20 Exploring Discovery, Description, and Translation
Simone Flanigan
Goals
After reading this article, you will be able to do the following:
- Define the key differences between discovery, description, and translation.
- Give concrete examples of how to employ discovery, description, and translation.
- Implement specific strategies to strengthen your ethnographic research.
- Translate your research findings in an ethical and truthful way.
Introduction
As an ethnographer, discerning the relationship between discovery, description, and translation is crucial. Implementing what you learn about these concepts will ultimately determine how successful you are at shining light on the truth that exists at your ethnography’s core.
Discovery
In James P. Spradley’s Participant Observation, he defines discovery as the initial stage of ethnographic research. During this first stage, you enter the field to learn about the culture from an emic—insider’s—perspective. The discovery process involves gaining access to the culture, observing its norms and values, and understanding the meanings behind the behaviors and practices of the people you’re studying.
As you do this, approach the culture with an open mind and a sense of curiosity rather than relying solely on preconceived ideas or theoretical frameworks. Ask important questions and engage in meaningful interactions with the informants. By embracing the discovery process, you will develop a perception of the culture you are studying and uncover rich and meaningful data that contributes to a comprehensive ethnographic account.
What Does Discovery Look Like?
Hiro, a student ethnographer, is exploring how climate change impacts low-income households. Hiro immerses himself in a low-income neighborhood, closely observing families struggling with environmental challenges. Hiro quickly notices that climate-related issues such as increasingly hot summers and bad air quality affect these communities more dramatically than wealthier neighborhoods. These challenges result in health issues and financial struggles. As Hiro interacts with the residents, he uncovers their resourceful ways of coping, such as forming support networks and community-based initiatives that look to combat climate injustice. By unearthing these invaluable insights, Hiro illuminates the low-income householders’ resilience and vulnerability amidst climate change. His research seeks to advocate for more inclusive climate policies and support systems, aiming to uplift and protect these at-risk communities.
Description
Description is where you systematically observe and record the behaviors, practices, and cultural elements of the community you are studying. Through detailed and vivid descriptions, you capture the observed culture’s complexity. Accurate and thorough description is foundational for you to perceive the culture from an insider’s perspective. It enables you to immerse yourself in the participants’ world and to gain a deeper insight into their lives and experiences.
Description involves documenting in detail the cultural categories, behaviors, and practices observed during the discovery phase. By using descriptive language and rich narratives to portray the cultural patterns and meanings that you have uncovered, you invite outsiders to explore truths they may not have considered.
What Does Description Look Like?
Hiro’s Notes
Observation Date: July 15, 2023, Sunday
Observation Time: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Observation Location: West Valley City, Utah
Family Description: The Jensen family of five live in a small, two-bedroom apartment. Parents, John and Maria, are in their late thirties, and their three children aged eight, twelve, and fifteen.
Environmental Context: Over the past century, the Earth’s average temperature has risen by about 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) due to increased greenhouse-gas emissions caused mostly from human activities. Because of this, much of the world is seeing record temperatures due to more frequent and intense heat waves.
It is a sweltering summer day with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The Jensen’s apartment is located on the top floor of an older building without air conditioning.
Description of Physical Setting: The apartment feels stuffy and warm. Windows are open to catch a breeze, but the airflow is limited. Several electric fans are running, providing some relief, but the air remains hot and stagnant. The family has draped wet towels over their necks, and they use handheld fans to try and cool themselves down.
Family’s Behavior and Interaction: The family members are dressed in as little clothing as possible. John and Maria sit on the couch, fanning themselves with magazines, discussing other possible ways to cool their apartment down. The children seem lethargic and restless, seeking shelter in the living room, which is slightly cooler than their bedrooms. Despite the discomfort, the family tries to stay positive and makes jokes about missing winter.
Around 3 PM the kids tell their parents that they are going to go down the block to the gas station to cool off and ask if they can buy a soda. Maria tells them to look for something on sale and gives them five dollars to split between the three of them.
Impact on Daily Activities: The oppressive heat affects the family’s ability to concentrate and focus on tasks. Maria attempts to prepare a simple dinner, but the heat from the stove is unbearable, limiting her cooking time. They resort to light snacks and cold water to stay hydrated. Maria is embarrassed and apologizes often, which seems to make John uncomfortable.
Emotional State and Coping Mechanisms: Throughout the observation, the family exhibits signs of frustration, particularly the children who constantly complain to their parents about being “so hot [they] might melt.” They express a desire to spend time away from the city or visit a local pool, but due to financial constraints, these options are not feasible right now. Despite the challenging circumstances, the family tries to stay positive, ultimately deciding to put on a movie—Into the Spider-Verse.
Community Support: At one point, a neighbor knocks on the door. She has five small water-filled spray bottles and offers them to the family. “Got a bunch at the dollar store this morning,” she says. “I figured the whole building could use them!” The family thanks the neighbor and invites her to come inside, but she declines, saying she has to be at work in an hour. “I never thought I’d say it,” the neighbor says, “But I’ve actually been looking forward to work because it means I get to escape the heat.”
Reflection: My observation reveals the struggles that people from low-income households face during these abnormally hot summers. The observation brings into focus the strain that families in these circumstances endure and underscores the necessity for affordable cooling options to safeguard vulnerable communities’ welfare during extreme climate-change related weather. This glimpse into the Jensen’s lives accentuates the pressing need for equitable solutions to address climate-related disparities and to promote social justice.
Because Hiro takes such careful and concrete notes, these details will naturally make their way into his ethnography. Hiro’s intended audience will be able to intimately imagine this specific family’s struggle, ensuring that an ethical translation has taken place.
