Ethnomethodology: unveilling the alchemy of everyday life

Abstract

This theoretical essay aims to present an introductory analysis of ethnomethodology, an empirical social research approach that arose in the 1960s and has had an impact on sociology ever since, as it underlines that ethnomethodologists study social phenomena, those which are available in the incorporated sensitive human activities of speech and action. For this purpose, some issues are presented and discussed, such as the historical context of its emergence, highlighting its origins, main concepts, constitutive philosophical elements, methods and types of research that this approach encompasses and has developed over the past decades, in addition to criticisms and converging points with other social research approaches. The main intention here is to suggest a dialogue between ethnomethodology and organizational studies that deal with social practices, discussing how, from its multiparadigmatic and multifaceted nature, ethnomethodology can be a valid research approach for the qualitative study of organizations. In conclusion, ethnomethodology seems to be a possibility for approaching the organizational phenomenon that allows it to be adequately understood based on the notion of social practices.