Asking Questions about Cultural Anthropology Chapter 3

Action Anthropology

research committed to making social change

Emic Perspective

an insider's view of their culture

Ethnohistory

combines historical and ethnographic approaches to understand social and cultural change

Etic Perspective

an outsider observer's view on a culture

Fieldnotes

written records of information the anthropologist collects

Fieldwork

long term immersion in a community

geneological method

A key tool for understanding all sorts of relationships in non-industrial societies, where political, economic, and social institutions are based on kin relationships

Headnotes

mental notes made while in the field

HRAF (Human Relations Area Files)

A database that collects and finely indexes ethnographic accounts of several hundred societies from all parts of the world

Informant

The people from whom an anthropologist gets information

Intersubjectivity

the mutual understanding that people share during communication

Interview

Systematic conversations with informants to collect data

Life History

reveals important aspects of social life, such as whether or not the society being studied has changed dramatically

Open-ended interview

Informants discuss a topic and, in the process, make connections with other issues

Participant Observation

A systematic research strategy that is, in some respects, a matter of hanging out

Participatory Action Research

Promotes the involvement of community members in formulating the research questions, collecting data, and analyzing data

Rapid Appraisal

"parachute ethnography" researcher drops in for a few weeks to collect data

Secondary materials

Sources such as media clippings, government reports, scientific studies, institutional memos and correspondence, and newsletters