Ethnographic Research Proposal

I Introduction

For this ethnographic project, our research will explore the technical process of economic

writings. Considering that economists have different roles in different industries, we are going to

define a technical method that works for general cases. Thus, we choose a freelance writer, Mr.

Matt Mossman, as our research subject because he practices such a process in various forms for

his clients. The entire research process will be conducted in a systematic process, which includes

data collection and analysis. We will organize information from his written articles, field notes,

as well as face-to-face interviews. Through close study of his works, artifacts, and methods, we

will be able to form a conclusion that is useful for technical writers in economics in general.

II Research Questions

Many people think of economics as a major in business schools. A better view would

probably be that economists study everything about money. These days, after several global

economic shocks, almost all financial industries have learned to employ professional economists

to look over their businesses. However, in a democratic society, it is even more urgent to bring

up the publics awareness of what economics is and what economists do. Economic writers bear

the responsibility of presenting ideas and concepts in a way that is understandable and applicable

for an audience without a background in economics.

The reason the publics idea of economics tends to be vague is partially due to its complicated

application. As a social behavioral science, economics covers areas from the unemployment rate

and capital utilization to the formation of cartels between international corporations, or even

powerful countries. It studies all financial markets from microcredit among civilians, to the
foreign exchange market that controls currency values. It provides methods of cost minimization

for corporations, as well as effective market allocations that can sometimes be the last available

strategy for a nation to stimulate its economy. Last but not least, it not only cares about the

economic health of modern societies, but also exploring solutions for extreme poverty in poor

countries.

On the other hand, the transition in focus from theoretical study to empirical research of

the major has also made it more difficult for economic writers. Beginning centuries ago, the

backbone of all scientific researches has transformed into mathematics and programming

processes, as the conduct of hard science can not be polluted by possible human error in

anyway. It is the same in the field of economics. Economists are now taught to use digital models

to solve problems raised among human interactions. Naturally, under this background, most

resources from economic studies are massive datas of comparative analysis, time serieses.

Economic writers need to translate these digital models, and their data results, back into

behavioral actions, while keeping it reasonable for the audience to read.

In practice, economists most write in forms of reports for academic researches or

financial/ strategic analyzations, articles interpreting economic events for trading magazines or

online blogs, and materials for educational purpose. Our project focuses on economic articles for

professional audiences who most likely work in financial/business/government industries but

need help understanding economic effects. After the true causes of recent economic crises were

revealed, it is clear that financial institutions lack necessary knowledge in economics to prioritize

for the long run. The problem is that such an audience are presumably used to reading business

reports which are extremely straightforward. How to interpret all information before their
patience runs out becomes a real challenge for technical writers in economics, including Mr.

Mossman, our research subject.

III Research Subject

The writer we are investigating is Matthew Mossman, a freelance journalist, who does

not hold any specific title in a specific organization. Depending on whom he is working with, his

titles switch between Global Economics Writer/Consultant, Political Risk Specialist/Analyst,

Developing Country Analyst, and others in the same vein. The writer works most at home,

though travels often to get an on-the-ground perspective from the places and people he writes

about.

Matt completes projects that entail stories and reports for media and/or business

intelligence or economic research outfits. His stories tend to be about economics in developing

countries, largely in Africa, though he is looking to expand into writing more about the US. He

also works occasionally on consulting assignments, as well as editing the writing of others, such

as white papers by experts or promotional materials. The common audiences of his writing tend

to be specialists, or advanced generalists, those who arent experts, but have a better

understanding than the average newspaper reader.

The purpose is to provide researched information to help decision makers and other

writers to have a greater understanding of the context of their decisions. He collaborates and

interacts with a variety of people, from executives and analysts, investors, civil servants,

politicians, advocacy/civil society groups, and people working at international organizations like

the IMF or World Bank. His writing circulates in several US publications including The New

Yorker, Foreign Affairs, and Businessweek, as well as a small group of business-intelligence

publications. Interestingly, he does not have any degrees specifically in economics, but has a BA

in Political Science, as well as a Masters in Journalism.

