Policy Making through Thick and Thin: Thick Description as a Methodology for Communications and Democracy

This paper proposes the use of anthropologist Clifford Geertz's 'thick description' as a methodology for communications policy making. Ethnographies employing thick description give voice to the concerns of ordinary citizens. They also help make policy more accessible, enhancing prospects for meaningful public participation in policy making and, thus, democracy. This is of particular concern in policy making involving communications technology because of the relationship between communications and democracy. A literature review found no instances of authors explicitly employing thick description in communications policy making research, although journalists, authors and others have employed the methods of thick description while investigating such areas as the environment, automobile safety, and business. Concerns regarding thick description in policy making, as with most qualitative research, relate to its time-consuming nature and questions regarding its validity.