An Ethnography IS:
- A first-hand descriptive, written account of a particular culture or group, focusing on a particular population, place and time, and all with the goal of accurately describing that culture or ethnic group.
- This first-hand account is produced through participant observation of the culture or group.
- It can be either book-length or article-length.
An Ethnography is NOT:
- Produced second-hand from first-hand accounts.
- Simple opinion or observation reports without an analytical component. Examples of such reports include travel accounts, short newspaper or popular magazine articles, articles written for general readership like those in National Geographic, and letters to the editor.
Dr. Susan Vincent from the StFX Anthropology Department offers a more in-depth definition of ethnography which can be found in this document.