Ethnographic fieldwork offers solutions to many of the needs identified in safety research, but it also introduces its own challenges. In particular, the use of ethnography in safety tends to either sympathetically describe safety practice from the point of view of practitioners, or to offer sociological critique of current practice. In this paper we offer a new approach to ethnographic analysis, “Pluralist Function Interrogation”, which combines these positions. The methodology sympathetically explores how practices are expected and understood to function, and then critically examines whether the practices work as intended. By doing so, Pluralist Function Interrogation offers a contribution to both safety practice and general understanding, as it makes explicit beliefs that currently shape and inform practice. Drawing on other fieldwork traditions, it aims to uncover the underlying reasons for why things are done the way they are, thereby identifying leverage points for practical change. What sets Pluralist Function Interrogation apart from many other fieldwork traditions in this domain is its sensitivity to the divides within and between practice and academia. Through its pluralistic approach, this methodology acts as a bridge, fostering collaboration and understanding between different perspectives and traditions.