logo

48 pages 1 hour read

The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession along the Rio Grande

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2010

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Background

Research Context: Ethnography: Observation and Experience

Angela Garcia’s study of New Mexico’s Española Valley is an ethnographic study of individuals living with addiction and social inequality. The term “ethnography” has Greek origins: éthnos refers to people and nations, while gráphō translates as “I write.” Ethnography is a form of qualitative study that requires the researcher to make determinations about the experiences of individuals and societies through observation and interviews. Frequently used in anthropology, ethnography often involves the researcher participating in their subjects’ culture and setting. This form of immersion positions the researcher within the daily lives and practices of a culture.

Ethnographers examine how different elements of a setting and culture fit together. The researcher’s goal is never to generalize about a culture or to develop a comprehensive analysis. Instead, ethnography examines how individual pieces within a culture and a person’s life fit together, and it offers insight into how those elements interact with one another. Researchers use various data collection methods, including observation notes, surveys, and interviews. The goal of these methods is to gather information while minimizing the researcher’s individual perspective and bias within the work.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 48 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,550+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools