Apply ethnographic methods including prolonged engagement, participant observation, thick description, and netnography to study cultures and communities.
SkillScore68Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/28/2026
What it changes
Passed 15 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 4 of 22 without it.
Without skill18%
With skill68%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The response rejects framing a two-week interview study as ethnography.
The response explains that ethnographic validity requires prolonged engagement.
The Thick Description Excerpt section uses blockquote formatting for the narrative vignette.
and 15 more in the full report
11 fixed4 passed either way7 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+50 pp
Tokens
+18%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-15%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/28/2026v115 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 11 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 11
Prompt
I've spent 14 months conducting participant observation inside an open-source hardware maker group. Please organize my notes into a structured ethnographic report. The format should cover the field context (site, duration, participant role, and entry method), a cultural themes chart displaying local terms alongside observed behaviors and interpretations, a thick description narrative vignette, an analysis of power dynamics and social norms, a reflexivity section evaluating my own positionality and impact, and a final numbered list of theoretical implications.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The main section title starts with '## Ethnographic Analysis:' followed by the community name.
Missed
Passed
The Cultural Themes table includes headers for Theme, Emic Term, Observed Practices, and Interpretation.
Missed
Passed
The Thick Description Excerpt section uses blockquote formatting for the narrative vignette.
Missed
Passed
case-01 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/28/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md100 linessingle file
Ethnography
Overview
Ethnography is a qualitative methodology rooted in anthropology that involves prolonged immersion in a social setting to understand cultural meanings, practices, and social structures from the participants' perspective. The researcher becomes the primary instrument, producing "thick description" (Geertz) that interprets behavior within its cultural context. Netnography extends these principles to online communities.
When to Use
Understanding shared cultural meanings, norms, rituals, or worldviews of a group
Studying how people actually behave (not just what they report) in natural settings
Exploring online communities, digital cultures, or virtual worlds (netnography)
When the research question requires insider perspective and contextual depth
When NOT to Use
When time constraints prevent prolonged engagement (months to years)
When the research question can be answered by interviews or surveys alone
When the researcher cannot gain meaningful access to the group
When causal explanation is needed rather than cultural interpretation
Assumptions
IRON LAW: Ethnographic validity requires PROLONGED ENGAGEMENT — short
visits produce tourist-level understanding, not cultural insight. If
your "ethnography" is based on a few interviews over two weeks, it is
NOT ethnography.
Key assumptions:
Culture is a system of shared meanings that must be understood from within (emic perspective)
The researcher must balance insider immersion and outsider analysis (reflexivity)
Thick description captures not just behavior but its meaning in context
Knowledge is co-constructed between researcher and participants
Methodology
Step 1: Gain Access and Establish Rapport
Identify the field site and negotiate entry. Clarify your role on the observer-participant continuum. Build trust over time. For netnography: identify the online community, lurk to understand norms, then participate.