In order to narrow the scope of your ethnographic research, you are asked to provide a thesis question for this project that focuses on ONE aspect of the immigrant experience or culture, based on the topics covered in your textbook. Your research focus may change/expand/grow, as a direct result of your interview and observations. This is to be expected during the ethnographic process. Do not be afraid to change your research question and/or topic, as this is an indication that you are being thorough and objective.
1. Identify ONE NYC immigrant group that you would like to research this semester from the list provided (remember to choose a group you have access to).
2. Identify a cultural feature or topic (list of textbook topics provided on page 4) that you would like to focus on for this group and pose it as a question. For example, how has migration to NYC affected the marriage practices and traditions of the Haitian community?
Part I: CONTEXT/background: Draft Due 3/6 & 3/15 for feedback
Context/background: Archival research is an important aspect of the ethnography process. Anthropologists are not looking for the surface appearance, but for deeper meaning. There are two principal types of data in any study: Quantitative data and qualitative data. Quantitative data are based on numbers (demographics and statistics) – number of people, number of interactions, etc. Qualitative data represent information that cannot be counted, such as life histories. You will be engaging in both for this project. “Before you can study a culture, it is vital to read up as much as possible about the group and any previous research done. This background research will aid in your future studies. Prior research may save you the effort of repeating a study that has already been done. In short, it’s good to be well-informed (K. Guest).”
a) Statistics/demographics: Provide data/evidence for your chosen NYC immigrant group relevant to your research question (2-3 graphs/charts). Provide explanation and a statement of relevance for each chart/graph. (Suggested resource cites are census.gov. nyc.gov, Pew research, NCES, Gallop, etc.)
b) Relevant Literature: Provide APA, MLA, or Chicago (contingent on instr. pref.) citations and synopsis of two recent (less than 5 years old) academic peer reviewed articles that are relevant to your chosen immigrant group and/or your research question/topic. You can reference/cite a chapter from your text, if relevant.
c) Object Study: Find/provide an image (drawing or photo) of an object, photo or artistic piece at the BMA to represent the group you are researching. Is this object (or one like it) used/created by the group you are researching? How is it used? Why is it relevant to your group/topic? Why did you choose it? What type of cultural data can you glean from this object.
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Part II: METHODOLOGY: Draft Due 4/10 for feedback
Conduct a semiformal INTERVIEW with 1-2 members of the immigrant group you have chosen to research.
Provide the interview details (date, location, venue, duration of interview, etc.). DO NOT use personal names when describing the person/s you’ve spoken to, we don’t do this in anthropology, so refer to the person as “the interviewee.” It is required that you interview one, but no more than TWO immigrants for this paper. Your interview can be presented in narrative form or block question/answer format. You should focus on the following:
1. Describe the person/s by key demographics (age, ethnicity, marital status, education, gender, etc.)
2. Describe their immigrant journey. Was it safe? Is the person “documented”, did the person come by themselves? With family? Were they sponsored, and by who? Did they leave their homeland because of danger? Like ethnic cleansing or environmental destruction or war/famine? Or because they just wanted to come for economic or other social reasons.
3. Put this person’s immigration story within the context of their community. Did they arrive and are they still connected to an immigrant community. Is that community isolated?
4. How has integration and/or assimilation gone (for them and their community)? Questions should examine/probe areas of conflict in the integration process, such as education, health, employment, discrimination/racism, relationships, family, religious practice, etc.
5. Examine group behavior. Not just one or two folks. You can talk to members of the family, friends from the workplace, church or academic environment, or set yourself up in a location where you can observe this group with an eye to the questions that you’re exploring. Remember that you’re looking at patterns of behavior, not just isolated observations. Take Fieldnotes to add to your data.
Part III: CONCLUSION (Analysis & Reflection) Draft Due 4/17 for feedback
To present your ethnographic data to an audience (instructor, peers, etc.), it must be analyzed considering your research question. Anthropologists do this by considering their findings from both emic and etic perspectives. Emic perspectives refer to understandings of the local community’s issues/practices on its own terms. Anthropologists compare and contrast this perspective from etic perspectives; that is, interpreting the topic/issue from an outsider/anthropologist’s perspective. (How they perceive or see the issue or cultural practice versus how community members see it). This overall process is called ethnology. There is always more than one perspective on any topic. Anthropologists try to incorporate multiple voices into their ethnographies (their own voice as well as that of their informants). This is called polyvocality. This can be done through direct quotes or even involving informants in the research design process. Radical Ethnography prioritizes the voices and needs of the community over that of the researcher. Many anthropologists include information about their research processes in their ethnographies. This is called reflexivity. “In the end, we must remember that we are but one voice on any subject (K. Guest).”
Prompts or Points to Consider:
• Did the person(s) you interviewed have a typical or atypical experience? Based on their family and community’s overall experience immigrating to the United States.
• What two things did you learn about this immigrant group from your research and observations that you did not know before?
• Did your interview and observations of this group support or contradict your archival research (statistic/demographics and journal articles)? Explain.
• Were you able to answer your research question? How? What sources or data were most helpful to you? Did your question change during the research process? How?
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• What did you learn from the research process itself? What challenges did you encounter while doing this research? If you had more time, how would you expand on your research study?
Part IV: ORAL Presentation (10-12 PPT/Google slides) Presentation Date 5/8/2025
