Research in Constructivist Frameworks Using Ethnographic Techniques

This article discusses the undertaking of research using a constructivist philosophical framework and ethnographic techniques, which can include individual interviews, focus groups, observation, and questionnaires. It begins with a broad overview of social sciences research philosophy, discussing both positivism and interpretivism, before moving on to focus on the constructivist paradigm, which comes under the interpretivist umbrella. The section on ethnography follows and includes sampling, data collection techniques, and data analysis. Examples from the author's work are used to illustrate both philosophy and method. They are from the author's studies of the information-seeking behavior of, firstly, women with breast cancer and, secondly, online investors.