Ethno‐experiments: creating robust inquiry and futures

Abstract

This article introduces a practice‐centred inquiry method called an ‘ethno‐experiment’. The method is built on a social constructionist understanding of practice as a social performance rather than as an individual’s act. Additionally, it draws on Garfinkel’s early ethnomethodological work and Marshall’s self‐reflective inquiry to construct a method of inquiry that centres on practice development rather than knowledge output. Having described the conceptual forbears of ethno‐experiments and discussed the significant aspects of the practice, the article then examines ethno‐experiments using an account of a particular series of these experiments used in work with a major engineering company. Finally, issues of quality in practice and assessment are discussed before it is argued that ethno‐experiments provide three benefits to practitioner‐inquirers: an enriched dialogue between theory and practice; the robust testing and evaluation of emergent practice; and the development of a scholarship of practice.

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