Jesiek, B. K., & Leftwich, B. M., & Korte, R., & Brozina, C., & Johri, A. (2023, June), Investigating Engineering Practice Using Ethnographic Methods: Experiences of Student Observers at Multiple Field Sites  Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43870

\bibitem{asee_peer_43870}
  Jesiek, B. K., \& Leftwich, B. M., \& Korte, R., \& Brozina, C., \& Johri, A. (2023, June), \emph{Investigating Engineering Practice Using Ethnographic Methods: Experiences of Student Observers at Multiple Field Sites}
  Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland.
  10.18260/1-2--43870

Brent K. Jesiek, Brooks Michael Leftwich, Russell Korte, Cory Brozina, and Aditya Johri.  "Investigating Engineering Practice Using Ethnographic Methods: Experiences of Student Observers at Multiple Field Sites".  2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland, 2023, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2023.  https://strategy.asee.org/43870 Internet.  08 Jun, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_43870}
  Brent K. Jesiek, Brooks Michael Leftwich, Russell Korte, Cory Brozina, and Aditya Johri.
  "Investigating Engineering Practice Using Ethnographic Methods: Experiences of Student Observers at Multiple Field Sites".
  \emph{2023 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland, 2023, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2023.
  https://strategy.asee.org/43870 Internet.  08 Jun, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_43870
author = "Brent K. Jesiek, Brooks Michael Leftwich, Russell Korte, Cory Brozina, and Aditya Johri"
title = "Investigating Engineering Practice Using Ethnographic Methods: Experiences of Student Observers at Multiple Field Sites"
booktitle = "2023 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2023"
month = "June"
address = "Baltimore , Maryland"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://strategy.asee.org/43870}
number = {10.18260/1-2--43870}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Research on engineering practice involves unique opportunities as well as challenges. On one hand, those seeking to study the day-to-day realities of engineering work may find themselves in a relatively wide-open field of scholarship where new methods can be used to address emerging questions and leading-edge issues. On the other hand, scholars of practice frequently face difficulties not encountered by those who study more conventional engineering education topics (e.g., teaching and learning in traditional classroom settings). For one, the nature of practice is always and rapidly changing due to the evolving nature of technical work, driven by factors such as organizational restructuring, digital transformation, and pandemic-associated disruptions, to name just a few. Further, simply gaining access to study participants and field research sites can be difficult, along with associated issues such as identifying suitable data collection and analysis methods, securing approvals to carry out research with human subjects, and effectively communicating results to academic, industry, policy, and other audiences.

This paper reports on a research project, supported by an NSF award, that explores innovative ethnographic research methods for studying engineering practice. Here we primarily focus on the experiences of three students who were directly involved in our data collection efforts. One undergraduate student engaged with one field site (a utility company, “UtilityCo”) through job shadowing and informal interviewing, while two graduate students collected data as participant observers at a second site (a small software start-up, “SoftCo”). In this paper, our primary research objective is to examine how these three students experienced their roles as participant-observers, including in terms of the learning and insights they reported gaining. In our findings we more specifically examine: whether and how this experience impacted their views on technical work practices, their own educational experiences, and their future career goals; their perceptions about the value of learning participant observation skills; and variations in each student’s interests and foci in conducting observations and collecting field data. We additionally note other relevant facets of this research such as how our team trained the students to function as participant observers and gained access to field sites. 

This paper will likely be of interest to researchers who study engineering practice, and especially those who are concerned with the full range of practical and methodological challenges associated with collecting and analyzing data in industry/workplace settings. Additionally, our work speaks to the role and benefits of self-reflection in learning among technical professionals.
AU  - Brent K. Jesiek
AU  - Brooks Michael Leftwich
AU  - Russell Korte
AU  - Cory Brozina
AU  - Aditya Johri
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Investigating Engineering Practice Using Ethnographic Methods: Experiences of Student Observers at Multiple Field Sites
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/43870
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--43870
ER  -