Max Yarosh, Mariam Abdullah, Andrew Chevez

Professor Anna Bialas

ENGL297

03/13/17

Ethnography Project Proposal

This project is an ethnography that examines XXXXX, the Director of Undergraduate Studies

in Economics at the University of Maryland, in order to understand the role that technical writing

plays in economics. More specifically, our group will assess how professionals in economics

translate the fields complex ideas into lucid writing for unfamiliar audiences. Our group will

employ research methods such as interviews, observational field notes, and analysis of XXXXX

professional work with fellow leading economists in order to gather more information about

technical writing in economics. This research will help us understand how to clearly communicate

with audiences who are unfamiliar with our field.

The principal question for our project examines how best to convey economic jargon,

concepts, and ideas to other students and individuals unfamiliar with the intricacies of economics.

Since this topic is very broad, we will refine our topic of interest by examining the ways in which

XXXXX has accomplished this in the past and how she currently does this, as well as methods she

has found effective and why. We will also examine other methods of conveying economic concepts

beyond those prescribed by XXXXX by examining related economic research papers. This topic is

of significance because it enables those unfamiliar with or uncertain about the world of economics

to understand and conceptualize these ideas that one usually undergoes years of training and

specialization to learn and understand. This will contribute to our groups overall development as
technical writers and economists by understanding how to effectively communicate with others

through our economic writing. We will also gain the advantage of understanding how to convey

these complex ideas to people not in the field which will help us increase our value in the job

market.

Our research subject, XXXXX, has spent time in the Caribbean analyzing the impact of the

justice systems of various Caribbean countries on their respective economies and furthermore how

they can be reformed for a higher level of economic development. She also has a great deal of

experience acting as a translator of sorts both in teaching complex topics to unfamiliar students

and in interacting with a variety of different individuals while employed as a researcher. As an

[redacted] and professor at the Department of Economics on campus, her communication is

primarily conducted through emails, PowerPoints, and meetings. However, as a former researcher,

XXXXX has communicated not only through emails, but also through research papers and reports.

Due to XXXXXs extensive field experience and her experience as an academic, administrator, and

professor, we find her to be an ideal subject for our ethnographic research project. The kinds of

work she does are directly in line with our route of inquiry.

Our data collection methods will revolve around figuring out how to best to convey

economic logic and concepts in laymans terms, which we hope to do by examining XXXXXs

writing. We have already met with XXXXX to discuss the assignment and obtained her consent

regarding her involvement in the project. She has agreed to provide us with several primary

sources, a few of which we have already obtained. To begin with, she lent us a copy of an economic

report from her time in the Caribbean where she spearheaded the previously mentioned project

regarding the justice sector and economies of those countries. She had to overcome both language

barriers and the unfamiliarity with economics that she was hired to convey to the governments of
the Caribbean nations when constructing this report. She has also provided us with some of the

slides she uses in her lectures, as well as a few examples of her email writing style. Moving

forward, we will interview XXXXX a second time, gathering field notes based on her office and

demeanor since we are unable to follow her around due to confidentiality reasons. In addition to

the Caribbean report that was provided, XXXXX will also supply us with other materials such as

PowerPoints and additional writing samples. She will also write a short memo detailing the daily

activities and the types of writing has done over the three day span we agreed upon in our first

interview. During our first meeting with her, XXXXX drew certain boundaries and made it clear

which data collection methods were acceptable. Our group is unsure that taking field notes will be

very impactful, as XXXXX spends almost her entire day sending emails and attending private

meetings that are confidential. All in all, she seemed very receptive of the project as a whole, and

we hope to meet with her after most of the data collection to get a sense of her opinion on our

findings.

We will analyze the data we have gathered by organizing it in a way that demonstrates

which of the different methods of conveying economic ideas are most effective. We will consider

the issue of subjectivity in relation to efficient writing and apply the methods found in our class

readings such as that of multiple-viewpoint-subjectivity objectivity in order to analyze our results.

These are observations that we will be making through the research data we have collected, so

other research data could include different findings than ours. It is important to understand that

there are outliers in data collection and that we will use our own intuition with the data collected

to get these end results. Our group will also compare how her style has evolved as evidenced by

the given documents. In order to do so, we will try and dissect the documents we were provided

and asses the different techniques she employs in each. Our group will then conduct minor research
on methods currently employed by examining recent economic research papers and brainstorm an

organizational diagram for an easy comparison of all the methods. Upon completion of this task,

we will meet with XXXXX one last time and share our data collection findings and obtain her input

on our data collection methods and procedures.

Finally, we present a schedule for the project moving forward. While these deadlines are

flexible, our team is committed to timely action and delivery.

3/27 2nd interview with XXXXX

Topic: Field Notes & Economic Writing Methods

3/28 Data Analysis Group Meeting and Write-Up

o Agree on Alternative Sources
o Review Data Analysis and Collection Method
o General Concerns

3/29 XXXXX Sample Writing Log & PowerPoints

o Sent via email
Annotated Research Due

3/30-4/3 Analyze XXXXX s writing (PPT, Emails, Research Report)

4/3-4/5 Write Ethnography Introduction & Conclusion

4/5 Mid-Project Group Meeting

Overview of Progress
Suggestions Moving Forward

4/5-4/9 Data Analysis Write-Up

4/15-4/17 Peer Review

Suggest & Implement Ethnography Revisions

4/19 Office Hours Meet-Up (Bialas)

Clarify Questions with Bialas
Advice from Bialas

4/20 Writing Center Checkup

 4/21 Writing Center Revision Implementation

4/22-4/24 Group Proofread

4/24-4/25 Ethnography Peer Review

Revise Ethnography per Suggestions

4/25 Final Group Proofread

o Format Report
o Grammar Check
o Criteria Check

4/26 Submit Ethnography