Ethnography cultural immersion – UGC NET Question

Ethnography involves prolonged engagement with a cultural or social group, often through participant observation and in-depth interviews. The researcher seeks to understand shared meanings, rituals and patterns of interaction from an insider’s perspective. Thick description of the culture is a hallmark of ethnographic work. Therefore, the immersion-based strategy described in the stem is known as ethnography.

Option A:
Grounded theory aims to generate theory from data through constant comparison and theoretical sampling. While it may involve fieldwork, its primary goal is theory construction rather than rich cultural description. Hence, it is not the correct term here.

Option B:
Option B, ethnography, focuses on culture, social practices and collective meanings. The researcher often lives or spends extensive time in the setting to capture natural behaviour. Because the stem emphasises immersion and shared patterns of behaviour, this option is correct.

Option C:
Narrative inquiry concentrates on people’s stories and how they make sense of experiences through narrative form. It does not require long-term immersion in a culture, so it does not match the description.

Option D:
A case study examines a bounded system such as an organisation or programme in depth. While it may overlap with ethnography, it is not defined primarily by cultural immersion and study of shared patterns, so it is not the best completion.