Phenomenological research design is generally the individualistic study of a person in terms of behavior, customs, and beliefs. On the other hand, ethnographic research design is tied to the universal study of humans’ behaviors within a community or a specific group of people. The two research designs contrast each other in many ways. The phenomenological design focuses specifically on individual behavior and experiences ethnographic design focuses on communal experiences. This means that the main aspect for phenomenological research design is individualism, while ethnographic research design is more diverse and universal. According to Desmond K (2022), the two research designs have different beliefs, phenomenological design believes that people differ from each other individually, while ethnographic design believes that people differ from each other in terms of community.
In terms of the data collection period, ethnographic research design takes more time for the researchers to collect quality data since they have to live with the study social group for some weeks, or days, or even a month. On the contrary, phenomenological design takes a shorter period and the researchers have a smaller target area to collect their data from. In terms of similarities between phenomenological and ethnographic research designs, both apply interviewing as their main data collection method and the researchers have to collect data from the research field physically.
Additionally, the two qualitative research methods are based on human input for data collection. Both are inclined towards collecting data concerning human behavior and interactions with each other socially, and therefore, they cannot be applied in any other field. However, between the two design methods, ethnography has an advantage over phenomenological design since technically, it appears to be safer. Depending on the study field, phenomenological researchers are more exposed to risk.
Reference
Desmond, K. (2022). Difference between ethnography and phenomenology. Politics Sphere. Web.