Ethnographic Action Research

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Ethnographic Action Research

• Jo Tacchi
• Queensland University of Technology

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EAR Ethnographic Action Research

• Combines three research approaches
• ETHNOGRAPHY traditionally used to understand
  different cultures in detail. It is long term and
  requires researcher to be embedded in local
  cultures.
• PARTICIPATORY TECHNIQUES help both researchers
  and participants understand complex issues in an
  inclusive and participatory manner.
• ACTION RESEARCH used to bring about new
  activities through new understandings of
  situations.

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EAR key features
Plan

• Embedded researcher
• Ongoing
• Social mobilisation
• Research culture
• Participatory
• Action research cycle

Reflect
Do
Observe
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The Changing Communication Environment

• Vertical patterns of communication from
  government to people
• Unipolar communication systems
• Few information sources
• Easy to control for good (generating accurate
  information to large numbers of people) and ill
  (government control and censorship)
• Send a message

Horizontal patterns of communication from
people to people Communication networks
Many information sources Difficult to
control for good (more debate, increased voice,
increased trust) and ill (more complex, issues of
accuracy) Ask a question
Training workshop, Lapulu
James Deane The Context of Communication for
Development, 2004. http//www.communicationforsoc
ialchange.org/pdf/roundtable.pdf
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Communicative ecologies approach

• Reflects ethnographic goal of holism,
  importance of context
• Tool for grounding everyday communication
• Assumes ICT joins pre-existing communication
  systems beyond mass / community media
• Transport infrastructure
• roads, buses, trains
• Social communication practices
• public and private gossip
• Local people often do not use or think about an
  individual medium in isolation from other media
• Communication takes place within an existing
  communicative ecology specific to each
  community/group/place culture
• Hearn, G., Tacchi, J., Foth, M., Lennie, J.
  (2009). Action Research and New Media Concepts,
  Methods and Cases. Cresskill, NJ Hampton Press.

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ComEco1
Subject Firali 33yo female householder Location
Jhuwani, Nepal Date 24 March 2007
Communicative Ecologymapping
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ComEco2
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ComEco3
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Communicative ecology of ICT for Development
innovations
Constraints
Conditions / contexts
ICT innovation
Consequences
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Embedded research - challenges

• Organisational flexibility
• Hierarchies of knowledge
• Perceptions of research
• Difficulties in developing a research culture
• Breaking the cycle
• ME and impact assessment

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Assessing communication for social change a new
agenda in impact assessment

• Equal Access Nepal communication for social
  change
• Radio programs and outreach
• Participatory impact assessment
• Adapting EAR as an embedded methodology in the
  organisation
• Participation at many levels content, ME,
  communities, managers, partners, stakeholders
• Community Researchers

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the proveimprove dichotomy

• existing ME practices are often top-down and
  donor-driven, and based on pressures to prove
  impacts, rather than bottom up, participatory and
  based on improving programs in ways that meet
  community needs and aspirations
• Lennie et al (2008) Challenges, issues and
  contradictions in a participatory impact
  assessment project in Nepal AES conference paper
  presented in Perth, Western Australia, September
  2008
• Sankar, M. Williams, B. (2008). Editorial
  Evaluation matters. In Williams, B. and Sankar,
  M. (Eds.). Evaluation South Asia. (pp.1-3).
  Kathmandu UNICEF.

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Challenges, issues and contradictions

• Communication for social change (CFSC) approach
  seeks to ground communication activities in local
  realities (not top down)
• This is where meaningful social change happens
• Micro-level data, national initiatives
• Community-based research/ers in case study sites
• Setting up appropriate systems and processes
  extremely difficult

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Challenges, issues and contradictions

• Evaluation capacity building considered important
  but has a number of recognised problems,
  including
• Organisational culture, dynamics and context
• Development of a wide range of skills
• Expectations of funding agencies
• Need for good quality data and data systems
• Loss of champions and key staff
• Communication and evaluation language issues
• Differences in power, knowledge and status
• Feedback mechanisms
• Literacy and language issues
• Time, energy and resources

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Challenges, issues and contradictions

• Evaluation capacity building considered important
  but has a number of recognised problems,
  including
• Organisational culture, dynamics and context
• Development of a wide range of skills
• Expectations of funding agencies
• Need for good quality data and data systems
• Loss of champions and key staff
• Communication and evaluation language issues
• Differences in power, knowledge and status
• Feedback mechanisms
• Literacy and language issues
• Time, energy and resources