While a fan of Jenna Lyons, thick data seems to have its limits <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/11/business/j-crew-flounders-in-fashions-shifting-tides.html>. *(I haven't read the article in question.)
On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 12:41 PM, Jonathan Morgan <[email protected]> wrote: > Leila, > > I consider much of the research I do to be ethnographic* in nature. But > like you, Leila, my background is in one of these new-fangled hybrid > disciplines**, and quote-un-quote real social scientists might bristle when > I claim that term. > > Abbey, Daisy, and Sherah are going to embark on a trip to Mexico next week > for a Bona Fide *field study*. Don't get more ethnographic than that ;) > > Also, at least one of Wang's examples of "thick data" research looks an > awful lot like a standard user study: *"One employee, Jenna Lyons was > given the opportunity to implement iterative, experimental, and real-time > testing of products with consumers. Her approach resonated with consumers, > transforming Jcrew into a cult brand and tripling its revenues." *So the > author of this article seems to be adopting a big tent definition of > ethnography, that includes a lot of different qualitative research methods. > Apparently you don't need to be stranded for months on the Trobriand > Islands <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronis%C5%82aw_Malinowski#Career> > in order to be considered an ethnographer. Whew! > > Anyway, I'm sure I'm boring most of the people on this list by now, so > I'll stop. If anyone's curious about how to do ethnographic research in an > industry setting, I recommend *Practical Ethnography > <http://www.practicalethnography.com/>*. If anyone wants to read a > really, really interesting book by one of America's best ethnographers, I > recommend *You Owe Yourself a Drunk: An Ethnography of Urban Nomads > <https://www.waveland.com/browse.php?t=74>. * > > - J > > *disclosure: I'm not really interested in disputing/defining the > boundaries of ethnography. I'll gladly leave that up to people who haven't > (yet) escaped from academia > **I got my degree in a department called "Human Centered Design & > Engineering"... I'll leave it to the reader to decide whether that is an > actual academic discipline, or simply word salad. > > > > On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 11:37 AM, Leila Zia <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Asaf and Raul, >> >> The shorter version: >> My background tells me that ethnographers bring a new perspective and >> depth to many quantitative research endeavours. I am fully on board that >> for some projects you cannot rely on quantitative analysis alone. >> >> The longer version: >> As a researcher in the Foundation, I can share with you some of my >> thoughts on the subject of what is called "thick data" in the article. >> >> * In the context of the article, thick data refers to ethnographic >> studies, not necessarily other qualitative approaches for understanding >> deeper. It's important to distinguish the two since although the Research >> team does qualitative and quantitative research, none of that research that >> I'm aware of at the moment involves ethnographic research. >> >> * Most of the people in the Research team that I have talked to value >> ethnographic research. >> >> * Combining ethnographic and big data approaches is not a solved problem, >> many acknowledge that it's an important one, but it's not solved. Quite a >> few top tier academic institutions have acknowledged and are working on it. >> The so called Social Computing programs are the children of this >> acknowledgement. :-) >> I got my PhD in a department called management science and engineering. >> The department was created by combining three programs: Operations Research >> (think applied math and more recently big data work), Organizational >> Behavior (ethnographic studies and more), System Economics (or Economics of >> Systems I believe). I experienced first-hand the challenges and >> opportunities of increasing research interactions among these traditionally >> separate programs/departments. We are making progress on this front, we are >> not there yet, neither in academia nor in research institutions and >> industry. >> >> * As Aaron and Jonathan have mentioned, the Research team values >> qualitative and quantitative research. The most recent example of it may be >> the >> research >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Characterizing_Wikipedia_Reader_Behaviour> >> we have started to understand Wikipedia readers in fall 2015. That >> research has not involved ethnographic research, however, it definitely has >> involved and will continue to involve a mix of qualitative and quantitative >> approaches. >> >> I hope this helps. >> >> And thanks again for starting this conversation. :-) >> >> Best, >> Leila >> >> Leila Zia >> Research Scientist >> Wikimedia Foundation >> >> On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 12:34 AM, Asaf Bartov <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Estonian Wikipedian Raul Veede, User:Oop, asked to relay this link to >>> "the metrics people", so I am sending it here and to the Community >>> Engagement team at the Wikimedia Foundation. >>> >>> <http://goog_433392935> >>> >>> https://medium.com/ethnography-matters/why-big-data-needs-thick-data-b4b3e75e3d7#.xxhn4bpvc >>> >>> Cheers, >>> >>> A. >>> -- >>> Asaf Bartov >>> Wikimedia Foundation <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org> >>> >>> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share >>> in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! >>> https://donate.wikimedia.org >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Analytics mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/analytics >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Analytics mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/analytics >> >> > > > -- > Jonathan T. Morgan > Senior Design Researcher > Wikimedia Foundation > User:Jmorgan (WMF) <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jmorgan_(WMF)> > > > _______________________________________________ > Analytics mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/analytics > > -- Katherine Maher Chief Communications Officer Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94105 +1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635 +1 (415) 712 4873 [email protected]
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