Set a goal for your interview. Determine what you hope to gain by conducting the ethnographic interview, then allow this desired goal to guide your interviewing process. For example, if you hope to better understand urban culture, keep this end goal in mind as you move through your interview.
Request interviews from many individuals. Ethnographic interviewing requires a series of interviews, not just a single question and answer session. Ask as many individuals as you can to sit down and answer your questions. In doing so, you ensure that you get a full picture of the group about which you are trying to gather information, not a partial picture.
Prepare a specific list of questions. The list should be large and include questions on multiple sub-topics. For example, if interviewing members of a work force, you may want to ask them about the ways in which they complete tasks, their personal interactions, and how they balance work and home, ensuring that you gather enough information to develop an understanding of your interview subjects' lives.
Observe the location about which you are trying to gather information. Spend some time sitting quietly in the space in which your interview subjects work or live. Jot down details that you notice, creating as large a list as you can.
Synthesize the information you gathered and compose an ethnographic report. Write this report in paragraphs, blending your interviews with your direct observation to develop a deeper understanding of the subject of your study. For example, if several individuals you interviewed stated that they enjoyed their lives in a rural village, and others indicated that they didn’t, you could use the results of your observation to hypothesize the reason for this disparity.