Ethnographic approaches and methods in L2 writing research: A critical guide and review

In this paper, we discuss central concepts and issues regarding ethnographi c research in education, particularly as they pertain to studies of L2 writ ing. After some necessary preliminaries we consider Watson-Gegeo's (1988) s ix principles of ethnographic research, and then propose our own 'prototype ' definition. Following a discussion of some key concepts in our definition , we then review three recent studies of L2 writing which are ethnographic in nature. Next, we discuss the vexing issue of 'generalizability', and con sider two further studies of L2 writing in that regard. We end by introduci ng a series of issues which are critical to recent ethnographic concerns in anthropology and sociology, but which have had little influence so far on ethnographically oriented L2 writing research. Individuality does more than matter; it is of the essence. You must learn t o recognize individual chimps and follow them for years, recording their pe culiarities, their differences, and their interactions.... It may seem quai nt to some people who fail to grasp the power of natural history that this great work of science largely tells stories about individual creatures.... When you understand why nature's complexity can only be unraveled this way, why individuality matters so crucially, then you are in a position to unde rstand what the sciences of history are all about. I treasure this book mos t of all for its quiet and unobtrusive proof, by iterated example rather th an theoretical bombast, that close observation of individual differences ca n be as powerful a method in science as the quantification of predictable b ehavior in a zillion identical atoms...