fieldwork
gathering data by going to the field, which is wherever people and cultures are, to learn about culture through direct observation
armchair anthropology
early cultural anthropologists conducted research by sitting and reading about other cultures; they read reports written by traveler, missionaries and explorers but never visited those places or had any direct contact with the people
Sir Edward Tylor
armchair anthropologist, proposed definition of culture in 1871
verandah anthropology
in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, anthropologists began to live near, but not with, the people they were studying (interviews)
A. R. Radcliffe-Brown
salvage anthropologist, lots of research on Andaman Islanders
salvage anthropology
collecting what data you can from the remaining people of a culture in order to document their language, social life, and religious beliefs
Lewis Henry Morgan
changed Euro-American view of Native Americans as savages
Bronislaw Malinowski
in WWI, was in Trobriand Islands in South Pacific and by living with people and participating in their daily culture through participant observation, learned about culture in context rather than through secondhand reports
participant observation
research method for learning about culture that involves living in a culture for an extended period while gathering data; key elements:
1. Living with the people
2. Participating in their everyday life
3. Learning the language
multisited research
fieldwork conducted in more than one location in order to understand the behaviors and ideas of dispersed members of a culture or the relationships among different levels such as state policy and local culture
literature review
reading what others have already written assessing its adequacy; identifying gaps in information
restudy
fieldwork conducted in a previously researched community
institutional review boards (IRBs)
monitor research to make sure it conforms to ethical principles and official guidelines for "protection of human rights
informed consent
an aspect of fieldwork ethics requiring that the researcher inform the research participants of the intent, scope, and possible effects of the study and seek their consent to be in the study
site
place where research takes place, and sometimes a project involves more than one
kula
a trading network, linking many of the Trobriand Islands, in which men have long-standing partnerships for the exchange of everyday goods such as food as well as highly valued necklaces and armlets
rapport
a trusting relationship between the research and the study population
gatekeepers
people who formally or informally control access to a group or community
false role assignments
when study groups come up with an explanation for anthropologists presence through past experiences, comparing them to tax collectors or government officials
culture shock
persistent feeling of uneasiness, loneliness, and anxiety that often occur when a person has shifted from one culture to a different one
reverse culture shock
culture shock that may occur after coming home
goal of fieldwork
to collect data about the research topic
deductive approach
a research method that involves posing a research question of hypothesis and then involves collecting data related to the question through observation, interviews, etc; collects quantitative data
quantitative data
numeric information
inductive approach
a research approach that avoids hypothesis information in advance of the research and instead takes its lead from the culture being studied
qualitative data
non-numeric information
etic
an analytical framework used by outside analysts in studying culture
emic
insiders' perceptions and categories, and their explanations for why they do what they do
Hawthorne effect
research bias due to participants changing their behavior to conform to expectations of the researcher
open-ended interview
interviewee (respondent) takes the lead in setting the direction of the conversation, and amount of time devoted; interviewer does not interrupt or provide prompting questions, in order to discover what themes are important to the person
questionnaire
a formal research instrument containing a pre-set series of questions that the anthropologist asks in a face-to-face setting, by mail, or by email
pilot study
using a questionnaire among a small number of people in the research area to expose areas that need further revision
time allocation study
a quantitative method that collects data on how people spend their time each day on particular activities
textual material
a category that includes written or oral stories, myths, plays, sayings, speeches, jokes, and transcriptions of people's everyday conversations
anthropology of memory
anthropologists collect data about what people remember as well a gaps in their memory, revealing how culture shapes memories and how memories shape their culture
field notes
include daily logs, personal journals, descriptions of events, and notes about those notes
toponymy
the naming of places
indigenous knowledge
IK, local understanding of the environment, climate, plants and animals
ethnography
a firsthand, detailed description of a living culture, based on a personal observation
collaborative research
an approach to learning about culture that involve anthropologists working with members of the study population as partners and participants rather than as subjects
Project Camelot (50s) and Vietnam War (60s)
anthropologists adopted code of ethics because of
American Anthropological Association
AAA, adopted code of ethics in 1971--no undercover and keep people safe
war zone anthropology
research conducted within zones of violent conflict, can provide important insights into topics such as the militarization of civilian lives, civilian protection, the cultural dynamics of military personnel, and postconflict reconstruction