A sentiment that stood out to me was that “Ethnographic data is fleeting, and the ethnographer’s job is to record it before it disappears or dissipates,” meaning one must be prepared in advance of their interviews to efficiently document minutiae that cannot be captured on a recorder. The book warns us about trying to describe what we remember after experiences and observations are first made, as “human memory is a tricky and complicated phenomenon, and it can complicate the record unnecessarily” (70). It is also important that ethnographers properly read the situation around them so that they do not make themselves stand out more than they need to, potentially threatening the degree of honest information they receive. On the other hand, it is likely unrealistic to think that an ethnographer can completely blend into the space around them while taking reliable notes, so one may decide to always have a notebook with them so others eventually accept it as normal (71). In terms of my own research project, I wonder how I might be able to reliably document my peers’ insight without suddenly changing my personality or introducing a new form of methods to record their thoughts. I might opt to take notes on my phone if I am observing a larger group of people so as not to stand out.
As covered in chapter six, when it comes to participant-observation, one must decide to what extent they want to engage with their field site. In this way, once the degree of participation and event recording is decided, the ethnographer must remember to obtain as many different versions of the story as possible to verify their data. For example, the book recommends attending “multiple versions of similar events” to compare social roles and behaviors as variables change (89). This discussion is relevant to my TikTok research project because I conducted ethnographic research at a TikTok Debate Event on campus, but it would be useful to experience more of that type of event to better understand what type of person participates and how these people think. A single event gave me a reference point but I cannot quite consider that as illuminating as developing a long-term bond with a specific informant.