Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Spring 2012

2.3 Methods, Writing, and Ethics

Intervieing! The Most Important Methods for Gathering Data in Anthropology
"enealogical Method
Basic information gathered through demographic survey.
Construct family trees to map out social relationships.
Provides basis for understanding social and political organization in non-industrial societies (see Chagnon, vans-
Pritchard!.
Surveys
"ame #uestion as$ed of everybody. %ns&ers can be #uantified.
'o& old are you( 'o& many years of school did you attend(
)o you consider yourself a )emocrat, *epublican, +ndependent, or ,ther( ,n a scale of - to . (one being very
good, . being very poor!, ho& &ould you rate your health(
- /ace-to-face, telephone, self-administered
o Can be very challenging to trac$ people do&n in the field &hen they aren0t busy
- Paradigm shift in rural economy can be sho&n through survey data (longitudinal data!
Statistical #ata $ro% Surveys
Conte1tual bac$ground information.
"napshot of present (cross-sectional data!.
Change over time (longitudinal data!.
*eveals more about what is happening than about why it is happening.
In&depth intervieing
'ey Cultural Consultants ()'ey In$or%ants*+
"omebody &ith especially good $no&ledge about a particular aspect of life.
+ntervie&ed in-depth and repeatedly.
Se%i&Structured Intervieing
2se of an intervie& schedule. verybody as$ed same #uestions.
%s$ing same #uestions facilitates comparison (e.g., differences by gender( By age( By &ealth(!
3uided yet fle1ible. People e1press ans&ers in o&n terms. 4angents are sometimes important.
,erson&Centered Intervieing
Informant5 intervie&ee as e1pert &itness ($ey informant6$ey cultural consultant!.
Conveys information about generally held cultural ideals, beliefs, and practices.
Respondent5 intervie&ee as ob7ect of study.
Conveys information on &hat they actually do in certain circumstances.
Cultural #o%ain
% set of items that are generally accepted as being of the same type.
Cultural domains 8 perceptions, not preferences.
Can consist of physical, observable things (plants, colors, animals, illness symptoms!.
Can consist of conceptual things (occupations, roles, emotions!.
% cultural domain has internal structure9 items can be directly compared6contrasted.
Cultural #o%ain Analysis
Combination of survey and in-depth intervie&ing techni#ues.
4he goal is to determine &hat items constitute a cultural domain. :hat attributes and relations structure the
domain. 'o& items are positioned relative to each other in the domain.
-act or -iction (.enedict+
,rocess o$ Writing Ethnography
'o& do you move from data collection to ethnographic &riting(
:rite in third person (ob7ective detachment!( :rite in first person (sub7ective interpretation!(
'o& to ma$e the ethnographic account interesting to readers(
)o you need to sacrifice ob7ective truth in order to &rite compelling ethnography(
+s ethnography fiction( Changing names, composite characters, inventing transitions, reorganizing narratives.
+s the information people give you (e.g., in intervie&s! even accurate(
Writing Conventions in Anthropology
Esta/lishing 0elia/ility! 'o& long did ethnographer spend in the field(
Correlation between intimate data and length in residence.
/ield&or$ longevity enhances credibility.
Esta/lishing 0elia/ility! :riting in the first person.
Being a first-hand &itness bolsters the credibility of the author0s account.
Esta/lishing 0elia/ility! )oes the ethnographer actually spea$ the language( 'o& &ell(
Language proficiency is key to getting good data and insiders perspective.
Convey linguistic proficiency by using local terms.
Esta/lishing 0elia/ility! 'o& &ell did author establish rapport &ith the people(
Good data contingent on good rapport.
,oints to ,onder
%n ethnography is not merely a neutral, value free description of another society.
thnographic data can be very sub7ective.
4hrough &riting conventions an ethnographer positions him6herself to establish authority, and to assert that the
account is reliable.
Moral #ile%%as and Ethical Controversies ('irsch+
Contrasting stories o$ vengeance!
/ather-in-la& refrains from $illing the man accused of $illing his family members.
;e& 3uinea man organizes attac$ to avenge $illing of his uncle.
Conclusion5 state suppresses desire for revenge9 no such constraints e1ist in non-state societies.
Scholarly Criticis%
;umerous inaccuracies.
2sing single anecdote to generalize about everyone in a country (;e& 3uinea! and, by e1tension, all members of
non-state societies.
<irsch0s counter-e1amples
Ethical Criticis%
)iamond either fabricated data or misused data in order to construct a compelling account that 7ustified his theory.
)iamond published names of people involved in violent acts thereby e1posing them to possible retaliation and
criminal charges.
,oints to ,onder
;o&adays one must assume that research publications &ill be read by research sub7ects.
Can any ethnographic account (reconstructed conversations, composite characters, selective use of narratives!
stand up to the scrutiny of such an investigation(
Ethics in Anthropology
1he #ual Engage%ent
Personal5 need to get along &ith people (anthropology involves social interaction!.
Professional5 need as much info out of people as possible (your career depends on it=!
.ro2erage
,utside interest groups (govts, development agencies! may &ant your information.
'o& to decide &hen or &hen not to share data( )ifferent agendas( %re their interests benign( :ill they interpret
and use the information in a proper manner(
I%pacts o$ ,u/lishing
'o& &ill your publications influence the &ay others perceive the sub7ects of study(
Chagnon0s >anomam?5 4he /ierce People. )iamond0s @engeance +s ,urs.
0eciprocity
Careers built on studying peoples &ho are often poor and marginalized. thical obligation to give bac$.
Advocacy3Involve%ent
2nder &hat conditions should one be permitted to intervene in local affairs or act on behalf of the society that you
are studying(