Symbolic Interactionist Ethnography: Toward Congruence and Trustworthiness

In social science literature, researchers have discussed the implications of using symbolic interactionist ethnography. While the value of such an approach is accepted in social science research, it has not received adequate attention in IS literature. More importantly, there is a need to begin developing consensus on a set of principles to help researchers effectively combine the theoretical strengths of symbolic interactionism with the empirical strengths of ethnography. In this paper, we take a step forward in that direction by firstly highlighting the importance of the interactionist ethnography approach to IS research. We then describe how the value of such an approach can be realized through achieving congruence and trustworthiness in the research process. Finally, an IS research proposal is used as a practical illustration of how this congruence and trustworthiness can be achieved. By thus combining the strengths of symbolic interactionism and of ethnography, the interactionist ethnography approach can also facilitate the concurrent pursuit of academic knowledge and practice-oriented insights in IS research.