Ethnography texts results from methodologies used by anthropologists and disciplines such as sociology through observations and interviews of participants. The idea is to describe different systems as well as relationships surrounding individuals or specific cultural practices.
Text 1:
The text by Fargues and Shah (2017) on Skilful Survivals: Irregular Migration to the Gulf focuses n the Bangladeshis as irregular immigrants in Saudi Arabia. Due to continued growth of immigrant, population in the kingdom the government has established a harsh policy to curb immigration. The text is based on qualitative study in Bangladesh between 2011 and 12014 involving government departments, ministries, and registered travel agents that always send migrant workforce from abroad.
The researcher used interview method on immigrants in various issues such as whether they knew the kind of life they would d there. The method is appropriate to gather reliable information on the issue under study. Open-ended questions were used, which allowed the participants to express themselves fully and disclose relevant details. The interview was also conducted with the travel agent brokers for information about the process of migration.
Text 2:
A study by Meza (2015) on Indian education: Maintaining tribal sovereignty through Native American culture and language preservation
focuses on Indian education as well as preservation of culture and language for Native Americans. The study is ethnographic in nature and deals with issues related to human behavior, culture, beliefs, as well as language. Native Americans have faced historical challenges due to marginalization and the study aims at analyzing such experiences.
Unlike the first text on Bangladesh migration, this second text utilizes review of literature from other ethnographic studies to evaluate and analyze the plight of Native American culture on different aspects. The articles and scholarly materials used have information on education, culture, language, provisions for Indian education, and the challenges faced by the group. The two texts involve qualitative research since they deal with the social and cultural aspects of human beings and the challenges they face every day.
Text 1 is more involving in terms of physical interaction since the researcher relates closely with the participants to get their experiences and feelings. The researcher is able to engage the respondents allowing them to give opinions about the matter. On the other hand, text 2 does not involve participants directly but summarizes previous studies related to the issue being studied. In this case, the researcher is able to have different findings and compile them to make conclusions. Although, the research does not involve the respondents directly, the supporting evidence from previous research articles.
According to Hallett and Barber (2014), ethnographers have for a very long time been concerned with the way individuals and groups interact on social places. Technology has advanced and the internet allows people to interact on the virtual world thus there is need to use data from online spaces together with the traditional one. The two texts discussion have not utilized the social spaces provided by online media but have focused on the traditional forms of interactions. Ethnographic research need to also include social media sites to establish the kind of relationship different people have with one another. For instance, the culture of the Native Americans may have changed due to the presence of online media.
References
Hallett, R. E., & Barber, K. (2014). Ethnographic research in a cyber era. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 43(3), 306-330.
Fargues, P., & Shah, N. M. (2017). Skilful Survivals: Irregular Migration to the Gulf.
Meza, N. (2015). Indian education: Maintaining tribal sovereignty through Native American culture and language preservation. BYU Educ. & LJ, 353.
