Social Research Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Home
Citation reference: Harvey, L., 2012-24, Social Research Glossary, Quality Research International, http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/socialresearch/
This is a dynamic glossary and the author would welcome any e-mail suggestions for additions or amendments.
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Thick description
Thick description is a term used by some ethnographers to refer to the process of drawing out broad conclusions from close inspection of small sets of very dense information.
The term is one developed by Clifford Geertz who essentially proposed an anti-positivistic, anti-reductionist ethnography in which the context of behaviour should be explored in order to assess its meaning. He advocated a kind of shuttling back and forth between basic questions about culture and lengthy aquaintance with minute details of everyday activity.
This approach has similarities with ethnomethodology.
A more general and rather misleading usage of the term 'thick description' is that of the-more-data-the-better.
This expression was originally used by Clifford Geertz but is now common currency. It is used to refer to an account of a particular setting which is rich in detail and embraces different perspectives. The idea behind it is that it is possible to learn a great deal from narrowly focused observation, provided that the observation is sufficiently penetrating and comprehensive.
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