Ethnomethodology
sociology whereby the objective is not to develop abstract theories of social reality, but rather, to understand how social reality is achieved and how people make it work. The ethnomethodological approach lays emphasis on the indexicality of reality which means that everyday observations of life reflect the way reality functions. The approach also stresses reflexivity or a method of theorizing wherein the theorist becomes conscious of his/her own personal biases and acknowledges them. Reflexvity also implies a continuous orientation to transcending individual bias.
Ethnomethodological studies describe everyday and commonplace reality (such as routines) with the same rigor as newsreporting of newsmaking events. Ethnomethodology details and analyzes the ordinary. Ethnomethodological studies have been very popular in conversation analysis.
Ethnomethodology originated in the work of Harold Garfinkel in 1967, first brought together in his book Studies in Ethnomethodology.
