W12: Lost in translation? How to get the most out of cross-cultural ethnographic research

Abstract

You may have experienced fieldwork in a foreign country during which you appeared to keep missing the very essence of what you observed without even noticing it. How can we get the most out of our next cross-cultural fieldwork? How could we do it better? Our workshop will walk you through typical obstacles of cross-cultural fieldwork, and will let us together describe a framework for effective observation methods in cross-cultural studies.

Approach

Approach, goals, and key benefits
This workshop will provide participants with a useful framework for cross-cultural ethnographic research focused on acquiring deeper insights from a “foreign” culture. Participants will simulate cross-cultural field observations. Following the field exercise, participants will explore a potential framework to support better research preparation. They will draw from both the mini sessions and from their own past experiences. Participants will use take-aways from this workshop to extract deeper insights from their future research in cross-cultural settings.

After-workshop bonus! Participants will find in his/her physical mail box a neat leaflet which concisely summarizes the day’s activities, discussions, and take-aways with lots of memorable photos. This will happen sometime between late September and early October, depending on how well-disciplined the organizers would be.

Pre-work (optional due Aug 25)
In order to enrich the workshop discussion, we will invite participants to submit a few photos from their own observations in a foreign country. The photos should be materials that help explain unique experiences and/or challenges participants have encountered while conducting ethnographic research in foreign places. While we would appreciate attendees’ submissions, it is not a requirement.

Structure

  1. Introduction
    Organizers and participants briefly introduce themselves. As part of this self-introduction section, we are planning to share stories of big/small failures while being abroad. We would appreciate it if you could bring your failure story.
  2. Stage-setting
    Organizers present recurring pattern of obstacles in cross-cultural field works. The pattern, loosely grouped into the following three categories, are what organizers have learned from their ten-year-plus experience of hosting international research teams in various ethnographic design researches in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan.
    1. Translation; a “necessary evil”
    2. Lack of contextual understanding
    3. List-person mentality
  3. Mini-fieldwork
    Participants will break into three groups and will conduct a short observation/interview of local office workers at their workplace in Tokyo Midtown, the same place EPIC 2010 will be held. Organizers will assign each research team a unique set of constraints. For example, one team will work with a professional interpreter, while another team will conduct interview doing the interpretation “in-house,” meaning that a Japanese teammate will interpret conversations.
  4. Story telling
    Each group will share their unique experiences from the mini-fieldwork with all other participants. Organizers will jot down keywords out of groups’ episodes. At the end participants will vote for top five keywords which appear to be most relevant to successful cross-cultural ethnographic researches.
  5. Group discussion
    Participants will break into groups again and discuss, with the help of top five keywords, a possible operation guideline for real-life fieldwork in cross-cultural settings. With the facilitation of organizers, the group will try to extract a practical framework to prepare for cross-cultural studies better.
  6. From here to there
    By group, participants will share their discussion and potential frameworks. Participants and organizers will together reflect on the day’s discussion and will deepen understanding of issues around cross-cultural studies.

 

Target Audience

We would like to invite people who:

  1. Have done ethnographic fieldworks in foreign countries.
  2. Have hosted international ethnographic researchers in their home country.
  3. Are interested in conducting ethnographic research in foreign countries.
  4. Are interested in this theme anyway.
    5. People from abroad with diverse cultural backgrounds are highly welcome. Due mainly to the mini-fieldwork logistics, please understand that we need to limit the maximum number of participants to twenty.

 

Organizers

As a designer/researcher team at infield design inc., organizers have facilitated in-home visits by non-Japanese speaking clients and researchers to more than 300 Japanese households and institutions.


Chiho Sasaki
As an experience designer, Chiho has focused on integrating human factors perspectives into her clients' international and domestic design practices. Chiho has also served as a juror for the Good Design Awards. Before founding infield design, Chiho was a human factors specialist and interaction designer at IDEO’s Tokyo studio. Chiho holds a masters of design in human-centered communication design from the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Takashi Sasaki
Takashi joined infield design in 2005, bringing his rich experience in branding, marketing, and strategic planning. Before joining the firm, Takashi spent five years engaged in start-up management for an IT consultancy business, and worked for Coca-Cola Japan as a marketing manager. Takashi earned his MBA from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University Bloomington.

Keiko Ihara
Keiko works freelance and has collaborated with infield design in ethnographic research since 2004. Before going on her own in 2003, Keiko worked with GK Design Group as a human factors researcher/concept planner.
Keiko earned her BA in aesthetics and art history from Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music.