The Diversity of Ethnomethodology

Abstract

Our purpose is to review the enormous range of ethnomethodological research from the past three decades. Periodically, scholars have produced review articles, monographs, and position papers that usually promote or critique the work of a particular ethnomethodological subfield. Also, textbook and other accounts of ethnomethodology sometimes impose a homogeneity on the field that neglects the various theoretical and methodological strands. We attempt to articulate the diversity each of the subfields represents, to clarify distinctions between them, and to demonstrate assumptions they share. The areas we discuss include theory, phenomenology, cognition, conversation analysis, research in institutional settings, studies of science, and applied research. While debates about proper topics and methods of research will no doubt continue, underneath such debates are a shared orientation to an extant, achieved orderliness in everyday activities and a commitment to discovering organizational features of direct interaction.