Translation
Translation is the process in which you take your descriptive findings and transform them into a framework that is familiar and comprehensive to readers from different cultural backgrounds or academic disciplines. Your goal is to bridge the gap between the insider’s—emic perspective—and the outsider’s—etic perspective—to ensure that the findings are relatable and accessible to a broader audience. Translation involves interpreting cultural meanings in a way that aligns with the reader’s cultural framework while retaining the essential insights from the emic perspective.
Translation means challenging your potential biases, even biases you may not have considered before. For example, in translating into a language of privilege or in representing the speech of the other, ethnographers must acknowledge the power dynamics inherent in their research, including characteristics such as age, race, gender, class, and language. Being aware of your biases, including privileges related to language, allows you to be more sensitive and culturally competent in representing diverse voices and the narratives you wish to amplify.
What Does Translation Look Like?
After Hiro completes his descriptions, he must do the following to translate and share his findings carefully:
Embrace Cultural Sensitivity: Hiro acknowledges the Jensen’s financial constraints and understands that their cultural background influences their coping mechanisms. He refrains from imposing his own cultural norms and biases on their situation.
Avoid Jargon and Complex Language: Hiro writes his research findings in simple, accessible language. Instead of using technical terms like thermoregulation, he describes how the Jensen’s adapt to the heat without air conditioning.
Provide Context and Explanations: Hiro explains that the Jensen’s cannot afford an air conditioning unit due to their limited income. He also describes how their cultural background places value on self-sufficiency, which influences their approach to handling extreme weather conditions.
Use Stories and Personal Narratives: Hiro includes anecdotes from the Jensen family members about their experiences during heatwaves. He shares Mrs. Jensen’s story of using creative methods to keep the family cool, like hanging wet towels near windows for evaporative cooling.
Balance Emic and Etic Perspectives: Hiro combines the Jensen’s perspectives on dealing with heat with broader insights on low-income households facing climate change challenges. He compares their strategies with existing research on coping mechanisms in similar communities.
Collaborate with Informants: Hiro shares his preliminary findings with the Jensen family, seeking their input and feedback to ensure accuracy. They confirm their shared experiences’ authenticity and provide additional insights.
Peer-Review and Feedback: Hiro presents his findings to his research advisor and peers. They offer feedback on the report’s clarity and cultural sensitivity, helping Hiro refine his language and arguments.
Engage Multiple Audiences: Hiro prepares different versions of his findings for various audiences. He writes an academic paper for his university community, a policy brief for local policymakers, and a blog post for the public. Each version is tailored to the specific audiences’ interests and expertise level.
Examples of Translation in Action
Understand Cultural Meanings: Immerse yourself in the studied community’s cultural context and gain a deep understanding of the cultural meanings attached to various practices, beliefs, and behaviors.
Translate to Bridge Perspectives: Bridge the gap between the insider’s emic perspective and the outsider’s etic perspective. Translate cultural meanings in a way that makes them accessible and relatable to a broader audience while retaining the essential insights from the insider’s perspective.
Respect Local Perspectives: Respect and value the studied community members’ local perspectives and interpretations. This involves avoiding judgments and ethnocentrism while accurately representing the cultural meanings.
Use Clear and Accessible Language: Communicate your findings in clear and accessible language, avoiding complex jargon or academic language that may hinder the non-expert readers’ understanding.
Share Findings with Informants: It is essential to share your research findings with the community members (informants) to ensure the translated information is accurate and authentic. Informants can provide feedback and confirm your interpretation’s accuracy.
Balance the Emic Community and Etic Social Science Perspectives: Strike a balance between presenting the community members’ viewpoints and providing insights from a broader social-science framework. This balance enhances your research’s validity and relevance.
Engage in Reflexivity: Critically reflect on your own biases, assumptions, and positionality that may influence the translation process. Reflexivity helps to ensure that the research remains objective, fair, and culturally sensitive.
Conclusion
The most important differences between discovery, description, and translation lie in their respective roles within the ethnographic process. Discovery involves exploring cultural phenomena in-depth to understand the cultural meanings attached to them. Description focuses on accurately recording and portraying these cultural meanings in detail. Translation, on the other hand, aims to bridge the gap between the insider’s—emic perspective—and the outsider’s—etic perspective—by rendering cultural insights accessible and relatable to a broader audience.
These distinctions are crucial to you creating a strong and successful ethnography because they enable a profound understanding of the studied culture. A well-executed ethnography, supported by effective discovery, description, and translation, not only fosters cross-cultural understanding but also offers an opportunity for real change.
When we share our ethnographic findings using these methods, we shed light on marginalized communities; we challenge stereotypes; and we advocate for positive societal change.
Practice
Part 1: Ethnographic Storytelling
Write a short ethnographic story or vignette about a cultural practice or event that you have observed. Start by writing the story from an insider’s emic perspective, using culturally specific language and expressions. Then, rewrite the story to make it accessible to a broader etic audience by providing explanations and context.
Challenge: This exercise helps you examine how to maintain the cultural experience’s authenticity while ensuring it is relatable to readers from diverse backgrounds.
Part 2: Cultural Tour Guide
Create a cultural tour guide presentation about the specific cultural group that you have studied. The tour guide must provide information about the culture’s customs, traditions, and beliefs in a way that is engaging and understandable to tourists from different parts of the world. Include photos, quotes from participants, music, and other mixed media if relevant.
Challenge: This exercise allows you to consider how to share cultural information accurately while avoiding ethnocentrism and cultural stereotypes.
References
de Casanova, E. M., & Mose, T. R. (2017). Translation in ethnography. Translation & Interpreting Studies: The Journal of the American Translation & Interpreting Studies Association, 12(1), 1–23. https://doi-org.libprox1.slcc.edu/10.1075/tis.12.1.01dec
Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College.
