Descriptions enrich ethnographies, providing crucial background information.
Claire's ethnography in a fishing village wanted to explore the effects of the European Common Fishing Policy on the community. She spent over a year talking to and spending time with people from all works of life, from decision-makers to housewives and children. She went on fishing trips, attended coffee mornings, and went to conferences on fishing policy, all in order to get a broad impression. Her final project report, her PhD thesis, will include several chapters outlining who lives in the community how important fishing has been historically, what the Common Fishing Policy is and how it came about, and how the nature of fishing has changed in recent decades, including the effects of new technologies. She was getting very concerned at one point that she would never have space in her report to talk about her "real" findings, as she had so much to say that was descriptive and background. But pointed out to her that in order to make an overall argument, a lot of background information is important These pieces of information are a crucial part of the findings.