Ethnography and its potential for studying the social in social pharmacy: An example of autonomy and pharmaceuticals in eldercare

Studying the social aspects of pharmaceuticals is an inherent part of the field of social pharmacy. Ethnography as a methodology provides a lens to guide researchers on this endeavor by offering richer insights into “real world practices” of professionals, patients and relatives compared to other methods. With a focus on meaning making, ethnography goes beyond descriptions and promotes theory-informed interpretations. Therefore, this methodology can lead to new understandings of medicine use in practice and in policy making. This article provides a brief introduction to ethnography, especially in relation to doing participant observation and fieldwork. An example from an ethnographic fieldwork on Danish home care for frail elderly is used to illustrate how ethnography can be applied, while focusing on three key features of ethnographic analysis: Thick descriptions, analytical generalizability and reflexivity. •Ethnography holds great potential as a qualitative methodology for studying social aspects of pharmaceuticals.•Ethnography is a multi-method framework with the main method being participant observation.•A series of guiding principles are introduced including thick descriptions, analytical generalization and reflexivity.•Ethnography offers rich insights into “real world practices” of professionals, patients and relatives.