Research Guides: Ethnographic Research & Ethnography: Keyword Searching

Keyword Searching

Try some of these terms as keywords in your search:

Ethnograph*
Ethnography -- qualitative research
Ethnographic research -- fieldwork -- community
Ethnography -- cultural anthropology
Social anthropology
Fieldwork
Case study

Participant observation
Immersive research
Social behavior
Community studies
Digital ethnography
Visual ethnography

Narrative ethnography
Comparative ethnography
Critical ethnography
Action research
Community-based ethnography
Cultural studies
Autoethnography -- personal narrative
Ethnography -- digital -- social media

In addition to many of the suggested keywords for ethnographic research, you can explore ethnographies on the specific communities by trying some of these keywords in your search:

Ethnograph* -- Italy
Ethnograph* -- Muslim women
Ethnograph* -- migrant communities -- Latin America
Digital ethnograph* -- online communities
Medical ethnograph* -- health care practices

Ethnograph* has been used to find variant word endings (i.e. ethnography, ethnographies, ethnographic, etc.)

Use the keywords "case study" or "social anthropology" and the community or place you are interested in:

Case study -- college students
Social anthropology -- Navajo
Social anthropology -- Brazil -- urban communities

TIP: Many ethnographic studies are included in theses and dissertations. Check for these in databases such as Dissertations & Theses Global (ProQuest) or EBSCO Open Dissertations. You may also refine your search results by source type: Dissertations/Theses

Choosing Keywords

Using Boolean Operators