Communication and Publication of Research Results
Info Box for the Graphic
Feedback Loop with Participants
Finishing data collection
After gaining a detailed impression of the two emergency departments over several months, the researchers retire for a final data analysis.
Writing a report
Once the data analysis is complete, the researchers write a report for the study participants and the managers of the two emergency clinics. This report contains a thematic summary of all the data collected. The report does not contain any names or quotes from the study participants or descriptions of individual persons or situations. The report consists of two parts: The first part presents the summarized results of the entire study from both emergency clinics. The second part contains the specific results of the respective emergency clinic and is aimed exclusively at the study participants of this clinic.
Sharing report with participants
The researchers send the report to the study participants by email. Managers (e.g. chief physicians or nursing service managers) do not receive the report at this stage.
Giving Feedback
The study participants are invited to inform the researchers of any concerns or requests for changes to the report. They have a period of at least four weeks to do so. If there are concerns about the content, the researchers will work with the persons concerned to find a solution - for example by adapting or removing individual sentences or words.
Revising the report
After the researchers have obtained requests for changes or approval of the report, they write a final version of the report.
Publication of the Results
Sharing report with managers
The final version of the report is shared with managers.
Writing scientific articles
The researchers write scientific articles based on the knowledge they have gained from the research, which are published in specialist journals and/or books. These scientific publications may also contain direct quotes from study participants and descriptions of situations and people. However, the following always applies: The researchers only write about people in pseudonymized and, as far as possible, anonymized form. The names of the clinics where the research was conducted, the names of the study participants and all other identifiable characteristics are not mentioned in the scientific publications. Although it is pointed out in scientific articles that the data was collected in two different emergency clinics, the persons or situations described are not assigned to any of the pseudonymized clinics.
Sharing results on this website
On this website, the researchers provide a summary of the research results and information on publications in scientific journals.
Examples of Ethnographic Studies
The results of the ethnographic study on team processes in emergency medicine will be published on this page once the data collection and analysis has been completed. In the meantime, you can get an idea of ethnographic studies from the research linked below.
Fia van Heteren et al. (2024), "Interprofessional Collaboration in Fluid Teams: An Ethnographic Study in a Dutch Healthcare Context", Journal of Interprofessional Care, 39(2), 146-154.
The study “Interprofessional collaboration in fluid teams: an ethnographic study in a Dutch healthcare context” (2024) by Fia van Heteren et al. examines how professionals from different disciplines work together in non-institutionalized, “fluid” teams. The focus is on the care of clients with complex problems that require flexible, interdisciplinary cooperation. The researchers used ethnographic field research to experience the collaboration of professionals live and to gain deep insights into everyday clinical practice. The results show that team fluidity makes routines more difficult, but enables new forms of cooperation and makes collaboration more adaptable.
Deena Kelly Costa et al. (2024), "Knowing Your Team in the Intensive Care Unit: An Ethnographic Study on Familiarity", Journal of Interprofessional Care, 38(4), 593-601.
The study “Knowing your team in the intensive care unit: an ethnographic study on familiarity” (2024) by Deena Kelly Costa et al. examines how familiarity arises and works in the ICU team. The underlying assumption is that a good understanding of the team improves patient care. Using ethnographic methods such as participant observation and interviews, Costa analyzes the daily interactions within the team. The results show that familiarity grows through shared experiences and communication and thus promotes cooperation and efficiency in the intensive care unit.
Elizabeth McGibbon (2010), "An Institutional Ethnography of Nurses’ Stress", Qualitative Health Research, 20(10), 1353-1378.
In “An Institutional Ethnography of Nurses' Stress” (2010), Elizabeth McGibbon, Elizabeth Peter and Ruth Gallop use the method of institutional ethnography to examine the stress of nurses from a structural perspective. Through qualitative interviews, participant observations and focus groups with intensive care nurses, they analyse how organizational processes, power relations and bureaucratic requirements shape work stress. They show that stress is not just an individual burden, but an expression of social and institutional constraints that strongly influence nurses in their work. They argue that stress must be understood as a “social organization of work” that is reproduced through institutional practices. Their research provides important insights into how structural conditions systematically affect the health and well-being of nursing staff.
Timothy Diamond (1992), "Making Gray Gold: Narratives of Nursing Home Care." University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
In his ethnographic study “Making Gray Gold” (1992), the US sociologist Timothy Diamond examined various topics relating to care work in nursing homes. During his research, he himself worked as a care assistant and mainly worked with Black women. Through his close contact with the carers, he was able to witness first-hand how precarious the everyday working lives of these women were. Another focus of his work was the commercialization of care. In his book, he argues that the lives of people in care homes are reduced to numbers and thus dehumanized.
Arlie Russell Hochschild (1983), "The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling." University of California Press: Los Angeles.
In “The Purchased Heart” (1983), US sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild examines the commercialization of emotions in the service sector. Using ethnographic methods, she shows how employees - such as flight attendants - are forced to control and display their feelings through “emotional labor”. Her book makes it clear how this emotional work can lead to alienation and psychological stress. In doing so, she provided key insights into the sociology of emotions. The concept of “emotional labor” has been widely used since the book was published, particularly in analyses relating to the everyday work of medical and nursing staff.