The QAME of trans-disciplinary ethnography: making visible disciplinary theories of ethnographic praxis as boundary object

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Title: The QAME of trans-disciplinary ethnography: making visible disciplinary theories of ethnographic praxis as boundary object
Author(s): Tunstall, Elizabeth (Dori)
Abstract: Framed by the idea that ethnography is a trans-disciplinary praxis, this paper adopts Alan Barnard's framework of the theory as questions, assumptions, methods, and evidence (QAME) to compare how ethnographic praxis is approached across the domains of anthropology, marketing, and design. The companies Intel, Cheskin, and IDEO serve as exemplars for each domain, respectively. Through a content analysis of academic journals and popular media, the paper explores the discursive meanings of ethnography as a 'boundary object' across many domains. The paper concludes with how Barnard's QAME framework can be used to make visible ethnography's multiple meanings so that practitioners can improve interdisciplinary collaborations within organizations and better articulate ethnography's value to business.
Publication type: Conference paper
Source: Ethnographic praxis in industry conference proceedings: proceedings of 'Being Seen: Paradoxes and Practices of (In)Visibility', the 4th Annual International Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, 15-18 October 2008, Vol. 2008, no. 1, pp. 281-233
Publication year: 2008
Keyword(s): Alan Barnard; Anthropology; Boundary object; Cheskin; Content analysis; Design; Ethnographic praxis; Ethnography; IDEO; Intel; Marketing; QAME; Trans-disciplinary praxis
Publisher: Wiley
ISSN: 1559-890X (series ISSN)
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-8918.2008.tb00107.x
Peer reviewed