Final answer:
Ethnography is the study of the social customs and manners of a particular social class at a specific time and place, involving immersive observation and interaction with the target community.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ethnography is a branch of anthropology focused on the systematic study of people and cultures. It is designed to explore cultural phenomena where the researcher observes society from the point of view of the subject of the study. An ethnographer, through methods such as participant observation and interviews, immerses themselves in the daily life of the studied community for extended periods, aiming to capture the social customs, rituals, and everyday life of individuals within their social context.
This contrasts with other branches of anthropology and social sciences which may take a broader view of culture or look at human development and changes through a longer temporal lens. For example, cultural anthropologists might turn to ethnography to understand a community's social interactions, while sociologists could also make use of ethnographic methods to analyze modern social phenomena such as digital interactions or shifting family structures.