Download Chapter 15 - Winthrop University

CHAPTER 15
Ethnographic Research: Its History,
Ethnographic
Methods,
and Research:
Theories. Its History,
Methods, and Theories
Components of Cultural
Anthropology
There are two main components in Cultural
Anthropology
1. Ethnography -A detailed description of a
particular culture primarily based on
fieldwork.
2. Ethnology -The study and analysis of
different cultures from a comparative point
of view.
Traditional vs. Modern
Ethnography


Traditional- Early ethnographies that were
focused on the life ways of nonindustrialized communities which were
thought to soon disappear by “civilized”
nations.
Modern ethnography has changed focus
towards documented dying cultures and
changing cultures in the face of
globalization and forced assimilation.
Urgent/Salvage
Anthropology
Since anthropologists can not stop the
extinction of cultures due to violent or forced
cultural changes they have tried to
document what is left of these endangered
cultures through a technique known as
urgent anthropology: ethnographic research
that documents endangered cultures.

Acculturation Studies


Similar to urgent anthropological studies are
acculturation studies.
These studies will document changes new
cultures that emerged due to globalization
while documenting the traditional way of the
culture as it might have been pre-contact.
Advocacy Anthropology



Some anthropologists have gone beyond
just studies of changing cultures due to
Western contact and become an advocate
for them.
This is known as advocacy anthropology:
research that is community based and
politically involved.
These anthropologists are committed to
social justice, humans rights, and the
preservation of ethnic minority culture.
Multi-Sited Ethnography

Multi-sited ethnography: the investigation and
documentation of peoples and cultures
embedded in the larger structures of a
globalizing world, utilizing a range of methods in
various locations of time and space.
Ethnography: Research
Methods

Ethnographic fieldwork is best defined as
extended on-location research to gather
detailed and in-depth information on a
society’s customary ideas, values, and
practices through participation in its
collective social life.
Site Selection


Anthropologists primarily research cultures
outside of their own, in a foreign country.
This is based on the idea that studies done
in one’s own culture might bring biased to
the research due to the familiarity with the
group or culture being studied.
Research will require several questions to
be asked such as:
 Finding funding
 Securing permission to research
 Deciding what focus the research will
take
Accurately Describing a
Culture

To accurately describe a culture an
anthropologist needs to seek out and consider
three types of data:
1. The people’s own understanding of their
culture and the general rules they share.
2. The extent to which people believe they are
observing those rules.
3. The behavior that can be directly observed.
Research Methodology

There are many facets to researching a new
culture or cultural practice that the
ethnography will use:
 Consent (Acceptance)
 Participant Observant
 Key Consultants
 Quantitative & Qualitative Data
 Mapping, Photography & Filming
 Interviewing
Informed Consent

Informed consent- a formal recorded
agreement to participate in research.

When it is a challenge to obtain informed
consent, or even impossible to precisely
explain the meaning and purpose of this
concept and its actual consequences,
anthropologists may protect the identities of
individuals.
Participant Observation

Participant observation- a research
method in which one learns about a group’s
beliefs and behaviors through social
participation and personal observation
within the community, as well as interviews
and discussion with individual members of
the group over an extended stay in the
community.
Key Consultant

Key consultants- will be a member of the
society being studied, who provides
information that helps researchers
understand the meaning of what they
observe.
Data Collection



There are two main types of data collection
used in many types of research.
Quantitative- Statistical or measurable
information, such as demographic
composition, the types and quantities of
crops grown, or the ratio of spouses born
and raised within or outside the community.
Qualitative- Nonstatistical information such
as personal life stories and customary
beliefs and practices.
Interviewing

These conversations may take two approaches:
• Informal interview
• An unstructured, open-ended conversation in
everyday life.
• Formal interview
• A structured question/answer session carefully
notated as it occurs and based on prepared
questions.
Interviewing Activity





Pair off into groups of 2.
Each student will conduct an ethnography on the
other through interview.
First write a series of questions (5-8) about what you
would like to know about the other student.
Ask both personal and impersonal questions.
Write your partners response (Do NOT put your
partners name on your paper)



How easily did your informant (interviewee) answer the
questions and what ones did they feel uncomfortable
with?
Do you believe you gained acceptance into your
informants world? Why or Why Not?
Based on your observations and interview responses
what types of inferences might you be able to draw
about your informant?
Eliciting Devices


