Ten tips for conducting focused ethnography in medical education research

Abstract

Background: Medical education researchers increasingly use qualitative methods, such as ethnography to understand shared practices and beliefs in groups. Focused ethnography (FE) is gaining popularity as a method that examines sub-cultures and familiar settings in a short time. However, the literature on how FE is conducted in medical education is limited. Aim: This paper provides 10 practical tips for conducting FE in medical education research. Methods: The tips were developed based on our expertise in ethnographic research and existing literature. Results: The 10 tips include: (1) Know the difference, (2) Build relationships before you start, (3) Have shared purpose and knowledge translation strategies with your stakeholders (4) Practice being reflexive, (5) Align research question with methodology, (6) Prepare your fieldwork, (7) Use a variety of methods for data collection, (8) Consider context on micro, meso, and macro levels, (9) Use triangulation, and (10) Provide a ‘thick description’, Conclusions: These 10 tips give practical guidance to medical educators in thinking about how and when to conduct FE.

Keywords

• medical education
• ethnography
• focused ethnography
• methodology
• qualitative methods