Chapter 5 Methods of Investigation

Chapter Outline  Ethnographic Methods  Comparative Methods

Purposes of Anthropological Research 1. Collecting and recording new data about specific people. 2. Expanding our understanding of human cultural systems through comparative analysis.

Categories of Anthropological Investigation 1. Ethnographic Methods Collecting and analyzing data from a single society or several closely related societies. 2. Comparative Methods Testing hypotheses about relations between aspects of cultural systems by using data from a number of societies.

Ethnographic Fieldwork  Primary method used to collect cultural information.  Researcher lives with or close to the people being studied.  Close relationship between research and members of society being studied.

Fieldwork Techniques  Interviewing - fieldworker elicits responses to prearranged questions.  Participant observation - fieldworkers participate in the daily lives of the people they are studying.

Problems and Issues in Field Research  Overcoming Stereotypes  Defining field worker’s role in the community and developing rapport  Identifying and interviewing consultants

Stereotypes  Preconceived generalizations of a group that biases the way they are perceived and how their behavior is interpreted.

 consultant (informant) A member of a community who provides information to a fieldworker.  key consultant (key informant) Individual whom the local community considers to be an expert in a particular area. Fieldwork Definitions

 culture shock The feeling of uncertainty and anxiety an individual experiences when placed in a strange cultural setting

Ethnohistory  Interested in reconstructing the cultural system of people, not in actual historical events.  Historical events have little significance outside the cultural context of the peoples involved.

Comparative Methods  Compare information collected by previous ethnographers.  Cross-cultural comparisons  Controlled historical comparisons

Cross-cultural comparison  Testing hypotheses by examining the statistical correlations between particular cultural variables, using synchronic data drawn from a number of societies.

Controlled Historical Comparisons  Use changes in particular groupings of societies over time to define general cultural patterning and test hypotheses.

Quick Quiz

1. The two broad categories of anthropological methods are ethnographic and: a) participant observation b) Interviewing c) consultants d) comparative

Answer: d  The two broad categories of anthropological methods are ethnographic and comparative.

2. Participant observation: a) means “going native” b) was pioneered by Marshall Sahlins c) allows a deeper level of understanding of the way people actually behave d) means observing informants

Answer: c  Participant observation allows a deeper level of understanding of the way people actually behave.

3. The problem of stereotyping affects fieldwork because: a) anthropologists need to set aside their prior beliefs of the people they study b) local people may think anthropologists are trying to steal ritual secrets c) local people may think that the ethnographer’s objective is to publish a book and make money d) all of the above

Answer: d  The problem of stereotyping affects fieldwork because anthropologists need to set aside their prior beliefs of the people they study, because local people may think anthropologists are trying to steal ritual secrets, and because local people may think that the ethnographer’s objective is to publish a book and make money.