Anthropology Fieldwork and Methods Lecture

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, figures, and methods discussed in the anthropology lecture.

Fieldwork

The primary research strategy in cultural anthropology involving living within a community to observe daily life firsthand.

Cultural Anthropology

The branch of anthropology that focuses on contemporary human cultures and how they are shaped by social structures and power.

Participant Observation

An ethnographic method where the researcher takes part in a community’s routine activities while carefully observing and recording behavior.

Ethnography

A detailed written account of a culture based on prolonged fieldwork and participant observation.

Key Informant

A community member who provides the anthropologist with specialized knowledge, introductions, and trust-building support.

Emic Perspective

An insider’s view of a culture, describing how members themselves understand and categorize their world.

Etic Perspective

An outsider’s analytical view that interprets cultural practices using external concepts and theories.

Culture Shock

The disorientation and stress experienced when encountering an unfamiliar cultural environment.

“Death Without Weeping”

Nancy Scheper-Hughes’s study of high infant mortality in Brazil, illustrating cultural coping strategies around childhood death.

Bronisław Malinowski

Early 20th-century anthropologist who popularized long-term participant observation in the Trobriand Islands.

Margaret Mead

Student of Franz Boas; used ethnography to influence public debates on gender and adolescence in Samoa and elsewhere.

Franz Boas

Father of American anthropology who rejected cultural hierarchies and promoted first-hand field research.

Armchair Anthropology

Early approach where scholars compiled others’ travel accounts instead of conducting their own fieldwork.

Qualitative Data

Non-numerical information—stories, interviews, observations—used to understand cultural meanings.

Quantitative Data

Numerical information—counts, statistics—used to measure patterns such as time spent with patients or infant death rates.

Grant Proposal

A formal request for funding that outlines research goals, methods, and significance before fieldwork begins.

Anthropological Ethics

Guidelines ensuring respectful research, informed consent, and avoidance of exploitative ‘extraction’ of cultural resources.

Social Network Analysis

The mapping of relationships and support systems within a community to reveal power and reciprocity.

Digital Ethnography

Studying cultural practices in online spaces such as WhatsApp school chats or social media platforms.

Structured Interview

A formal questionnaire with set questions administered systematically to multiple participants.

Unstructured Interview

An open-ended conversational style used to elicit rich, in-depth narratives from participants.

Kinship Analysis

Ethnographic examination of family ties, marriage rules, and inheritance to understand social organization.

Repatriation Debate

Discussion over returning museum artifacts to the originating communities rather than displaying originals abroad.