Apart from traditional techniques of interview,
data collection, and the use of a key cultural
consultant are eliciting devices.
These techniques can be activities or objects
that can be used to draw out individuals and
encourage them to recall and share information.
 Taking a walk
 Asking about particular stories
 Share details of one’s own childhood or a
fond memory.
 Pictures
Challenges of Ethnographic
Fieldwork

Ethnographic research creates a tough
challenge in itself. Often anthropologists must
face personal challenges while trying to adjust
to a new culture and conduct fieldwork. Among
the numerous mental challenges
anthropologists commonly face are
 Culture shock
 Loneliness
 Feeling like an ignorant outsider
 Being socially awkward in a new cultural
setting.
Challenges of Ethnography

Physical challenges typically include but are
not limited too:
 Adjusting to unfamiliar food, climate, and
hygiene conditions.
 The need to be constantly alert to
relevant conversations that are
significant to one’s research.
 Ethnographers must spend considerable
time interviewing, making detailed notes,
and analyzing data.
Challenges of Ethnography

Social & political challenges typically
include but are not limited too:
 The need to gain acceptance within the
community.
 Issues involving the researchers age,
skin color, ethnicity, religion, or gender.
 Being the center of rivaling groups while
trying to maintain a neutral position.
Completing an Ethnography

Upon completion of the data collection in
the field the ethnographer must begin to
piece together their information. Written
ethnographies are more traditional but
certainly not the only method to document
the data. Digital photography is the
method by which the use of audio and
visual technologies can be used to collect
and analysis the information collected.
Ethnohistory


This is a type of historical ethnographic study by
which a culture(s) of the recent past is explored
through oral histories, accounts of explorers,
missionaries, and traders, and through analysis of
records such as land titles, birth and death records,
and other archival materials.
This type of research is great for building theories
regarding culture change.
 In science an explanation of natural phenomena,
supported by a reliable body of data.
Description vs. Theory




Once an ethnography is complete so begins
the interpretation of the information collected
in the field. It is necessary to understand how
descriptions can develop into interpretations.
Theories are not usually ascertained by the
researcher due to the nature of the data (nonscientific) rather they focus on the probability
of certain aspects of the culture.
Researchers might rely more heavily on the
doctrine of a culture: an assertion of opinion
or belief formally handed down by an
authority as true and indisputable.
Also known as dogma.
Human Relations Area Files
(HRAF)



In science a single instance of a
phenomenon is not enough to support a
hypothesis- let alone a theory
Anthropological theories are formulated
from worldwide cross cultural comparisons
throughout history.
The Human Relations Area Files help to
make this happen.
HRAF



HRAF is a vast collection of cross-indexed
ethnographic and archaeological data
catalogued by cultural characteristics and
geographic locations.
Archived in about 300 libraries (on
microfiche and/or online).
They include: warfare, subsistence
practices, settlement patterns, marriage,
rituals, etc.
Anthropology’s Theoretical
Perspectives



Ethnographers will typically fall into one of
two categories for their fieldwork.
Idealist perspective
 A theoretical approach stressing the
primacy of superstructure (ideas &
values) in cultural research and analysis.
Materialist perspective
 A theoretical approach stressing the
primacy of infrastructure (material
conditions) in cultural research and
analysis.

This class period (either alone or in small groups) I would like you to examine the
culture of Winthrop University. Your write-up (not including the hand-drawn map),
should be no more than a single page in length and should do a reasonable job of
completing all parts of the investigation. It is worth 20 points and due today at the
end of class.

Find a Location: Go to a public location anywhere on campus. Define a specific
area of interest, no larger than about 25 feet by 25 feet (the measurements don't
have to be exact; you can pace it off or just estimate).

Site Identification: In a sentence, identify your site (e.g., the picnic table in the
courtyard behind the Owens building).

Map. Draw a sketch map of your area. A sketch map can be in pencil and need not
be drawn to scale, but it should be clear and should show the major features, such
as tables, trash cans, planters, trees, grass, or sidewalk.


Data Collection (Observed Behavior). Sit for 15 minutes just observing the area
you have selected and describe in a few sentences the behaviors you observe and
their relative frequency. Describe what is going on. Note how many people pass
through your site. Collect data on the individuals passing through. What does the
average age appear to be child, teenager or adult? How many males vs females?
How many different racial groups? List as many as you can. How many different
languages did you hear? List any that you recognize. How many different religious
displays did you see (cross on a necklace, a religious head covering, etc).

Focused throughout the research on the five “w”’s



“Who” practices this?
practiced?
“Where” is this practiced?
practiced?
“Why” is it practiced?
“What” is
“When” is it