Postgraduate Course: Using Ethnographic Methods in Interdisciplinary Health Research (SCAN11034)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This interdisciplinary course provides hands-on training in designing and applying ethnographic methods within health research. Drawing on scholarship across the social sciences and health disciplines, students will develop the skills to analyse ethnographic data, design collaborative research projects, and critically engage methodological and ethical challenges in a range of ethnographic contexts. |
| Course description |
This interdisciplinary course focuses on core research methods used across the social sciences and health research, with a focus on ethnography as a foundational and integrative approach employed across disciplines. The course provides training in ethnographic methods in health research, teaching ethnography as a flexible methodology that incorporates participant observation, interviews, surveys, creative arts-based methods, and other qualitative and quantitative techniques to generate rich contextualized data. Teaching will take a case-study based approach and students will be invited to reflect on the benefits and drawbacks of specific ethnographic methods in relation to other methodologies.
Training will emphasise the use of ethnographic methods in interdisciplinary and collaborative research environments and settings. At the end of the course, students will be prepared as health researchers in a variety of employment settings, equipped with transferrable skills in interdisciplinary collaboration, ethics, best practices in organisational research, data management, qualitative analysis, presentation skills for presenting research design to academic and non-academic audiences, and the ability to problem-solve and communicate ethnographic insights effectively to diverse audiences.
Delivery will be through in-person workshops, seminars and lectures. Sessions will be participatory and include a combination of lecture presentations, practical activities and group work.
Indicative topics to be covered include:
Sensory ethnography
Creative arts-based methods
Ethnographic interviews
Focus groups
Digital methods in ethnography
Quantitative methods in ethnography
AI and ethnography
Collaborative, international and interdisciplinary ethnographic research
Ethics in ethnographic research
Ethnographic research in organisations
Ethnographic data management
Data analysis working with complex ethnographic data
Working with vulnerable groups
Knowledge exchange and impact for ethnographic research
Writing ethnography
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of ethnographic research methods in interdisciplinary health research
- Demonstrate advanced skills in evaluating ethnographic research
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of the ethical risks in conducting ethnographic research on health
- Apply theories and approaches to ethnography in research design
- Communicate ethnographic research to diverse audiences
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Reading List
Pigg, Stacy Leigh. On Sitting and Doing: Ethnography as Action in Global Health. Social Science & Medicine 99 (December 2013): 12734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.07.018
Shih, Patti. 2019. Critical Ethnography in Public Health: Politicizing Culture and Politicizing Methodology. In Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences, edited by Pranee Liamputtong, 22336. Singapore: Springer.
Hirsch, E. and Gellner, D.N., 2020. Introduction: ethnography of organizations and organizations of ethnography. In Inside organizations (pp. 1-15). Routledge.
Neely, Abigail H. Worlds in a Bottle: An Object-Centered Ethnography for Global Health. Medicine Anthropology Theory 6, no. 4 (2019). https://doi.org/10.17157/mat.6.4.642.
Trundle, Catherine, and Tarryn Phillips. Which Ethnography? Whose Ethnography? Medical Anthropologys Epistemic Sensibilities Among Health Ethnographies. Medical Anthropology 43, no. 4 (2024): 295309. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2024.2349513. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Creative problem solvers and researchers
Skilled communicators student will learn how to communicate research findings to diverse audiences including through oral presentations
Critical and reflective thinkers
Curiosity for learning that makes a positive difference
Courage to expand and fulfil their potential
Passion to engage locally and globally |
| Keywords | Ethnography,interdisciplinary research methods,training,health,qualitative research,ethics |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Laurie Denyer Willis
Tel: (0131 6)50 3878
Email: laurie.denyerwillis@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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