Mr. Mossman is a good person to study for our research questions considering the depth

and breadth of his pieces. While not creating specific pieces of mathematical economic analysis,

Matt employs investigative inquiry into the economy, government, business, and local culture, to

interpret current events and inform economic decision makers and leaders about how such

factors interact. The synthesis of these many threads makes his work not only economic in

nature, but places the effects of economic activity and changes in a broader context of the human

experience. This provides a larger, and we find deeper, view of the events economic activity

takes place in, instead of looking at only economic activity and numbers in the abstract.

IV Data Collection Methods

Our research question seeks to understand how one creates a story that contains an

analysis of economic events to professional audiences, such as those in business, finance, or

government whom are decision makers affected by economic activity, but need more information

or a better explanation to understand specific economic effects. The data collection strategies we

will employ to accomplish this will involve collected material/artifacts, semi-structured and

perhaps unstructured interviews, and non-participant observation.

The artifacts will be a selective sampling of his published works, his own field notes from

his travels, notes from the writing process, and perhaps emails showing how he communicates

with his contacts to get information. These will give us a direct view into his research and

writing process, as well as the synthesis into his final piece, creating the story related to

economic questions.
 For the interviews, we will employ a semi-structured interview, as it will enable us to get

a clear understanding of how he has gotten into this position as a profession, the skills and

methods he utilizes, his thinking process, and to deconstruct any questions about information

gathered from his artifacts. An unstructured interview would also be appropriate, but not as a

replacement. Matt is a complex individual, and likes to get a participatory feeling for the cultures

and places he writes about, instead of being satisfied with numbers and numerical analysis alone.

An unstructured interview that develops into a free conversation about his experiences and work

outside of specific methods or processes will enable us to understand his personal story, as well

as offering clues and observations of how he conducts himself abroad or in his own active

talking to other people. He is a very open person, with much more to say and contribute than the

specific questions we will preemptively be able to formulate.

Unfortunately, we will be forced to use non-participant observation of his writing process

at his home in Washington, DC., while a large part of his work is interacting with people in other

countries, whether it be over the phone, or in person, such a participatory inclusion is prohibitive

in our project. Certainly, none of us can afford the time or money to travel with him on a project

(not that he has one to travel on right now anyway), nor even if we listened to phone

conversations and read email correspondence, would we be asking questions to those he talked

to. For these reasons, our observation must be non-participatory, we cannot participate in his

actual profession (we are not professional writers yet and are still not who his client hired), and

we cannot engage in the other types of research he does while traveling, though, maybe he can

convince us to google some things for him!

We will be meeting with the writer after collecting data and producing analysis, so we

can make sure none of our observations or readings have been taken out of context or
misunderstood and led to faulty analysis. We would also check with him again to ensure that no

confidential information would be revealed.

V Data Analysis

For our data analysis, we will examine how Mr. Mossman collects the data that is used in

his writing and how he regulates himself in his writing (i.e. his ethics standards and how he sets

deadlines). We will study his communication (i.e. emails with colleagues), and mediation will

come into play as he likely keeps notes as to his work schedule and his sources. As he is a

freelance writer, he likely has his own field notes, which will be a prime source of data. The

primary analytical model used to collect data on Mr. Mossmans technical writing will be

observing him in the workplace, with team members interviewing him. One of the main aspects

of this project is seeing how the writing process applies to Mr. Mossman as he collects data and

uses it in his writing. We will examine the ethical standards to which Mr. Mossman has for a

source to be credible enough before he quotes it in his writing. Since we are discussing how

technical writing is used in the field of economics, our research question will be answered just by

reviewing his writing (e.g. emails, field notes, articles).

VI Schedule

First, we must schedule an appointment with Mr. Mossman to observe his work and

interview him. Second, we can analyze his data and make a connection to our thesis, taking field

notes of our own. Third, we will revisit his work site, and do a follow-up. Later in the week, we

will organize the collected data in writing. Fourth, we will use the data to arrive at a conclusion.

We will finalize the details and write the reports first draft. Fifth, we will visit Mr. Mossman
and ask for his approval on our draft, so as not to take any of his statements or writing out of

context. He will hopefully give it his blessing. Lastly, make any necessary corrections, and

publish the report to be peer edited.