The focus of this paper is on women with respect to three themes: the reasons why women are attracted to ethnographic research, the problems they may encounter in making this choice, and the prospects for women researchers to influence the future direction of educational research. Four interrelated psychological aspects seem to attract women to ethnographic research: its emphasis on a holistic perspective; the fact that an ethnographer must establish rapport with participants in the culture; the use of the self as a measuring device; and the dual goals of involvement and detachment. Despite these attractions, choosing to do ethnographic research can create problems for women, such as the stigma of doing "soft" research (non-quantitative, less rigorous) or the potential future perceptions of ethnography as a woman's (devalued) area. A final problem is the time demands involved in ethnography. Despite these problems, there are reasons why women should consider doing ethnographic research. It provides opportunities for developing new theoretical models and new research paradigms. (BW)