ethnography in nursing research

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Page 1: Ethnography in Nursing Research

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