Ethnomethodology

Ethnomethodology is an empirical study of folk or ethno methods of practical action and practical reasoning that examines the cultural and linguistic competencies and practices used in everyday life, from quite mundane practices such as forming a line and buying groceries to specialized practices such as forming the social bases of scientific research. Founded by American sociologist Harold Garfinkel in the 1950s and 1960s, ethnomethodology soon inspired a variety of scholars and studies that, by the mid-1970s, had established a radically new research program, not only within American sociology but within an ever-increasing international and interdisciplinary context as well.