Ethnography and Ethnographic Sensibility in Political Science

In an era when artificial intelligence and chatbots make it enticing to interface with an entirely digital field site, immersive ethnographic practices and an ethnographic sensibility remain indispensable. Honing an ethnographic sensibility increases the fidelity of our theories to the real world; improves researchers’ sensitivity to the ethical, emotional, and moral stakes of research; and sparks creativity. As more researchers in political science adopt an ethnographic sensibility, they are increasingly engaging in ethnography-plus research, which may include other qualitative or quantitative methods. To assess the promise of these approaches, we consider new directions in digital research methods, especially for difficult-to-access settings in authoritarian regimes that involve navigating the thorny ethics of state surveillance. Digital research with an ethnographic sensibility could benefit from an ontological and epistemological examination of what ethnography can and cannot deliver. The emerging generation of researchers looking to embrace an ethnographic sensibility should practice participant observation, embrace reflexivity, and attune to the body and sensations.