive
health behaviours while others do not? What are the
underpinnings of patients’ beliefs about health and
illness? And what do nurses need to know about
people to design effective health care services?
Ethnography in Nursing Research helps to unravel
such questions by clearly explaining the process and
methods of ethnographic research. The book is
indispensable for the neophyte ethnographic
researcher, and equally useful for seasoned
researchers.
This ‘how to’ book guides the reader into the
exciting field of ethnographic research. The authors
believe that nurses are ‘naturals’ in ethnography
since the techniques learned in nursing parallel the
ethnographic process.
Anyone who believes that ethnography is an eso-
teric method of research in exotic cultures should
read this book. The authors demystify ethnography
by providing clear guidelines for the design,
methods, sampling procedures, analysis and inter-
pretation of ethnographic research. They demon-
strate how ethnographic research methods offer
nurses and others a broad perspective of people, set-
tings and research issues. The parallels between the
methods in nursing and ethnography further clarify
ethnographic research methods.
Following an introductory chapter, the authors
use the subsequent chapters to describe the process
related to putting ideas into writing and gaining
access into the field. They also cover the actual
conduct of ethnographic research, analysis and
interpretation of data and ethical issues. The book
examines issues related to the insider’s or emic per-
spective and the outsider’s or etic perspective to
provide a holistic portrait of health and illness phe-
nomena within their social context.Throughout the
book, the authors avoid jargon, using straightfor-
ward and clear language to explain ethnographic
research and place it within the context of everyday
health care and community settings.
Whether studying health practices and beliefs of
diverse cultural groups or nursing as a cultural phe-
nomenon, the book dissects the different methods
of ethnography to offer a holistic understanding of
why people behave or believe as they do.The chapter
summaries and the annotated bibliography add to
the book’s richness. The tables demonstrate how
descriptive data can be summarized and examples
provided in a concise format. While it is not easy to
find shortcomings in this book, the inclusion of dia-
grams would have added to the clarity of some
complex concepts such as triangulation.
By the time readers close the book, they will have
the confidence to go out into the field and conduct
ethnographic research. Ethnography in Nursing
Research is a worthwhile addition to the library of
any serious nurse researcher, and all nurses inter-
ested in ethnographic research.
Tesfamicael Ghebrehiwet, RN, PhD,
Consultant in Nursing and Health Policy,
International Council of Nurses, Geneva,
Switzerland.
Book Reviews
198
ICN