Question 1

Survey research is usually conducted through intensive personal contact with the study subjects.

Accepted Answer

Survey research can be conducted through various methods, including online surveys, phone interviews, mail surveys, and in-person interviews, but it is not always conducted through intensive personal contact with the study subjects.

Question 2

Survey research studies a small sample of a larger population.

Accepted Answer

Survey research often aims to gather data from a smaller group of individuals that is representative of a larger population. This allows for conclusions to be drawn about the population as a whole based on the characteristics and behaviors of the sample.

Question 3

The American Anthropological Association Code of Ethics prohibits anthropologists from working with governments on matters of national security.

Accepted Answer

The American Anthropological Association Code of Ethics does not explicitly prohibit anthropologists from working with governments on matters of national security. Instead, it emphasizes the need for transparency, informed consent, and the welfare of affected parties, allowing for such work under ethical guidelines.

Question 4

Briefly describe the nine characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer.How do they compare with the research techniques you have learned about in courses or readings in other academic disciplines?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly describe the nine characteristic field techniques...

Question 5

Ethnography is increasingly multitimed and multisited,the result of a shift toward a recognition of the ongoing and inescapable flows of people,technology,images,and information that characterizes much of the world today.

Accepted Answer

The statement is true as it reflects the current trend in ethnography to take into account the complex and dynamic nature of social life in a globalized world.

Question 6

Boas and his students were strong proponents of cross-cultural comparisons,without which they could not validate their findings.

Accepted Answer

Boas and his students emphasized the importance of understanding cultures on their own terms rather than through direct comparison, arguing that each culture is unique and must be studied within its own context.

Question 7

Despite the increasing popularity of team research among anthropologists,the best ethnographies are always the product of individual work.

Accepted Answer

While team research has become more common in anthropology, the statement that the best ethnographies are always the product of individual work is subjective and not universally true. There have been successful ethnographies produced by both individual researchers and teams of researchers. The quality of an ethnography is determined by various factors, including the research question, methodology, and writing style, and not necessarily by whether it was produced by an individual or a team.

Question 8

The emic perspective focuses on local explanations of criteria and significance.

Accepted Answer

The emic perspective is concerned with understanding the cultural meanings and values that shape local experiences and behaviors. This often involves examining how individuals within a certain cultural group make sense of their own beliefs and practices, rather than relying on external or universal criteria to evaluate them. Therefore, the emic perspective is focused on local explanations of criteria and significance, making statement A true.

Question 9

Longitudinal research is the long-term study of a community,region,society,culture,or other unit,usually based on repeated visits.

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal research involves studying a unit over an extended period of time, often through repeated visits or data collection. This allows researchers to observe changes and trends over time and understand how factors may impact the unit being studied.

Question 10

Manchester anthropologists Max Gluckman and Victor Turner made conflict an important part of their analysis,distancing themselves somewhat from Panglossian functionalism,the tendency to see things as functioning not just to maintain the system but to do so in the most optimal way possible.

Accepted Answer

Manchester anthropologists Max Gluckman and Victor Turner emphasized the importance of conflict in their analysis, which goes against the Panglossian functionalism viewpoint of seeing things as functioning optimally to maintain the system.

Question 11

This chapter's overview of the history of anthropological theory suggests that the discipline has made no important contributions to social theory in general.

Accepted Answer

The chapter's overview actually argues that anthropological theory has made significant contributions to social theory in general, including the development of cultural relativism, the concept of culture, and ideas about sociocultural change and adaptation.

Question 12

Among the classic works of processual approaches to culture is Edmund Leach's Political Systems of Highland Burma.This study made a tremendously important point by taking a regional rather than a local perspective.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Leach's Political Systems of Highland Burma was notable for taking a broader, regional perspective on cultural practices and political systems in Burma rather than focusing solely on individual local communities or tribes.

Question 13

Beyond Morgan's and Tylor's early anthropological work,no major theoretical paradigm in anthropology has embraced the role of evolution in cultural change.

Accepted Answer

Many major theoretical paradigms in anthropology, such as cultural ecology, structural-functionalism, and cultural materialism, place emphasis on the role of evolution in cultural change.

Question 14

Morgan and Tylor,both considered among the fathers of anthropology,worked within the paradigm of unilinear evolution.

Accepted Answer

Both Lewis Henry Morgan and E.B. Tylor were associated with the paradigm of unilinear evolution, which proposed that all societies pass through a series of distinct stages of development and evolution towards civilization.

Question 15

Franz Boas's famous biological studies of European immigrants to the United States revealed and measured phenotypical plasticity,showing that the environment and cultural forces could change human biology.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Franz Boas's research, which he published in the early 20th century, challenged the then-prevalent view that physical characteristics such as head size, skin color, and facial features, were reliable markers of intelligence and culture. Boas demonstrated that factors such as diet, lifestyle, and socialization could influence the physical appearance of immigrants over time. This finding contributed to the modern understanding that human biology is not fixed, but can be shaped by a complex interaction between genes and the environment.

Question 16

The etic perspective refers to a non-scientific perspective.

Accepted Answer

The etic perspective refers to an outsider or objective perspective, often used in scientific research, which differs from an emic perspective that is based on the subjective experiences and cultural norms of those being studied.

Question 17

Given the realities of the contemporary world,anthropologists need to apply methods that protect their analyses from biases caused by external forces.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Given the realities of the contemporary world,anthropologists...

Question 18

The overall trend in anthropological theory has been from theories that put human agency at the center of cultural dynamics to paradigms that see evolution as the main force behind cultural change.

Accepted Answer

The overall trend in anthropological theory has been from evolution-centered paradigms to theories that emphasize human agency and cultural dynamics. This shift occurred during the 1980s and 1990s, and is known as the "post-processual" or "post-modern" turn in anthropology.

Question 19

Much of the history of anthropology has been about the roles and relative prominence of culture and the individual.

Accepted Answer

Anthropology has indeed been concerned with the interaction between culture and individuals and their respective roles and importance. This has been a central theme throughout the development of the discipline.

Question 20

Because there are so many anthropologists in the United States,the distinction between emic and etic does not apply to American culture.

Accepted Answer

The distinction between emic and etic still applies to American culture despite the large number of anthropologists in the United States. Emic refers to the perspective or understanding of a culture from within that culture, while etic refers to the external or objective perspective of an outsider. This distinction can be applied to any culture, including American culture.

Quiz 13: Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology