Once upon a time ethnographers returning from the field simply sat down, shuffled their note cards, and wrote up their descriptions of the exotic and quaint customs they had observed. Today scholars in all disciplines are realizing how their research is presented is at least as important as what is presented. Questions of voice, style, and audience--the classic issues of rhetoric--have come to the forefront in academic circles. John Van Maanen, an experienced ethnographer of modern organizational structures, is one who believes that the real work begins when he returns to his office with cartons of notes and tapes. In Tales of the Field he offers readers a survey of the narrative conventions associated with writing about culture and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of various styles. He introduces first the matter-of-fact, realistic report of classical ethnography, then the self-absorbed confessional tale of the participant-observer, and finally the dramatic vignette of the new impressionistic style. He also considers, more briefly, literary tales, jointly told tales, and the theoretically focused formal and critical tales. Van Maanen illustrates his discussion of each style with excerpts from his own work on the police. Tales of the Field offers an informal, readable, and lighthearted treatment of the rhetorical devices used to present the results of fieldwork. Though Van Maanen argues ultimately for the validity of revealing the self while representing a culture, he is sensitive to the differing methods and aims of sociology and anthropology. His goal is not to establish one true way to write ethnography, but rather to make ethnographers of all varieties examine their assumptions about what constitutes a truthful cultural portrait and select consciously and carefully the voice most appropriate for their tales. Written with grace and humor, Tales of the Field will be an invaluable introduction to novices just learning the fieldwork trade and provocative stimulant to veteran ethnographers. "Engaging and well written."--H. Ottenheimer, Choice

Writing the New Ethnography provides a foundational understanding of the writing processes associated with composing new forms of qualitative writing in the social sciences. Goodall's distinctive style will engage and energize students, offering them provocative advice and exercises for turning qualitative data and field notes into compelling representations of social life.

A concise, engaging guide to writing qualitative research.

Anton Chekhov is revered as a boldly innovative playwright and short story writer - but he wrote more than just plays and stories. In this book, the author introduces readers to some other sides of Chekhov.

This best-selling book, designed for researchers embarking on their first ethnographic project, has been substantially revised and updated, with lots of exercises and advice to guide the embodied and creative ‘practice’ of ethnography. New additions include cyber-ethnography, sensual, visual and mobile ethnographies, and ‘field walking’.

A practical guide to the ethnographic study of online cultures, and beyond Ethnography and Virtual Worlds is the only book of its kind—a concise, comprehensive, and practical guide for students, teachers, designers, and scholars interested in using ethnographic methods to study online virtual worlds, including both game and nongame environments. Written by leading ethnographers of virtual worlds, and focusing on the key method of participant observation, the book provides invaluable advice, tips, guidelines, and principles to aid researchers through every stage of a project, from choosing an online fieldsite to writing and publishing the results. Provides practical and detailed techniques for ethnographic research customized to reflect the specific issues of online virtual worlds, both game and nongame Draws on research in a range of virtual worlds, including Everquest, Second Life, There.com, and World of Warcraft Provides suggestions for dealing with institutional review boards, human subjects protocols, and ethical issues Guides the reader through the full trajectory of ethnographic research, from research design to data collection, data analysis, and writing up and publishing research results Addresses myths and misunderstandings about ethnographic research, and argues for the scientific value of ethnography

The Teaching Writing series publishes user-friendly writing guides penned by authors with publishing records in their subject matter. While ethnographers inevitably write up their findings from the field, many ethnography textbooks focus more on the ‘ethno’ portion of our craft, and less on developing our ‘graph’ skills. Gullion fills that gap, helping ethnographers write compelling, authentic stories about their fieldwork. From putting the first few words on the page, to developing a plot line, to publishing, Writing Ethnography offers guidance for all stages of the writing process. Writing prompts throughout the book encourage the development of manuscripts from start to finish. Appropriate for both new and emerging scholars, Writing Ethnography is a useful text for qualitative methods, research methods courses across disciplines. “This is a must read for anyone who is learning about ethnography and is unsure about how to start writing.” – Kakali Bhattacharya, PhD, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Kansas State University “I love this writer because she does her homework, cares about her readers, and writes a damn good story. Buy this book immediately.” – Anne Harris, PhD, Senior Lecturer of Education, Monash University and author of Critical Plays: Embodied Research for Social Change and The Creative Turn: Toward a New Aesthetic Imaginary “In this foundational text, Gullion accomplishes the herculean task of talking about the overlooked process of ethnographic writing with an intimate tone. It is like we are seated at her desk writing along with her. This text will be required reading in my research methods courses and for my graduate students because of the meticulous breakdown of writing practice that creates a text that is both useful and engaging.” – Sandra Faulkner, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication, Bowling Green State University and author of Family Stories, Poetry, and Women’s Work and Poetry as Method: Reporting Research Through Verse Jessica Smartt Gullion, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Affiliate Faculty of Women’s Studies at Texas Woman’s University. She has published more than thirty peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, in journals such as Qualitative Inquiry, the International Review of Qualitative Research, and the Journal of Applied Social Science. She has also written two additional books, Fracking the Neighborhood: Reluctant Activists and Natural Gas Drilling with the MIT Press and October Birds: A Novel about Pandemic Influenza, Infection Control, and First Responders, which is part of the award-winning Social Fictions Series with Sense Publishers.