Ethnography

A research approach where researchers immerse themselves in the situations and contexts they want to understand. Through observation, participation, interviews, and detailed field notes, ethnographers uncover how people actually live and work.

While used across many disciplines, in Design Research ethnography grounds problems in real practices, reveals tacit knowledge and hidden values, and helps researchers develop genuine empathy.

It's an invaluable tool for identifying unmet needs and challenging assumptions.

Ethnography is often used in conjunction with other approaches—researchers may use ethnographic insights to enable better Co-design, Participatory Design, or Speculative Design work. Also see Thing Ethnography and Anticipatory Ethnography.