Ethnography is considered as a data collection method (observation type), as a research method (set of qualitative and analytic approach to a certain research subject), and as a theory (the framework of a system in which a subject in researched).This method is usually used in humanities and social studies. This method allows the researcher to deeply and precisely identify the subject, when understanding the subject with means such as questionnaire and direct interview is not possible. The subject of understanding can be positive (marriage) or negative (addiction), but the research will ultimately be beneficial for the society.

Development sociology as a distinct area of study gained prominence in the post-world war era with the evolving interest in political and economic progression of the post-colonial world. The emerging discipline from the mainstream sociology have been particularly interested in development paths and strategies adopted in nations in the various regions of the world with greater emphasis in development trends among the third world nations. This paper chronicled strides in the sub discipline since inception and contributions by scholars towards the growth of the discipline as well as development descriptions, explanation and predictions with the relationship of the western rich nations and third world nations in mind. This paper, hold that the postulations of development sociology as regards global development trends, citizen’s capacity building and citizen’s freedom/access be encouraged by all stakeholders; as well as consciously addressing the issue of income inequality which currently is criminally wide.

In the last two decades, the debate on the dimensions and issues of ethnic studies in Iranian society has been growing. As can be seen, we have various intellectual debates and the publication of specialized papers in scientific journals. But what has received less attention in this field is the explanation of the methodological foundations of ethnic studies and the understanding of recent theoreticalmethodological developments in this era. It is necessary to study this issue because if we don’, t learn the basics and methodological principles of ethnic studies, we will not be able to properly represent ethnic identities and understand and analyze their issues. The main question of the present article is what is the nature of the methodology of ethnic studies and how can we systematically understand the intellectual and cultural backgrounds of different ethnic groups? The main hypothesis is that a deep description and qualitative understanding of ethnic life will be possible through the documentation of human interactions and relationships in everyday life in the ethnographic method. The author’, s main goal is to prioritize the study of the methodological foundations of ethnic studies and to propose new methods such as critical ethnography, visual and virtual ethnography, digital ethnography, postmodern ethnography and ethnicity, and Post-humanism ethnography. I hope we can better understand the theoreticalmethodological perspectives of this field in light of the profound and rapid developments that have taken place.

In general, research is divided into quantitative and qualitative categories. Qualitative research has several types, most notably ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, discourse analysis, hermeneutics, and semiotics. Critical ethnography is a kind of ethnography rooted in the Chicago School and developed by the Birmingham Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies in England. The main purpose of critical ethnography is to critique and interpret culture and change it in favor of equality of power in social relations and the empowerment of subjects under study. Therefore, critical ethnography is always related to the problem of power, and change, value-orientation and the relationship between agency and structure are among the characteristics of this method. One of the methods in critical ethnography is the method of Carspecken that emphasizes the communication experience and has been influenced by pragmatism, neo-marxism, and phenomenology. By placing the concept of validity within the theory of meaning, Carspecken emphasizes the inner relationship between meaning and validity. He has a five-step approach to critical ethnography. These are: collecting original documents; analyzing collected observational data; generating conversational data (emic approach); the discovery of relationships between what is discovered and the fields broader and, finally, linking the findings from the earlier stages to macro-sociological theories and constructions, to illustrate the processes of production and social reproduction.

Background and Aim: Research on human bahavoir and attitudes has always been the subject of debate throughout history. The social sciences undertake the study of the ever-changing nature of human behaviors and actions. Due to the human's creative agency alongside their rationality, attaining a comprehensive understanding in this domain is often met with skepticism. Moreover, the social sciences have inherent limitations and uncertainties, particularly concerning the researcher's role within the rsearch process. Consequently, many scholars have criticized prevailing methodologies, prompting the development of diverse research techniques within the social sciences. Among these, critical ethnography emerges as a particularly potent and innovative method. This article attempts to examine the ontological, epistemological, and methodological foundations of critical ethnography.   Methods and Data:  This study employs a documentary research methodology.   Findings: Critical ethnography, with its distinctive technique of participant observation, opens avenues for a broad spectrum of data collection methods, ranging from photography and mixed media to discourse analysis. This flexibility allows researchers to select methods that align with their preferences and project needs, fostering the potential for new and intresting insights.   Conclusion: The application of critical ethnography enables researchers in the social sciences to maneuver among dominant paradigms and leverage their capabilities through pragmatist insights, utilizing ethical emic approaches, thereby enhancing sociological understanding and insight, which, of course, is entirely critical in nature.   Key Message: In his critical ethnography framework, Carspecken introduces a new approach characterized by paradigmatic interweaving that is entirely critical. This approach provides an opportunity to utilize a wide range of data collection techniques, from photography and mixed media to various discourse analysis methods.

The present research is the result of a detailed study on a field in which the speech communication is under the dominance of a general language (language of the majority) of a country and this majority has no familiarity with minority language. In fact this study attempts to analyze the spoken native language by Armenian middle-class women living in Tehran and its transference onto later generations. The study has been performed in the domain of linguistics, sociology and cultural anthropology and genre of the speech is within the framework of the Haims theory of ethnography and communication. In the present study, the method of ‘monitoring participation in the interview with flexible structure’ has been used. The goal is to give data on the person under investigation and avoid the imbalances and unequal communicative hierarchy between the interviewer and interviewee, the same relation that is totally consistent with traditional social sciences. The society under survey is the type which holds coffee parties at home among the Armenian middle class women periodically, and occasionally on a specific day. The objective of the circle is to leave the monotonous environment of the house, to vary their lives, to be sociable, to engage in something as a hobby and to consider oneself as a member of a group and finally to gain knowledge of the individuals of the circle or to act as a source of news.

Language is part of the culture of a people and the chief means by which the members of a language community communicate. Ethnography of communication is the study of the place of language in culture and society. This discipline is often considered as a branch of sociolinguistics and is closely related to ethnomethodology. Ethnographic description refers to knowledge available to members of speech community which is used, more or less consciously, to categorize persons, places and activities. Formal analyses in the ethnography of communication focus on supra-sentential elements: speech situations, the forms of speech events, the interrelations of speaker, addressee, audience, topic, channel and setting, and the ways in which the speakers draw upon the resources of their language to perform certain functions. This functional study is conceived as complementary with the study of linguistic structure. Functional analyses focus on larger social and cultural settings. In language teaching the concept of ethnography of communication has provided impetus to Communicative Language Teaching, especially through the notion of communicative competence.