MUTUAL RELEVANCE OF ETHNOGRAPHY AND DISCOURSE

This article argues for the mutual relevance of ethnography and discou rse analysis to field-based research. Although this is not a particula rly new idea, ethnographic studies and studies of face-to-face interac tion are still often conducted in ways that ignore or downplay their m utual relevance. Ethnographers are reminded of the importance of treat ing situated language use as a topic of inquiry in the settings they s tudy Conversely, students of face-to-face interaction are reminded of the importance of doing ethnography as part of their research. A varie ty of field-based studies are drawn on to provide examples of how sens itivity to this mutual relevance can enrich both approaches to field-b ased research. Finally, four articles in this special issue of Journal of Contemporary Ethnography are introduced.