Ethnography is a form of qualitative research in which the researcher studies a particular culture of a group or subgroup. This type of research is used to gather empirical data on subjects. For instance, an ethnographer might conduct research on adolescent boys in an inner city housing project. This qualitative study might focus solely on the interests, opinions, perspectives and interactions of the group. The research might culminate in a comprehensive understanding of the life and lifestyle of the group studied.
A field observation is what a qualitative researcher might do to view the dynamics of a culture. The researcher would immerse himself into the culture -- as much as possible -- to witness the living culture. He would work solely as an observer, and be careful not to disturb the natural integrity of that cultural environment. He would take notes to indicate actions, reactions and interactions.
Most of the time it is impossible to study an entire population of interest; therefore, only some of the population of interest is studied. Sampling is a method by which a researcher selects his research participants from a given population. There are several different methods of sampling: random sampling, multistage sampling, stratified sampling and cluster sampling.
Coding, in qualitative research, is a method of segmenting the data. Coding allows a researcher to categorize behaviors and verbal expressions in a field observation. The researcher transcribes field notes, assigning descriptors like symbols, words and phrases, so the data is grouped into meaningful categories.
Data, in qualitative research, does not always refer to numerical data, although that is a possibility. Data is information that has been collected on the participants in the study. Qualitative data may be collected via interviews, observations or through the review of written documents. Once collected, this data can be coded or segmented, so it can be used to theorize or hypothesize about human behavior.