Thick descriptions provide enough context so that a person outside the culture can make meaning of the behavior. Thin description by contrast, is stating facts without such meaning or significance.
What is thick description example?
Thick description includes voices, feelings, actions and meanings (Ponterotto, 2006). The example most commonly used to explain ‘Thick description’ comes from Ryle. He argued that if someone winks at us without a context, we don’t know what it means. ... As the context changes, the meaning of the wink changes.
What is thick and thin description?
“Thick Description” is a term used by the cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz
What does the term thick description mean?
In the social sciences and related fields, a thick description is a description of human social action that describes not just physical behaviors , but their context as interpreted by the actors as well, so that it can be better understood by an outsider.
What is a thick description in ethnography?
The term thick descriptions was first used by Ryle (1949) and later by Geertz (1973) who applied it in ethnography. Thick descripton refers to the detailed account of field experiences in which the researcher makes explicit the patterns of cultural and social relationships and puts them in context (Holloway, 1997).
How do you use thick description?
Thick description involves writing detailed narratives or ‘vignettes’ explaining situations and their background ‘context’. The goal is not just to describe a situation, but also add details so that readers understand the significant and complex cultural meanings underpinning any observable scenario.
Which research method is most likely to use thick description?
Qualitative research can also provide rich and detailed descriptions of human behaviour in the real-world contexts in which it occurs. Among qualitative researchers, this depth is often referred to as “thick description” (Geertz, 1973).
What is thick description in writing?
Thick description is a term used to characterize the process of paying attention to contextual detail in observing and interpreting social meaning when conducting qualitative research . ... For Geertz, doing anthropology means doing ethnography, which in turn means doing thick description.
How do you write an ethnographic description?
- A thesis. The thesis establishes the central theme and message of your research study. ...
- Literature Review. A literature review is an analysis of previous research now on your research topic. ...
- Data Collection. ...
- Data Analysis. ...
- Reflexivity.
What is an ethnography and give an example?
Generally, an ethnographic study involves a researcher observing behaviour either in person or via cameras pre-installed in participant homes, work places , etc. Think of the show Gogglebox where viewers observe the reaction to other people watching TV – that’s ethnography.
What is rich description in qualitative research?
Entry. Subject Index Entry. The term rich data describes the notion that qualitative data and their subsequent representation in text should reveal the complexities and the richness of what is being studied .
Why is Clifford Geertz important?
The American cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz (born 1926) did ethnographic field work in Indonesia and Morocco, wrote influential essays on central theoretical issues in the social sciences, and advocated a distinctive “interpretive” approach to anthropology .
What is thick description quizlet?
“thick” description involves understanding and absorbing the context of the situation or behavior . It also involves ascribing present and future intentionality to the behavior.
What do you understand by ethnography?
ethnography, descriptive study of a particular human society or the process of making such a study. Contemporary ethnography is based almost entirely on fieldwork and requires the complete immersion of the anthropologist in the culture and everyday life of the people who are the subject of his study.
What is thick description anthropology?
“Thick Description” is a term used by the cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz. He described the practice of thick description as a way of providing cultural context and meaning to human actions and behavior , as opposed to “thin description” which is a factual account without any interpretation.
What are the different types of qualitative research?
Six common types of qualitative research are phenomenological, ethnographic, grounded theory, historical, case study, and action research .
