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The article introduces the special issue, "Ethnography and Public Scholarship: Ethical Obligations, Tensions, and Opportunities." The editors begin with a discussion of Alice Goffman's On the Run. The popularity and influence of Goffman's ethnography, coupled with critique and controversy, represent the promise and peril of ethnography as public scholarship. The case operates as a portal to explore at once familiar and still often unanswered methodological and ethical questions as ethnographers engage in public scholarship. After reviewing key considerations, the editors provide snapshots of the papers, papers that explore topics such as ethnography as policy-relevant research, representations of marginalized populations, compliance with regulatory agencies, protection of participants' rights, and documentation and sharing of data. Recognizing the importance of Mills' appeal to encourage the sociological imagination, the editors argue that, taken as a whole, the papers demonstrate complex methodological and ethical considerations as well as immense possibilities to inform and reframe social issues.

Amid calls for increased public scholarship, ethnographers occupy precarious positions. They focus on studying underrepresented cultural groups within local contexts and connecting micro and macro levels to understand the impact of social, economic, and political forces. The methodology is particularly well-suited to engage multiple audiences, influence public dialogue, and inform policy issues. And yet, given the current emphasis on experimental and quasi-experimental methods, and the inability of ethnographic findings to generalize, policy makers question the utility of qualitative research. When scholars do translate research for broader audiences, recent examples of best-selling ethnographies demonstrate the increased scrutiny they encounter. The article, as a result, explores the basic characteristics of ethnography and public scholarship. The authors examine issues related to ethnography as ethical and policy-relevant public scholarship. They argue that ethnography serves a valuable role to promote deliberative democracy and social justice; however, to maximize potential and limit unintended consequences, researchers must establish standards and techniques to conduct rigorous and ethical research and identify methods to communicate the merit of such scholarship.