%0 Journal Article
%T Collecting Ethnographic Video Data for Policy Research
%A Joanne W. Golann
%A Thomas J. Espenshade
%A Zitsi Mirakhur
%J American Behavioral Scientist
%@ 1552-3381
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0002764218820566
%X Despite growing recognition of the critical role of parents in children¡¯s early development, parenting education programs and interventions typically have had limited impacts on children¡¯s outcomes. To design programs and policies that are more responsive to families¡¯ needs and constraints, policymakers need a better understanding of the lived experiences of families. In this article, we argue that qualitative video-ethnographic approaches offer an innovative and useful supplement to policy researchers¡¯ usual tool kit. Taking a holistic approach to parent¨Cchild interactions and filming families in their natural environments over an extended period provides policy researchers with new data to inform future parenting initiatives. To assist researchers interested in undertaking a video-ethnographic study, we discuss our experiences with the New Jersey Families Study, a 2-week, in-home video study of 21 families with a 2- to 4-year-old child. This is the first time anyone has attempted an in-home naturalistic observation of this breadth, intensity, or duration. We highlight the potential of this method for policy relevance along with its associated challenges
%K video ethnography
%K policy research
%K qualitative research
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0002764218820566