Chapter 9: Ethnography

Test your understanding of each chapter by taking the quiz below. Click anywhere on the question to reveal the answer. Good luck!

1. Which one of the following best describes ‘ethnography’?

  1. Research about different ethnic groups
  2. Early childhood research
  3. Experimental research
  4. Naturalistic research

Ans: D

2.  Which one of the following best describes the characteristics of ethnographic research?

  1. Intensive and continuous study of a setting or small group over a period of time to gain detailed insights into the particular setting or group
  2. Detailed study of young children at home and in early childhood settings
  3. Studies involving large numbers of participants with the purpose of being able to make generalizations about the topic under study
  4. Studies involving carefully controlled experiments (such as testing new drug treatments)

Ans: A

3. Which of the following methods are generally used in ethnographic research? (Choose as many as apply.)

  1. Narrative (or detailed) observation
  2. Structured questionnaires
  3. Semi or unstructured interviewing
  4. Psychometric tests

Ans: A and C

4. Which one of the following research ideas would be suitable for an ethnographic study?

  1. A study with an aim to find out how many parents take their children to the local library, how often and when
  2. A study with an aim to evaluate a four-week obesity programme aimed at families with young children
  3. A study examining relationships between toddlers in a nursery class over time
  4. A study using neuroscientific imaging to investigate brain development in the first two years of life

Ans: C

5. Ethnographic research has developed from a particular academic field. What is it?

  1. Biology
  2. Social anthropology
  3. Developmental psychology
  4. History

Ans: B

6. Which of the following criticisms can be levelled at ethnographic research? (Choose as many as apply.)

  1. The researcher may impact on the behaviours of those in the field of study
  2. It does not lead to rich, detailed data
  3. The potential for ‘Othering’ of particular people and settings being observed
  4. Its lack of generalizability

Ans: A, C and D