ETHNOGRAPHIC
RESEARCH.
[Date]
WHAT IS THEORY
TYPES OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
THE IMPORTANCE OF THEORY
SUMMARY NOTES ABOUT
ETHNOGRAPHY
, Lecture 5 – 25th July 2019
Ethnographic Research:
What is theory?
Theory is a tool of science
Theories are statements about how things are connected
The purpose of theory is to explain why things happen as
they do
They help us sort out our world, make sense of it, guide us
on how to behave in it and predict what might happen next
Conceptual tools used in analyzing and explaining certain
patterns of practices and beliefs.
Theories are the tools anthropologists use to give meaning
to data. This is because data in themselves are
meaningless.
Theories are used by anthropologists to separate
significant from meaningless data.
Theories are created by developing sets of propositions or
generalisations which establish relationships between
things in a systematic way
Theories are human constructions
They are derived from information that people collect by
seeing, smelling and feeling
This information is generally put together into formal or
informal theories by means of cognitive processes or
thinking
This type of thinking, or set of cognitive processes is
called theorizing
1
RESEARCH.
[Date]
WHAT IS THEORY
TYPES OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
THE IMPORTANCE OF THEORY
SUMMARY NOTES ABOUT
ETHNOGRAPHY
, Lecture 5 – 25th July 2019
Ethnographic Research:
What is theory?
Theory is a tool of science
Theories are statements about how things are connected
The purpose of theory is to explain why things happen as
they do
They help us sort out our world, make sense of it, guide us
on how to behave in it and predict what might happen next
Conceptual tools used in analyzing and explaining certain
patterns of practices and beliefs.
Theories are the tools anthropologists use to give meaning
to data. This is because data in themselves are
meaningless.
Theories are used by anthropologists to separate
significant from meaningless data.
Theories are created by developing sets of propositions or
generalisations which establish relationships between
things in a systematic way
Theories are human constructions
They are derived from information that people collect by
seeing, smelling and feeling
This information is generally put together into formal or
informal theories by means of cognitive processes or
thinking
This type of thinking, or set of cognitive processes is
called theorizing
1
