Definitions

In week 1, our tasks in media anthropology class are to find the definitions of cross disciplinary, trans disciplinary, qualitative research and ethnographic studies/research and also to write an essay about our thought in media use. Here is the definitions of:

1. Cross Disciplinary

Cross disciplinary refers to knowledge that explains aspects of one discipline in terms of another. Common   examples of cross disciplinary approaches are studies of the physics of music or the politics of literature. With a cross disciplinary approach, we remain rooted in a particular discipline as we make a leap into, say, one other discipline to study some aspects of it from our original point of view. The aim is not integration, but to highlight aspects of the first discipline by means of studying the other. Cross disciplinarity describes any method, project and research activity that examines a subject outside the scope of its own discipline without cooperation or integration from other relevant disciplines. In cross disciplinarity, topics are studied using foreign methodologies of unrelated disciplines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disciplinary

2. Trans Disciplinary

Approaches that transcend boundaries of conventional disciplines. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines, such as research on effective information system for bio medical research, and can refer to concepts or methods that were originally developed by one discipline, but are now used by several others, such as ethnography, a field research method originally developed in anthropology but now widely used by other disciplines.

http://www.vision2lead.com/Crossing.pdf

3. Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is by definition exploratory, and it is used when we don’t know what to expect, to define the problem or develop an approach to the problem. It’s also used to go deeper into issues of interest and explore nuances related to the problem at hand. Common data collection methods used in qualitative research are focus groups, triads,  in depth interviews, uninterrupted observation, bulletin boards, and ethnographic participation/observation. It is intended to penetrate to the deeper significance that the subject of the research ascribes to the topic being researched. It involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter and gives priority to what the data contribute to important research questions or existing information. Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. 

http://www.mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk/cochrane/handbook500/chapter_20/20_2_1_definition_of_qualitative_research.htm

4. Ethnographic Studies/Research

Ethnography is the study of cultures through close observation, reading, and interpretation. Ethnographic studies is a methods of qualitative research developed by anthropologists, in which the researcher attends to and interprets communication while participating in the research context. It is also known as participant observation, in which the researcher lives within the setting and among the people she studies. Ethnographic research provides richly detailed, descriptive portraits of other cultures, groups and institutions. Such research often provides a basis for future studies, including comparative work.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ethnographic+studies