Ethnography of Critical Thinking

A qualitative research method that immerses the researcher in settings where critical thinking is practiced—classrooms, boardrooms, science labs, online forums—to observe how people actually reason, question, and evaluate evidence in real time. It captures the tacit norms, informal rituals, and social dynamics that textbooks ignore. Ethnography of critical thinking reveals that what is called “critical thinking” often involves social positioning (e.g., who gets to challenge whom), emotional regulation, and performance of skepticism. It provides rich, contextual accounts that supplement abstract models.

Ethnography of Critical Thinking Example: “The ethnography of a medical ethics committee showed that ‘critical thinking’ wasn’t just about weighing evidence—it was about who spoke first, who was seated at the head, and who could interrupt without penalty. Rationality was performed, not just computed.”

Ethnography of Critical Thinking by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal June 1, 2026