Anthropological Research: The Structure of Inquiry

by Pertti J. Pelto , Gretel H. Pelto

• ISBN13: 9780521292283
• ISBN10: 052129228X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1978-10-27
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This text is a comprehensive introduction to research methods in social and cultural anthropology. The Peltos focus their discussion on the essential elements of preparing and analyzing the supporting evidence from which generalizations about human nature are derived. The specific elements of anthropological research - such as interviewing informants, observing ceremonial behaviour, and designing surveys - are all covered, but the primary aim is to show how basic observations can be systematically translated into socio-cultural generalizations. The authors place strong emphasis not only on quantification and statistics, but also on the more qualitative aspects of anthropological working styles that are essential to effective research. The two main themes of the book can be stated as follows: (1) anthropological generalizations and more complex theoretical structures can be built up only through careful implementation of basic concepts, the building blocks of all theory, and (2) successful description and hypothesis testing depend on the judicious mixing of quantitative and quantitative research materials. The second edition, in which Professor Gretel Pelto has collaborated with her husband, expands the discussion of tools of research and offers a more comprehensive analysis of current ideas concerning the 'theory-building' process. An entirely new chapter has been added on the research methods and relevance of applied anthropology. Throughout the text, many new and updated examples are cited to illustrate statistical and methodological approaches to anthropological research.

Table of Contents

Preface to second edition	ix
Preface to first edition	xiii
The Domain of methodology	1	(16)
Elements of research methodology	8	(5)
Assessing the usefulness of definitions	13	(4)
Science and anthropology	17	(21)
Science and history	19	(2)
Science and controlled experiments	21	(1)
Science: a definition	21	(2)
Anthroplogy and problems of methodology	23	(13)
Conclusions	36	(2)
Operationalism in anthropological research	38	(16)
Operationalism and intersubjectivity	38	(2)
Operalionalism and operationism	40	(3)
Operationalism in anthropology	43	(8)
Theory versus reality: the Operational compromise	51	(2)
Summary and conclusions	53	(1)
Units of Observation: emic and etic approaches	54	(13)
The emic approach	55	(5)
The eticists	60	(2)
Emic, etic, and the goals of anthropology	62	(2)
Intracultural variation in emic categories	64	(1)
Conclusions	65	(2)
Tools of research -- 1	67	(36)
participant observation	67	(4)
Key-informant interviewing	71	(4)
Collection of life histories	75	(2)
Structured interviews and surveys	77	(4)
Questionnaires	81	(1)
Ratings and rankings	82	(5)
The semantic differential technique	87	(2)
Projective techniques	89	(9)
Other psychological research instruments	98	(4)
Interactional research tools	102	(1)
Tools of research -- II: nonverbal techniques	103	(20)
The Stream of behavior and measurement of social interaction	104	(6)
Proxemics, kinesics, and videotape research	110	(3)
Content analysis of folktales, myths, and other literature	113	(2)
Physical traces: erosion and accretion	115	(1)
Archives and other written records	116	(1)
Technical equipment in field work	117	(4)
Multi-instrument research	121	(2)
Counting and sampling	123	(18)
Counting in ethnographic reports	124	(3)
Problems of representativeness: sampling	127	(11)
Patterning and sampling	138	(1)
Summary and conclusions	139	(2)
Measurement, scales, and statistics	141	(36)
Variables, measurements, and scales	142	(5)
Murdock, social structure, and the chi-square test	147	(5)
Tests of independence and measures of association	152	(8)
Parametric and non and nonparametric statistics	160	(2)
Statistical tests do not prove causation	162	(2)
More complicated statistical operations	164	(8)
The Meehl paradox: some problems in hypothesis testing	172	(3)
Specialized competence in Statistics	175	(2)
Art and science in field work	177	(53)
Strategies in the art of field work	177	(7)
Hazards and punishments of field work	184	(1)
Sources of tension in field work	185	(7)
Elements of community study	192	(1)
Census taking and mapping	193	(21)
Description and hypothesis testing	214	(3)
Multicommunity research projects	217	(2)
Assistants	219	(2)
Communication among fieldworkers	221	(3)
Interdisciplinary research	224	(3)
Summary	227	(3)
Research methods, relevance, and applied anthropology	230	(21)
The issue of relevance	230	(13)
Some methodological issues in applied research	243	(4)
Relevance and methodological rigor	247	(4)
Building anthropological theory: method and models	251	(29)
The theoretical frame of reference: general paradigms	251	(1)
Deductive, inductive, and adductive research strategies	252	(2)
The role of models	254	(3)
Models of research design	257	(22)
Statistical correlations and causal models	279	(1)
Causal inferences and correlation patterns	280	(2)
Multiple hypotheses: the strategic elimination of alternative explanations	282	(4)
Methodology and the culture of anthropology	286
Appendixes	280	(30)
A Notes on research design	291	(7)
Formulation of a research problem	291	(3)
Elements of a model research plan	294	(4)
B The Guttman Scale: a special type of ordinal measure	298	(6)
C On using computers	304	(6)
Types of computer operations	305	(3)
The culture and social organization of computer use	308	(2)
Bibliography	310	(15)
Index	325