Interpretive ethnography: From ‘authentic voice’ to ‘interpretive eye’ |
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| Authors: | Douglas Harper |
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| Institution: | 1. Professor of Sociology, with specialities in Consumer Behavior and Communication , University of Parma , Italy;2. Professor of Methodology of Social Sciences , University of Molise , Italy |
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| Abstract: | The paper explores the use of visual sociology in the study of material culture. It is argued that visual methods are particularly useful, sometimes essential, in gathering data about social and symbolic uses of goods and objects in day‐to‐day social life. Visual methods are not only integrative, but fundamental, in the construction of sociological datum from direct observation. Recognizing the importance of visual techniques forces us to reconsider their methodological status, from the point of view of reliability and standardization. This paper analyzes problems and advantages of photographic data, and proposes a “shooting protocol” to guarantee the reliability and standardization of research images. In addition, results of a study on the social and symbolic meaning of furniture are discussed. |
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