Ethnography.

Once the basic boundaries of ethnography are established, it becomes apparent that the concept of "culture" must also be considered; this leads to an examination of "context" as well as three basic concepts: ontology, epistemology, and methodology. The three most common research paradigms for ethnography, that of positivism, post-positivism, and critical theory, are discussed, and these paradigms are applied to the performance of ethnographic research. The paper then examines in more detail the relationship of the observer to the participant. After explaining the ethnographer's position as that of performing dual roles whenever engaged in ethnographic research, a few of the problems that can arise from this inherent need to perform dual roles is examined.