The papers in this e-book arise from a series of Symposia on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research jointly organised by the Universities of Liverpool and Keele. The symposium originated due to a concern about the ethical issues confronted by researchers in an increasingly regulated world and also the problems experienced by students in writing ethnographies. The articles in this issue are a small selection of the material presented at the symposia; they demonstrate the value of ethnography to understandings of public service management and of accountabilities. Together, the papers engage with current debates on the changing nature of accountability, bringing rich sources of data to illustrate and to re-examine some of the arguments with which we are becoming familiar. At the same time, each takes a different approach to ethnography.