1. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Methods in Cultural Anthropology (Miller Chapter 2)

2. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 The BIG Questions  How do cultural anthropologists conduct research on culture?  What does fieldwork involve?  What are some important issues in cultural anthropology research today?

3. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Goals of Research in Cultural Anthropology  To study, analyze, and describe culture(s) in accordance with ethical principles

4. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 How Do Cultural Anthropologists Do Research?  Approaches have changed over time  “Armchair anthropology” – 1870s  How early cultural anthropologists conducted research by sitting and reading about other cultures  Learning and theorizing about cultures through secondhand reports  Edward Tylor  “Verandah anthropology” – early 1900s  Living near, but not with the people to be studied  “The Field” – 1920s - today  “The Field” – any place where people and cultures are (p. 28)

5. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 The Field and Participant Observation  While in the field, the cornerstone method anthropologists use is participant observation.  Participant observation is a research method for learning about culture that involves living in a culture for an extended period while gathering data (p. 28)  “Father” of participant observation is Bronislaw Malinowski

6. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Key Elements of Participant Observation  Living with the people  Eating the same food  Wearing similar clothes  Learning and speaking the local language  Not using an interpreter whenever possible  Participating in their everyday life  Often occurs over an extended period of time  May be conducted in one or more locations  If fieldwork is conducted in more than one location it is termed “multisited research” (p. 29)

7. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Where to do research? Cultural anthropologists today go to “the field” ► “The field” is anywhere people are

8. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 “The field” has changed since the early days of cultural anthropology in terms of where it is

9. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 From the faraway, exotic and small-scale… For example, Samoa

10. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 To urban and globalizing sites such as Tangier, Morocco

11. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 To the field at home: for example, Tangier, Virginia

12. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Even to Main Street, USA…

13. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 …and Corporate USA

14. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 What to Study? Topics have changed since the early days of cultural anthropology

15. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 From “holistic” studies of small groups…  such as indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, India …to focused topical studies such as gender, health, or conflict in larger societies

16. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Gender: women’s lives in a South Indian urban neighborhood

17. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Or how globalization affects informal markets in the Old City of Istanbul, Turkey

18. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Or poverty and health in Johannesburg, South Africa

19. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Or tourism’s environmental and social effects in the Andaman Islands

20. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Steps Involved in Cultural Anthropology Fieldwork  Before going into the field…  Choose a place to do research  Choose a research topic  Prepare for the fieldwork  While in the field…  Gain rapport  Collect data  When come back from the field…  Data analysis  Present the data / write up results

21. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 When Choosing a Research Project, think about…  Making sure it is a feasible project  Will you be able to find a place to stay?  Will you be able to get the proper permission  Gaps in literature / previous research  Where are the women?  Current events  HIV/AIDS  Migration / refugees  Conflicts  Material items  Sugar, tomatoes, cocoa, cocaine, Coca-Cola  Luck  Natural disaster  Re-study  Trobriand Islanders

22. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Preparing to go into the field  Extensive reading about the background literature on the area / watching videos on the area, etc.  Learn the language  Secure funding for the project / writing grant proposals  Get a passport / visa  Get various immunizations  First aid training  Preliminary trip  Specialized equipment and supplies  Personal supplies  Specialized clothing and equipment, tents, etc.  Research supplies  Cameras, laptops, tape/video recorders

23. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Preparing to go into the field  Permission to conduct research must be obtained from many levels  From the national government  From the local people  From various organizations you work with  From the university  Institutional Review Board (IRB)  Monitor all research related to living humans to make sure it conforms to ethical principles  Informed consent – an aspect of research ethics requiring that the researcher inform the research participants of the intent, scope, and possible effects of the study and seek their agreement to be in the study (p. 32)

24. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Beginning Fieldwork  Fieldwork is often a difficult process, especially in the beginning  Dealing with physical and psychological risks, and sometimes even violence and warfare  Car/truck accidents getting to the field site  Unfamiliar climate  Unfamiliar terrain  Sometimes fatal falls  Diseases  Malaria  Crime  Philippe Bourgois – East Harlem, New York – “In Search of Respect” – crack, gangs, underground economic activities

25. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Beginning Fieldwork

26. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Beginning Fieldwork  Dealing with culture shock  Culture shock is persistent feelings of uneasiness, loneliness, and anxiety that often occur when a person has shifted from one culture to a different one (p. 35)  Frustration with unfamiliar language, food, and customs – is a stressful adjustment

27. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Culture Shock discussion  Think of an occasion in which you experienced culture shock, even if as the result of a brief cross-cultural encounter.  How did you feel?  How did you cope?  What did you learn from the experience?

28. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Beginning Fieldwork  Primary goal in the early stages is to gain rapport  Rapport is a trusting relationship between the researcher and the study population (p. 33)  May want to first gain the trust of key leaders or decision makers in the community and learn culturally appropriate gift giving and exchange rules  People may be suspicious of outsiders and may have no idea what an anthropologist is and what he/she is doing there

29. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Beginning Fieldwork  The various microcultures (e.g. class, ethnicity, gender, age) we are a part of influence rapport  Class, ethnic, gender, and age differences may cause some tension or provide opportunities

30. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Fieldwork Approaches  The goal of fieldwork is to collect data, or information, about the research topic.  Research approaches can be deductive or inductive.

31. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Deductive Research  Deductive research starts from a question or hypothesis and then involves collecting data related to that question  Data collected is more likely to be…  quantitative (numerical)  population size, number of houses, hours worked per day, number of children, quantities of various materials  etic (fits into categories meaningful to the cultural outsider/anthropologist)

32. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Inductive Research  Inductive research involves gathering data without a hypothesis  Data collected is more likely to be…  qualitative (non-numerical)  emic (fits into categories meaningful to the cultural insider/local population)  Most anthropologists operate somewhere between these two extremes, combining deductive and inductive approaches and quantitative and qualitative data.

33. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Two Research Approaches: Deductive and Inductive

34. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Fieldwork Techniques  Participant observation  Talking with people  Interview  Questionnaire/Survey  Life histories  Time allocation studies  Analyzing textual material  Maps and charts  Genealogy  Triangulation

35. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Participant Observation  Involves both…  Participation  Participating in the people’s daily lives  Careful Observation  Rationale for it is that the more time a researcher spends among the people,…  the more likely it is that the people will live their “normal” lives  the less likely it is that people will conform their behavior to the perceived expectations of the researcher

36. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Talking with people  Informal, casual, unplanned conversations  Interview – a technique for gathering verbal data through questions or guided conversation (p. 37)  More purposeful than a casual conversation  Can be structured (close-ended questions) or unstructured (open-ended questions)  Can involve only two people (the interviewer and interviewee) or multiple people (a focus group or group interview)  Questionnaire/Survey – a formal research instrument containing a pre-set series of questions that the anthropologist asks in a face-to-face setting, by mail, or through email/online (p. 37)  Can be structured (close-ended questions) or unstructured (open-ended questions)  Questions must make cultural sense

37. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Life histories  A life history is a qualitative, in-depth description of an individual’s life as narrated to the researcher (p. 38)  Provides important information about the cultural construction of an individual’s life experiences  Recording and comparing life histories of individuals from various microcultures can reveal both individual experiences and shared patterns  “Nisa: The Life and Times of a !Kung Woman”  Most widely read life history in anthropology

38. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Other Fieldwork Techniques  Time allocation studies  A time allocation study is a quantitative method that collects data on how people spend their time each day on particular activities (p. 38)  Analyzing textual material  May include written or oral stories, myths, songs, plays, sayings, speeches, jokes, and transcripts of people’s everyday conversations  Also includes written archival and historical material

39. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Other Fieldwork Techniques  Maps and Charts  Creating kinship charts of families  Drawing maps of villages or offices or whatever physical space you’re studying  Maps of culturally specific places  Chain of command charts  Charts of who sits where at meetings  And much more!

40. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Fieldwork Techniques  Triangulation  Triangulation is a technique that involves seeking information on a particular topic from more than one angle or perspective (p. 39)  Combining multiple research methods  Taking with people and participant observation  Participant observation and life histories  Various qualitative and quantitative methods  Collaborating with colleagues from other disciplines in order to gain multiple perspectives

41. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Recording Culture  Refers to how an anthropologist keeps track of all the information collected in the field and how it is recorded for future analysis  Anthropologists take many field notes!  Taking notes is still the trademark method of recording data for a cultural anthropologist  May include daily logs, personal journals, descriptions of events, and notes about these notes

42. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Recording Culture  Tape recorders, photography, and videos are also helpful in capturing data  Benefit  Captures much more detail than notes can  Drawbacks  People may be suspicious of the technology itself and worry about what you may do with the tape  Ethical issue of protecting the identity of people whose voices are preserved on tape

43. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Recording Culture Field notesTape recording, photography, and videos Interviews Questionnaires Watching and askingLife history Texts/historical sources Team projects

44. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Coming Back From the Field  Data Analysis  Anthropologists come back from the field with vast amounts of data!  Must analyze the data to put it into a meaningful form  Systematically studying and processing data  Wide variety of ways to analyze data collected  Analytical methods depend on the kind of data  Qualitative  Quantitative

45. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Coming Back from the Field  Qualitative data analysis  Search for themes or patterns in the data  No hard and fast guidelines for how to undertake qualitative analysis – individuals often develop their own systems that work for them  Can be done by hand or with the assistance of qualitative analysis software programs  Quantitative data analysis  Often consists of a statistical analysis of the data  Mean, median, mode, correlations  Can be done by hand (if a relatively small sample) or with the help of statistical software programs

46. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Quantitative Data on the Food Stamp Program in Jamaica

47. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Coming Back from the Field  Write an ethnography  Often focuses on a particular cultural aspect or issue, but considers the culture as a whole for the sake of context  Present research at meetings

48. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Ethics  Anthropology was one of the first disciplines to devise and adopt a code of ethics in 1971  Influenced by…  Project Camelot in the 1950s  Anthropologists involved in covertly collecting information on South American political events for the U.S. government  Vietnam War – 1960s and 1970s  Some anthropologists gave information to the U.S. government about people’s political affiliations – led to military actions and some deaths  Ethics apply…  Before going to the field (research design)  In the field (data collection methods)  After leaving the field (presenting findings, sharing results, responsibility)

49. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Ethics  American Anthropological Association (AAA) code of ethics  States that an anthropologist’s primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of the people participating in the research  Cultural anthropology does not condone convert or undercover research  All anthropologists should inform potential research participants about the purposes and scope of the study  The reason for studying the people must be made clear to them  Benefits of the research must be shared with the people.

50. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Ethics in Anthropology Prompted by Project Camelot & The Vietnam War In 1971, the AAA adopted a code of ethics The anthropologist’s first responsibility is to ensure the safety of the people participating in the research Does not condone “undercover” research

51. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 A New Way to do Research  Collaborative research – an approach to learning about culture that involves the anthropologist working with members of the study population as partners and teammates rather than researcher and “subject” (p. 43)  Research with the people, by the people, for the people  Team approach is better for everyone

52. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Collaborative Research  Members of the study population work as partners with the anthropologist in  Data collection  Data analysis  Presentation of findings  Sharing credit for results

53. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 History of Fieldwork “Armchair” approach 1870s “Verandah” approach Early 1900s “The Field” approach 1920s “The Field” + participant observation and collaborative research Today

54. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 The BIG Questions Revisited  How do cultural anthropologists conduct research on culture?  What does fieldwork involve?  What are some important issues in cultural anthropology research today?

55. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 The Gods Must Be Crazy  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2Ix sfUpBck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2Ix sfUpBck

56. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #1  What is the best way to conduct ethnographic research in literate societies? A)survey research B)ethnography C)through a combination of survey and ethnographic techniques D)observation from a distance E)There is no good way to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in literate societies

57. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #2  Which of the following is unique to anthropology? A)holistic ethnography B)ethics C)random sampling D)interviews E)questionnaires

58. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #3  Unlike questionnaires, in-depth interviews __________. A) rely on very short responses. B) are better suited to urban, complex societies where most people are literate. C) are usually administered to a random sample of a larger population. D)allow informants to talk about what they see as important, rather than have to modify their responses to fit into predetermined categories. E)are traditionally associated with survey research.

59. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #4  Unlike ethnography, survey research _________. A)studies communities in their entirety. B)has been traditionally conducted in nonindustrial, small-scale societies. C)is conducted with little or no personal contact between study subjects and researchers. D)makes little use of statistics. E)is based on establishing close personal ties with the study community.

60. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #5  Which of the following is not an example of participant-observation? A)dancing in a festival B)singing during a ritual C)taking part in a hunt D)competing in the games popular in the community E)interviewing key informants

61. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #6  The etic perspective is _________. A)that of the ethnographer / anthropologist / interviewer. B)that of the local members of the community being studied. C)the one held by refugees regarding the authorities that forced them to leave their home country. D)how locals perceive the world in which they live. E)that of the person being interviewed.

62. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #7  Rapport is one of the ways anthropologists present their findings from their fieldwork. A)True B)False

63. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #8  Research starts from a question or hypothesis and then involves collecting data related to that question is inductive research. A)True B)False

64. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #9  The “armchair” approach to anthropology is commonly practiced today. A)True B)False

65. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Question #10  Qualitative data is non-numerical data. A)True B)False