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Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Methods in Cultural Anthropology. Chapter Outline. Preparing for Fieldwork Stages of Field Research Date-Gathering Techniques Choosing a Technique The Pains and Gains of Fieldwork Recent Trends in Ethnographic Fieldwork The Ethics of Cultural Anthropology.

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Chapter 5

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  1. Chapter 5 Methods inCultural Anthropology

  2. Chapter Outline • Preparing for Fieldwork • Stages of Field Research • Date-Gathering Techniques • Choosing a Technique • The Pains and Gains of Fieldwork • Recent Trends in Ethnographic Fieldwork • The Ethics of Cultural Anthropology

  3. Common Issues in Fieldwork • Gaining acceptance in the community. • Selecting the most appropriate data-gathering techniques. • Understanding how to operate within the local political structure. • Taking precautions against investigator bias.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Basic Stages of Field Research • Selecting a research problem • Formulating a research design • Collecting the data • Analyzing the data • Interpreting the data

  7. Data Gathering Techniques • Participant-Observation • Interviewing • Census Taking • Mapping • Document Analysis • Collecting Genealogies • Photography

  8. Guidelines for Participant-Observation 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.

  9. Advantages and Disadvantages of Participant-observation

  10. Choosing A Data-gathering Technique • What is the nature of the problem being investigated? • How receptive are the people being studied?

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. Symptoms of Culture Shock

  14. The HumanRelations 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.

  15. 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

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