Fieldwork Flashcards
Methodology
An approach to systematically learning about something
Ethnographic Fieldwork
A research method in which sociocultural anthropologists have intensive, long-term engagements with a group of people
Participant Observation
The participation and observation of daily tasks within a particular group
Quantitative Research
The collection, organisation, analysis, and interpretation of numerical or statistical data, like with surveys , censuses , or close-ended questionnaires.
- produces large data sets
-data is distinct and less up for interpretations
Qualitative Research
Generation, organization, analysis, + interpretation of non-numerical data, such as words, images, observations, and sounds.
- important to have a good relationship or good rapport with the people you’re working with
Rapport
A feeling of affinity, friendship, and responsibility between an anthropologist and an informant
Informal
Spontaneous and free-range, but they are recorded with permission from the participant
Formal
Scheduled with predetermined topics. Also recorded with permission from the participant
Polyvocal Research
Hearing diverse voices by interviewing various different categories of people to get diverse perspectives
Emic
Insiders perspective
Etic
Outsiders perspective
Representation
The way in which a group of people is depicted in writing or through images
Various Aspects of Fieldwork
- research question and ethics approval
- Long-term engagement
- Developing rapport
- Participant Observation
- Interviews
- Polyvocal research
- Published work
- Representation
- Etc.
Charles Darwin
Focused on 2 things:
- Principles of classification
- Intro of historicism
Colonialism
The practice of gaining partial or full political control over a country while exploiting it economically and filling it with settlers and claiming the space as their own
First Official Anthropologist
Edward Tyler (1883)
Armchair Anthropology
When anthropologists did not visit the people or cultures they were studying themselves but read journals and reports instead (Reports are biased)
Franz Boas + Bronislaw Malinowski
- Saw anthropology differently from Tyler
- Focused on long-term immersive fieldwork + participant observation
- Use both emic and etic perspectives
Ethnography
Written description and analysis of a particular group of people
Bronislaw Malinowski
Father of social anthropology
Salvage Anthropology
An approach to anthropology from the late 1800s where anthropologists witnessed the extinction or assimilation of indigenous peoples throughout the world, so they tried to rapidly document these cultures before they disappeared
Margaret Bruchac
Found that salvage anthropology had negative results (ex. negative translation, cultural biases of interpretations, etc)
Changes in Anthropology
- Anthropologists now study both inside and outside North America
- Evolving sense of community
- Museums have gained popularity
Positionality
How your own social position and power can shape your identity
Privilege
The advantage someone has over another
Reflexivity
The act of reflecting on our positionality. Critically reflecting on the way one thinks and one’s own experiences
Culture Shock
The feeling of disorientation in the initial stages of fieldwork when someone is adjusting to a new language, beliefs, food, or even climate
Challenges of Ethics and Fieldworks
- Anthropology always effects the people they study
- They develop relationships with the communities we study
Informed Consent
Ongoing process of ensuring that research participants fully understand the goals, methods, and potential outcomes of the research bring done and that they give permission to the researcher to do such research
Essentialism
The act of creating generalizations, stereotypes, or homogenous interpretations about the behaviour or culture of a group of people
