Marietta Baba gives a detailed definition of competent ethnography. According to her, competent ethnography must involve comprehensive fieldwork. It should not just be about rumors or what other scholars report (Baba 249). Anthropologists must carry out detailed studies to reveal as much information about topics as possible. She goes further to argue that ethnography must involve many methods including observation, interviews, and videotaping.
The involvement of many methods helps collect enough information, which fosters the sense of “being there” (Baba 249). For example, in the description of cooperation of workers, a competent ethnography should make somebody imagine them greeting each other warmly and freely exchanging ideas and experiences. Baba also believes that competent ethnography must reveal unexpected information and conclusion.
According to her, the revelations are, usually, in the form of models that help understand why things are the way they are. She goes further to argue that all the revelations ethnographers come up with are, usually, in contexts such as religious, business, societal, environmental, and political (Baba 250). In addition, she argues that ethnographers describe both the verbal actual behaviors of people. For example, they not only state the hatred between the natives of Fort James and the Indian tribes but go further to demonstrate their fights as proof of their enmity. She also insists that ethnographers study the use of language in different fields in order to understand people’s cultures.
For example, the vehicle industry has its jargon and understanding it helps understand the culture that surrounds buying certain vehicles. Lastly, she argues that ethnography declares its commitment to protecting people’s rights. Usually, participants volunteer to take part in research (Baba 256). For example, natives taking part in a study about their culture in relation to buying clothes must have all the information about the study before volunteering to participate.
Works Cited
Baba, Marrietta. “Anthropological Practice in Business and Industry”. Applied Anthropology. Ed. Satish Kedia and John Van Willigen. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group. 2005. Print.