Appendix A
Project PERCS: An interdisciplinary, collaborative ethnographic research program
connecting Elon students, faculty and local communities
PROJECT NARRATIVE: Introduction
Elon’s Program for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies (PERCS) began in 2001 as
an interdisciplinary teaching-research program dedicated to ethnography—a method of
research that employs participant observation and interviewing to understand the social and
cultural dimensions of human interaction from an insider’s perspective. Since that time, PERCS
has co-produced 7 ethnographic documentary films with elondocs, Elon’s Documentary Film
Program; welcomed 3 national and international speakers to campus; hosted 4 brown bag
lunches for faculty to workshop their current ethnographic research; and developed significant
online resources, including teaching modules on interviewing, observation and ethics, streaming
video and audio ethnographies produced by Elon students, and model IRB proposals. PERCS
committee members meet regularly with students and faculty engaged in ethnographic fieldwork
to advise them and support their work through peer mentoring, internships, and independent
research. Likewise, PERCS fosters research with a long-term investment of intellectual labor.
The result is an interdisciplinary community at Elon actively engaged in the theory and
production of ethnography.
In our continuing efforts to meet the needs of our students, faculty and local
communities, PERCS is initiating a sustainable program supporting research teams of students,
faculty and community leaders in multi-year, interdisciplinary, ethnographic projects. This new
research program will promote greater collaboration between the university and local
communities and produce substantive research, thereby enhancing student learning,
undergraduate and faculty research and development, and community awareness and selfdetermination.
Appendix A / Project PERCS / 2
DESCRIPTION
Project PERCS actively models established programs at aspirant and elite institutions to train
students in ethnographic field methods through experiential learning. However, these
ethnographic field schools are typically housed in anthropology departments and train students
in basic ethnographic research in a single discipline within a single semester. Research projects
are often established to provide students with a context for their training, but the research
product is generally not the focus of the work and is not made available to the communities
being studied.
Project PERCS expands these models in three major ways. First, Project PERCS is
interdisciplinary. For each project, students from majors across the campus will collaborate as a
research team to tackle the task of interpreting community life and issues through immersive
fieldwork. The globalization of society makes such interdisciplinary work particularly productive.
While ethnography traditionally has been central to anthropological and sociological research,
use of ethnography has spread throughout the social sciences and into the arts and humanities
in the past two decades, particularly in documentary photography, religious studies, psychology
and history. New journals such as Ethnography (2000) reflect the growth in ethnography as well
as the expansion of a related academic trend, interdisciplinary studies. These trends represent
exciting new avenues for collaborative research, avenues Project PERCS will explore fully.
Further, this interdisciplinary approach expands how students and faculty interpret and
understand community life, and how they present this knowledge in media underused in their
respective disciplines.
Second, Project PERCS will develop a sustainable curriculum with a coherent set of
courses and research experiences rather than single a class. Third, Project PERCS will foster
quality undergraduate research, where learning and the production of knowledge for the
academic and local community are integral and equal goals. These two differences from the
Appendix A / Project PERCS / 3
typical field school transform Project PERCS from a valuable but short-lived experience to an
intellectually rigorous, meaningful and immersive experience that will result in a permanent
contribution to the understanding of a particular community.
The structure of Project PERCS is outlined in the table below. Every four years, Project
PERCS will initiate a new project. Each project will take three years from conception to
completion. The fourth year will allow for assessment and revision of the program. This model is
fully integrated into Elon’s curriculum, allowing diverse projects to be developed continually
through the program. The first project will be headed by Dr. Bird Stasz in the Little Tennessee
River Valley. The chart presents the proposed dates for this pilot project.
Component
Gateway
Course
Activities
Propose research site and project,
conduct initial research, make
connections within community.
Recruit students and conduct a
special topics/gateway course.
Field
Research
Conduct research through summer
course.
PERCS, research
team, community
Product
Completion
Conduct final analyses, draft/script
results and disseminate.
PERCS, research
team, community
Project
Conception
Participants
PERCS, faculty
leader, community
Faculty leader and
interested students
Implementation
Year 1
Fall-Spring
(2007-2008)
Year 2
Fall (2008)
Year 3
Summer
(2009)
Year 3
Fall-Spring
(2009-2010)
Appendix A / Project PERCS / 4
GOALS
Project PERCS has a number of goals, some general, and some that can be divided usefully
according to the three major groups involved: students, faculty and local communities.
General Goals

Provide a structure for engaging students in collaborative undergraduate research, whether
from Honors, Fellows or the general student body

Connect faculty from across campus who share a common interest in community studies

Fulfill President Lambert’s 2007-08 university priority of advancing scholarship and
connecting with external communities
Student Goals

Conduct ethical community-based research via intensive, ethnographic fieldwork

Conduct thorough analysis of qualitative data

Engage with real-world issues and needs

Work as part of an interdisciplinary team, honing disciplinary expertise while communicating
across disciplines and exploring intersections among them

Gain knowledge and understanding of a specific community

Produce and present original research of professional quality to local and academic
audiences
Faculty Goals

Conduct interdisciplinary research with students and local communities

Work collaboratively with PERCS faculty from across the university

Deepen and challenge their understanding of disciplinary boundaries and practices
Community Goals

Community members will contribute as active members in the construction of knowledge
about their own community

Communities will benefit from the production of knowledge directly relevant to their
experiences, strengthening community identity and informing public policies

Professional materials will be produced to give back to the community, such as a book,
documentary film and/or substantial articles
Appendix A / Project PERCS / 5
TIMELINE
Timeline
Activities
Fall 2007
Conduct initial research in community
PERCS, faculty leader, community
Fall 2007
Bring consultant to campus to help
plan structure of Project PERCS
Luke Eric Lassiter (consultant), PERCS,
faculty leader
Plan winter or spring term gateway
course and summer research class
Dr. Bird Stasz, Dr. Tom Mould, Dr. Lisa
Peloquin with support from Dr. Peter
Felten and Dr. Brooke Barnett
Conduct initial fieldwork in Little TN
River Valley and establish community
contacts
Dr. Bird Stasz, Dr. Tom Mould, Dr. Lisa
Peloquin
Summer
2008
Summer
2008
Participants
ASSESSSMENT
We will assess the program at multiple stages of the process. For the gateway course and
summer field research course, students will assess the program using accepted Elon University
evaluation forms as well as evaluation forms specific to the goals of Project PERCS. At the
completion of the project, we will assess the success of the program by evaluating the materials
produced for distribution and publication. We will also survey community members throughout
the process to ensure their voices are heard and needs are met. A final assessment will be
made when final products are given back to the community. Finally, the students and faculty
who participated in the project will be surveyed at its completion. We will close the assessment
loop by analyzing this information to guide improvements to the program for the next research
project.