CHAPTER 3 DOING ANTHROPOLOGY CHAPTER OVERVIEW This chapter introduces students to the field methods employed by anthropologists and the ethical standards of anthropology It pays special attention to the unique ethnographic techniques of the anthropologist and complementary survey techniques CHAPTER OBJECTIVES 1 Know the ethical obligations of anthropologists as stated by the American Anthropological Association Anthropologists have obligations to their scholarly field to the wider society and culture and to the human species other species and the environment The AAA code of ethics aims to offer guidelines and promote discussion and education rather than to investigate allegations of misconduct Code states anthropologists must be honest and open about their research projects with all parties affected by the research These parties should be informed about the nature procedures purposes potential impacts and sources of support for the research Researchers should not compromise anthropological ethics in order to conduct research and they should pay attention to proper relations between themselves as guests and the host nations communities where they work Anthropologists should not take stands on issues seeking to shape actions and policies may be as ethically justifiable as inaction 2 Be able to identify and distinguish among the major ethnographic techniques and know how and why these techniques would be used Ethnographic methods include firsthand and participant observation rapport building interviews genealogies work with key consultants or informants collection oflife histories discovery of local beliefs and perceptions problem oriented and longitudinal research and team research Ethnographers work in actual communities and form personal relationships with local people as they study their lives An interview schedule is a form an ethnographer completes as he or she visitsa series of households Key cultural consultants or informants teach about particular areas of local life Life histories dramatize the fact that culture bearers are individuals Such case studies document personal experiences with culture and culture change Genealogical information is particularly useful in societies in which principles of kinship and marriage organize social and political life Emic approaches focus on native perceptions and explanations Etic approaches give priority to the ethnographer s own observations and conclusions Longitudinal research is the systematic study of an area or site over time Forces of change are often too pervasive and complex to be understood by a lone ethnographer Anthropological research may be done by teams and at multiple sites Outsiders flows linkages and people in motion are now included in ethnographic analyses 3 Know how views of how ethnographies should be written have changed over time P 49 59 4 Know how ethnography and survey research differ in terms of methods and goals and also how these methods may be complementary involves sampling impersonal data collection and Survey Research statistical analysis Usually draws a sample a manageable study group from a much larger population studies that sample and then make accurate inferences about the larger population Ethnographers get to know most of the people since they work in smaller scale societies and communities while survey researchers are more impersonal because they work with nations Methods of Survey Researchers sometimes they personally interview respondents people who respond to questions during a survey or have their respondents fill out questionnaires either through email or telephone Ethnography can be used to fine tune survey research because anthropologists can transfer the personal firsthand techniques of ethnography to virtually any setting that includes human beings A combo of survey research and ethnography can provide new perspectives on life in complex societies and can help develop culturally appropriate questions for surveys many predictor variables social indicators influence behavior and opinions Because we must be able to detect measure and compare the influence of social indicators many contemporary anthropological studies have a statistical foundation Statistical analysis can support and round out an ethnographic account of local social life
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