Ethenography

I decided to go to the flea market here in Stockton. The flea market had many tents or carps whatever you want to call them. There were plenty of vendors selling fruits, vegetables, snacks, authentic Mexican food, toys, clothes and accessories. The air was musty and thick and you can feel the warmth of all the people circulating and growing on each other. The smell was not pleasant, there was  a pungent smell from all the food spills and grease on the pavement. It smell rancid. The pavement looked extremely dirty some places it was even sticky as you stepped through. There were a lot of adults and children going through the stands looking around to purchase. Families seemed to be out just to socialize.

For the most part I think that I fit in because I look and am Mexican. There seemed to be about 90% Spanish speaking people, not necessarily Mexican but of Spanish speaking origin. I am certain that my cover was made, I am for the most part very observant but this time that was my sole focus. I got a few ugly looks from others, possibly because I was sort of just there not interacting.

One of the major patterns of interactions I saw was with the adults and children. There were many adults that were accompanied by younger kids. Many of these adults were pretty much on there toes right behind the kids. Making sure that they did not wander off. A few cases where either a male or female adult would call out for a child, "Brandon", you heard. Then there were groups of teenagers it seemed that were just out to have a good time. Many sat down at booths to eat a meal. I could see how they were conversing and having a laugh. One of the major things I saw was how everyone even myself at one point, was connected to an electronic device.

This made me realize how unaware individuals are from their surroundings because we are plugged in to our own world. Parents loosing track of their children. Me on the other hand so called "listening" to my friend when I really wasn't.

The disadvantage of this method of data collection is that you really don't know what is truly going on because one is simply observing. Recording data through the naked eye. We do not know why individuals are going about their actions the way they are doing so. One of the advantages is that being observant makes you less bias and you focus on tangible material. If you do an interview your subjects can easily lie if they don't feel comfortable.

I believe that depending upon what it is I am trying to answer, or what my question is my method of recording data could vary.