Transcript Chapter 5 - Cengage Learning

Chapter 5
Methods in
Cultural Anthropology
What We Will Learn




How do cultural anthropologists conduct
fieldwork?
What types of data-gathering techniques do
cultural anthropologists use?
What are some of the problems faced by
cultural anthropologists that make fieldwork
somewhat less than romantic?
What ethical dilemmas do applied
anthropologists face when conducting
fieldwork?
Common Issues in Fieldwork




Gaining acceptance in the community.
Selecting the most appropriate datagathering techniques.
Understanding how to operate within the
local political structure.
Taking precautions against investigator
bias.
Common Issues in Fieldwork




Choosing knowledgeable informants.
Coping with culture shock.
Learning a new language.
Be willing to reevaluate findings in the
light of new evidence.
Preparing for Fieldwork





Obtain funding from a source that
supports anthropological research.
Take the proper health precautions.
Obtain permission or clearance from the
host government.
Become proficient in the local language.
Make arrangements for personal
possessions while out of the country.
Basic Stages of Field
Research
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Selecting a research problem
Formulating a research design
Collecting the data
Analyzing the data
Interpreting the data
Data Gathering Techniques







Participant-Observation
Interviewing
Census Taking
Mapping
Document Analysis
Collecting Genealogies
Photography
Guidelines for ParticipantObservation Fieldwork



When introducing oneself, select one role
and use it consistently.
Proceed slowly.
Assume the role of a student wanting to
learn more about a subject on which the
people are the experts.
Participant-Observation
Advantages
Disadvantages
•Enhances rapport
•Enables fieldworkers to
distinguish actual and
expected behavior.
•Permits observation of
nonverbal behavior.
•Small sample size.
•Difficult to obtain standardized
comparable data.
•Problems of recording.
•Obtrusive effect on subject
matter
Ethnographic Interview

How it is unique:
 The interviewer and the subject almost
always speak different first languages.
 Much broader in scope because it
elicits information on the entire culture.
 Used in conjunction with other datagathering techniques.
Structured and Unstructured
Interviews


In unstructured interviews the
interviewer asks open-ended questions
and allows interviewees to respond at
their own pace in their own words.
In structured interviews, the interviewer
asks all informants the same questions, in
the same sequence, and under the same
set of conditions.
Guidelines for Ethnographic
Interviewing
1.
2.
3.
4.
Obtain informed consent before
interviewing.
Maintain neutrality by not conveying to
the interviewee what may be the
“desired” answer.
Pre-test questions to make sure they are
understandable and culturally relevant.
Keep the recording unobtrusive.
Guidelines for Ethnographic
Interviewing
5.
6.
7.
Make certain the conditions under which
the interviews are conducted are
consistent.
Use simple, clean, and jargon-free
language.
Phrase questions positively.
Guidelines for Ethnographic
Interviewing
8.
9.
10.
Keep the questions and the interview short.
Avoid questions that have two parts to the
answer.
Save controversial questions for the end.
Choosing A Data-gathering
Technique


What is the nature of the problem being
investigated?
How receptive are the people being
studied?
Characteristics of Culture
Shock



Confusion over how to behave.
Surprise or disgust after realizing some of
the features of the new culture.
Feeling a loss of old familiar surroundings
and ways of doing things.
Characteristics of Culture
Shock



Feeling rejected by members of the new
culture.
Loss of self-esteem because you don’t
seem to be functioning very effectively.
Doubt over your own cultural values.
Symptoms of Culture Shock
Compulsive eating
Homesickness
or drinking
Chauvinistic
excesses
Boredom
Irritability
Stereotyping and
hostility toward host
nationals
Withdrawal
Exaggerated
cleanliness
Loss of ability to
work effectively
Excessive
sleep
Marital stress and
family tension
Unexplainable
weeping
Narrative Ethnography


Narrative ethnographers are not
interested in descriptive accounts of
another culture written with scientific
detachment.
Their ethnographies are reflections of how
their own personalities and cultural
influences combine with personal
encounters with their informants to
produce cultural data.
The Human Relations Area
Files (HRAF)



The world’s largest anthropological data
bank.
Developed for the purpose of testing
hypotheses and building theory.
Ethnographic data on over 300 cultures
organized according to 700 different
subjects.
Ethics and Anthropology
Areas of responsibility for anthropologists:
 The people under study
 The local communities
 The host governments and their own
government
 Other members of the scholarly community
 Organizations that sponsor research
 Their own students
Quick Quiz
1. Cultural anthropologists collect their data
and test their hypotheses by means of:
a) analyzing data.
b) reflexive ethnography.
c) sociometric sampling.
d) fieldwork.
Answer: d

Cultural anthropologists collect their
data and test their hypotheses by means
of fieldwork.
2. _______ involves selecting the
appropriate data-gathering techniques
for measuring the research variables.
a) Interpreting data
b) Research design
c) Analyzing data
d) Collecting data
Answer: d

Collecting data involves selecting the
appropriate data-gathering techniques for
measuring the research variables.
3. Once the data has been gathered, the
researcher moves to:
a) research design.
b) interpreting data.
c) analyzing data.
d) participant observation.
Answer: c

Once the data has been gathered, the
researcher moves to analyzing data.
4. ______ involve a minimum of control,
with the anthropologist asking openended questions on general topics.
a) Structured interviews
b) Family profile data
c) Research designs
d) Unstructured interviews
Answered: d

Unstructured interviews involve a
minimum of control, with the
anthropologist asking open-ended
questions on general topics.
5. ________ refers to the psychological
disorientation that can be caused by
trying to adjust to major differences in
lifestyles and living conditions.
a) Disorientation
b) Biculturalism
c) Sociometric tracking
d) Culture shock
Answer: d

Culture shock refers to the
psychological disorientation that can be
caused by trying to adjust to major
differences in lifestyles and living
conditions.