In ethnographic studies, researchers observe a culture's everyday rituals, such as cooking, and special events, such as celebrations. They also gather data by talking with members of a culture. Ethnographers usually participate in a culture, often learning the language and living with its people.
Ethnography focuses on qualitative descriptions and analysis rather than quantitative research. For example, an ethnographic study would explore the reasons why a certain culture marries at a particular age, not simply collect statistical data about the average and median age of marriage.
Ethnographers explore other cultures to understand the ways in which humans live. The goal of ethnography is to become sufficiently immersed in a culture to understand how that population thinks while also remaining an observer capable of analysis and objective description.