Ethnographic Techniques Anthropological Fieldwork Ethnographic Fieldwork Ethnography fieldwork in and about a particular living culture o Talking to participating with o Fieldwork within a living culture or a written document about prior fieldwork Ethnographic Techniques Systematic Participant Observation Core of how cultural anthropologists do their fieldwork Being apart of a culture through social participation and observe a culture o Done over a long period of time o Usually a very personal experience Interviews Conversations that maintain rapport and provide knowledge o Talking to people asking specific questions geared toward the questions you are studying o People are providing knowledge Genealogical Methods procedures to understand kinship descent and marriage o Social organization o Kinship how people are related to each other socially o Systematic understanding of kinship 3 basic patterns that all societies use Key Consultants experts on a particular aspect of local life o Often anthropologists look at a few specific aspects of a culture o Key consultants informant Experts on that specific part of the culture Life Histories a personal cultural portrait of existence or change in a culture o Using a portrait of a particular single individual and using that to understand the culture as a whole Emic vs Etic comparison of local beliefs and perceptions to the ethnographer s o Emic inside o Etic outside the culture about a culture the other Becoming apart of the culture learning about the culture from the peoples perspective Watching the people not always participating in o Anthropologists try to compare both to learn the most Sometimes they rely on practice one more than Survey Research Survey research design o Sampling data collection and statistical analysis o Sample Random selection o Variables the questions you ask and how the answers differ Do this when dealing with a very large amount of people Wider perspective but it is less personal Only allows limited answers o Answer on a scale of 1 10 or yes no questions Relies heavily on the sampling method not everyone will take a survey Fieldwork and Ethics A set or system of moral principles Anthropologists are dealing with living human beings Ethics a set of morals values principles o Problems involving contrasting systems o Not all groups of people have the same morals Not even everyone in the same culture have the same morals o Ethics change over time American Anthropological Association AAA Code They should not exploit o The people they study the materials the excavate and the species that they are looking at Should seek permission o Make sure the people know what you are doing and make sure that it is okay to do research o Different societies deal with anthropology research differently In the US you have to get a permit to do research on public land In Belize all historical research is the property of the government have to have a permit even on private land o Some countries you have to get a permit to do cultural anthropology o Regardless of what you re doing you have to get permission whether it is from the government or the people that you are studying Just because you have permission by the government doesn t mean you have permission by the people Should tell the people the purpose of research o Tell the people what you are doing and why you are doing it They often want to know what you find Should inform the people of potential costs and benefits o Every time you do research you impact the people you are studying o Pros and cons Treat colleagues in host countries appropriately o Treat people nicely Inclusiveness Collaboration Publication Give back to the communities in which you are studying EX Educational outreach programs
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