Ethnography, as a research method, is well suited to providing information systems researchers with rich insights into the human, social and organizational aspects of information systems development and application (Avison and Myers, 1995; Harvey and Myers, 1995; Myers, 1997). The goal of ethnographic research is to improve our understanding of human thought and action through interpretation of human actions in context.

Although there are many different kinds of ethnography (e.g. see Clifford and Marcus, 1986; Myers, 1997; Sanday, 1979; Stewart, 1998; Van Maanen, 1988; Thomas, 1993), one of its defining features is participant observation. The ethnographer "immerses himself in the life of people he studies" (Lewis 1985, p. 380). This source of data is typically supplemented by interviews and documentary evidence such as annual reports, minutes of meetings and so forth.

In recent years a growing number of information systems researchers have recognised the value of the ethnographic method for information systems research (Harvey and Myers, 1995; Lee, Baskerville and Davies 1992; Pettigrew, 1985; Wynn 1991). Some of the early ground-breaking work was done by Wynn (1979) in her study of office conversations, Suchman (1987) in her study of the problem of human-machine communications, and Zuboff (1988) in her study of the automating and ‘informating’ potential of information technology.

Since then ethnography has become more widely used in the study of information systems in organisations, from the study of the development of information systems (Hughes et. al, 1992; Orlikowski, 1991; Suchman, 1995) to the study of aspects of information technology management (Davies, 1991; Davies and Nielsen, 1992). Ethnography has also been discussed as a method whereby multiple perspectives can be incorporated in systems design (Holzblatt and Beyer, 1993). For example, Bentley et al. (1992) conclude that ethnographic studies "are helpful in informing the systems design process and may produce insights which contradict conventional thinking in systems design" (p. 123).

In the area of the design and evaluation of information systems, some very interesting work has been taking place in a collaborative fashion between ethnographers on the one hand, and designers, IS professionals, computer scientists and engineers on the other. This collaborative work is especially strong in the UK and Europe and is growing in the US (Star, 1995). For example, one of the main projects of the group at Lancaster University (Hughes, Shapiro and Rodden) has been to use the ethnographic method to gain an understanding of human cooperation in air traffic control (Bentley et al., 1992; Hughes et al., 1992).

I believe that we have only scratched the surface in terms of the potential opportunities for using ethnographic research in Information Systems. The continual introduction of new information technologies in organizations means that there is plenty of scope for new ethnographic studies to be conducted. The insights that can be gained from such studies are potentially very significant (as previous ethnographies in IS have already demonstrated).

References

Avison, D.E. and Myers, M.D. 1995, Information Systems and Anthropology: an anthropological perspective on IT and organizational culture, Information Technology & People, 8, 3, 43-56.

Bentley, R., Rodden, T., Sawyer, P., Sommerville, I., Hughes, J., Randall, R. and Shapiro, D. 1992, Ethnographically-Informed systems design for air traffic control, in: "CSCW '92. ACM 1992 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: Sharing Perspectives," ACM Press, New York, 123-129.

Clifford, J. and Marcus, G.E. 1986, "Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography," University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Davies, L.J. 1991, Researching the organisational culture contexts of Information Systems strategy, in: "Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent Traditions," H-E. Nissen, H.K. Klein, and R.A. Hirschheim, eds., North-Holland, Amsterdam.

Davies, L.J. and Nielsen, S. 1992, An ethnographic study of configuration management and documentation practices in an Information Technology centre, in: "The Impact of Computer Supported Technology on Information Systems Development," K.E. Kendall, K. Lyytinen, and J. De Gross, eds., Elsevier/North Holland, Amsterdam.

Harvey, L. and Myers, M.D. 1995, Scholarship and practice: the contribution of ethnographic research methods to bridging the gap, Information Technology & People, 8, 3, 13-27.

Holzblatt, K. and Beyer, H. 1993, Making customer-centered design work for teams, Communications of the ACM, 36, 10, 93-103.

Hughes, J.A., Randall, D. and Shapiro, D. 1992, Faltering from ethnography to design, in: "CSCW '92. ACM 1992 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: Sharing Perspectives," ACM Press, New York, pp. 115-123.

Lee, A.S., Baskerville, R.L. and Davies, L. 1992, A workshop on two techniques for qualitative data analysis: action research and ethnography, in: "Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Information Systems," 305-306.

Lewis, I.M. 1985, "Social Anthropology in Perspective," Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Myers, Michael D. 1997. "Critical Ethnography in Information Systems," in Information Systems and Qualitative Research, edited by Allen S. Lee, Jonathan Liebenau and Janice I. DeGross, Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 276-300.

Orlikowski, W.J. 1991, Integrated Information Environment or Matrix of Control? The Contradictory Implications of Information Technology, Accounting, Management and Information Technologies,1, 1, 9-42.

Pettigrew, A.M. 1985, Contextualist research and the study of organizational change processes, in: "Research Methods in Information Systems," E. Mumford, R. Hirschheim, G. Fitzgerald, and A.T. Wood-Harper, eds., North Holland, Amsterdam.

Randall, D., Hughes, J. and Shapiro, D. 1994, Steps towards a partnership: ethnography and system design, in: "Requirements Engineering: Social and Technical Issues," M. Jirotka and J. Goguen (eds.), Academic Press, London.

Sanday, P.R. 1979, The ethnographic paradigm(s), Administrative Science Quarterly, 24,4, 527-538.

Star, Susan L. 1995, "Cultures of Computing," Blackwell. Oxford.

Stewart, A. 1998. "The Ethnographer’s Method," Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.

Suchman, L. 1987, "Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication," Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Thomas, J. 1993, "Doing Critical Ethnography," Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.

Van Maanen, J. 1988, "Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography," University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Wynn, E. 1979, "Office Conversation as an Information Medium," Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.

Wynn, E. 1991, Taking practice seriously, in: "Design at Work," J. Greenbaum, and M. Kyng, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum, New Jersey.

Zuboff, S. 1988, "In the Age of the Smart Machine," Basic Books, New York.

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