The Benefits of Ethnographic Research Approaches in Residential Care and Treatment Settings: Seeking a better Understanding of Outcome-based Research

This presentation focuses on the benefits and challenges associated with conducting ethnographic research in residential care settings. Specifically, the paper builds on a Canadian-German research collaboration that sought to identify learning processes in residential care settings using a range of methodologies, including ethnography but also more traditional quantitative and qualitative approaches. The researchers involved were impressed by the value of ethnographic field notes in contributing to a more complex understanding of data collected through surveys and interviews. In particular, ethnographic data can help shed light not only on the generative processes of outcomes, but also identify opportunities to render individual-level outcomes more sustainable and robust through strategic and intentional program features that range from specific staff-led interventions and peer-to-peer interactions to the aesthetic appearance of the residence. The presentation seeks to stimulate interest among participants in exploring ethnographic research approaches as complimentary and enriching to more traditional knowledge generation in residential care and treatment settings.