Arbeit zur Sprache bringen : der ethnographische Zugang

Titelangaben

Spittler, Gerd:
Arbeit zur Sprache bringen : der ethnographische Zugang.
Wien , 2014 . - 31 S. - (Vienna Working Papers in Ethnography ; 1 )

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Abstract

There is often a wide gulf between the way we talk about work and the real practice of work.
Which are the most helpful methodological approaches and what is the role of interviews and discussions? A semantic study of the lexical field for "work" in different languages constitutes a common approach, but the insights this can bring are limited. More helpful is the analysis of whole interviews and texts, but this also gives only a partial understanding of actual work practices.
Such linguistic approaches need to be complemented by other methods, especially observation and participant observation. Four ethnographic case studies are presented which illustrate this combination of methods: ethnographic interviews and participant observation of the work of a waitress (Spradley), conversations by and with Columbian peasants (Gudeman and Rivera), ethnomethodological studies of interactions with photocopiers (Suchman and Orr),and thick participation among Tuareg herders (Spittler). Apart from the methodological approach to studying work, there is also the question of how to present research results in a text(writing culture). This is difficult in the case of such a mundane topic as work, which generally has nothing very exciting to offer. How it can succeed is shown by the example of the Marienthal study.