Deck 6: Methods of Investigation

Question 1

Anthropological research that collects and records descriptive data about the cultures of different peoples is called

A) ethnography.
B) ethnology.
C) participant observation.
D) cultural archaeology.

Answer 1

ethnography.

Question 2

The process of explaining the diversity of cultural systems in the past and present is called

A) fieldwork.
B) ethnography.
C) ethnology.
D) synchronic research.

Answer 2

ethnology.

Question 3

Margaret Mead conducted fieldwork in New Guinea before and after WWII to see how the culture had changed following the war. In anthropology, this type of research is called

A) genealogical research.
B) survey research.
C) synchronic research.
D) diachronic research.

Answer 3

diachronic research.

Question 4

Ethnographic fieldwork consists of all of the following EXCEPT

A) interviewing.
B) observing.
C) participating in activities.
D) educating.

Question 5

When an anthropologist asks a limited number of questions, for example about economic status or the size of families, this is called

A) unobtrusive observation.
B) ethnology.
C) a structured interview.
D) an unstructured interview.

Question 6

Which of these statements about unstructured interviews is true?

A) They often take the form of a census or genealogy.
B) Most cultural data is collected through unstructured interviews.
C) Unstructured interviews are best suited for collecting general quantitative data.
D) They are a more effective research method than participant observation.

Question 7

To document practices that have largely disappeared, that some older people may recall from their youth, which method would an anthropologist use?

A) Ethnology
B) Participant observation
C) Recall ethnography
D) Synchronic observation

Question 8

In order to understand the basic dynamics of cultural systems, Bronislaw Malinowski introduced and popularized the method of

A) ethnology.
B) participant observation.
C) recall ethnography.
D) synchronic observation.

Question 9

Engaging in participant observation requires

A) participating in all aspects of a people's life, otherwise known as "going native."
B) living with a group of people for an extended period of time.
C) one to have extensive training in conducting survey research.
D) intervening in morally repugnant situations.

Question 10

Which of these is NOT a benefit of conducting participant observation?

A) It permits the collection of more detailed data than interviewing does.
B) It allows one to see the interrelationships between cultural phenomena.
C) Through observation, the researcher may see how actual behavior differs from the stated ideal.
D) It allows the anthropologist to intervene in cases of exploitation or abuse.

Question 11

The American Anthropological Association's Code of Ethics states that anthropologists must "do no harm" when conducting research. One problem is that

A) it is impossible to conduct any meaningful anthropological research without inflicting at least a small amount of harm.
B) anthropologists are not required to read the Code of Ethics.
C) what is considered harmless to one society may be considered harmful to another.
D) the Code of Ethics also states elsewhere that the mandate to "do no harm" can be superseded in some situations.

Question 12

What is a key informant?

A) A local expert in some particular area
B) The person or agency from whom the anthropologist receives money
C) A member of the AAA council
D) An expert anthropologist

Question 13

Napoleon Chagnon had difficulty conducting ____ among the Yanomamo because for them it is taboo to speak the names of the dead and of very powerful men still living.

A) genealogical research
B) survey research
C) synchronic research
D) diachronic research

Question 14

The psychological and often physiological symptoms that one develops in response to being in an unfamiliar environment, eating strange foods, without anyone with whom to share one's feelings of anxiety, is termed

A) fieldwork trauma.
B) culture shock.
C) psychosomatic response.
D) participant disorientation.

Question 15

Why do most anthropologists view fieldwork as a rite of passage?

A) It can be a traumatic and life-changing experience.
B) It is an important part of the academic training of an anthropologist.
C) Anthropologists must prove they can be culturally relative, not just talk about it.
D) Requiring fieldwork is one way to keep the number of trained anthropologists fairly small.

Question 16

What is the study of past cultural systems through the use of written records called?

A) Ethnography
B) Cross-cultural comparison
C) Ethnohistory
D) Ethnojournalism

Question 17

Which of the following is an ethnohistorian primarily interested in?

A) Reconstructing the actual historical events
B) Evidence of earlier literate peoples
C) The ethnocentrism of the records
D) Reconstructing the cultural system of the people

Question 18

Which of these statements about ethnohistory is FALSE?

A) There are no hard and fast rules for evaluating the written accounts used in the research.
B) Ethnohistorians study nonliterate peoples.
C) One way to verify accuracy is to find accounts of an event written by different people.
D) Accounts of religious ceremonies and coming of age rituals are the most commonly studied.

Question 19

In order to formulate generalizations concerning cultural systems, anthropologists must use

A) comparative methods.
B) participant observation.
C) unstructured interviews.
D) key consultants.

Question 20

In order to make cross-cultural comparisons, anthropologists

A) use diachronic data from the culture they know best.
B) test hypotheses by testing for correlations between particular cultural variables.
C) develop theories based on the qualitative examination of ethnographies.
D) rely primarily on participant observation.

Question 21

What were the findings of Beatrice Whiting's cross-cultural comparative study of the relationship between sorcery and legal systems?

A) Where sorcery was unimportant, a specialized legal apparatus was usually absent.
B) Where sorcery was important, a specialized legal apparatus was usually absent.
C) Where sorcery was important, a specialized legal apparatus was usually present.
D) There was no correlation between the importance of sorcery and the presence of a specialized legal apparatus.

Question 22

From a humanistic approach, the problem with comparative studies is that they

A) lack statistical validity.
B) are ahistorical.
C) examine cultural variables out of the larger context.
D) Trick question - humanistic anthropologists are not generally critical of comparative studies.

Question 23

When an anthropologist says that one sociocultural element, "A," is correlated with another element, "B," what does this mean?

A) A caused B to come into existence.
B) B caused A to come into existence.
C) Whenever A is present, B is usually present.
D) Both A and B were brought into existence by a third unknown factor.

Question 24

Gananath Obeyesekere, a Sri Lankan anthropologist, challenged the research findings of Marshall Sahlins, who argued that Captain Cook was killed by native Hawaiians who thought he was the god Lono. Obeyesekere's critique raises the issue of

A) how anthropologists should go about challenging each other's work.
B) whether anthropology has a Western or Eurocentric bias.
C) whether Christians are capable of understanding the importance of different gods and goddesses.
D) the property rights to the diaries of Captain Cook.

Question 25

Cross-cultural comparisons made using collections of ethnographic data are ahistorical. This means that

A) the ethnographic descriptions of cultures are treated as timeless and unchanging.
B) the ethnographic information is not dated; there is no record of the years which it covers.
C) they only address nonliterate cultures.
D) their findings would likely not be published by a history journal.

Question 26

The method that compares diachronic data while controlling for historical and environmental factors is called

A) cross-cultural comparisons.
B) ethnology.
C) controlled comparisons.
D) ethnohistoric fieldwork.

Question 27

Cross-cultural comparisons and controlled historical comparisons are two types of ____ methods.

A) ethnographic
B) ethnohistoric
C) comparative
D) statistical

Question 28

Which research method is most appropriate if you want to find out which economic systems are most commonly found in matrilineal and patrilineal societies?

A) Cross-cultural comparisons
B) Ethnology
C) Controlled comparisons
D) Unstructured interviews

Question 29

To investigate the question of whether matrilineal or patrilineal systems adapt better to changing conditions, which research method is most appropriate?

A) Cross-cultural comparisons
B) Ethnology
C) Controlled comparisons
D) Unstructured interviews

Question 30

In a study of farming tribes in the eastern United States, researchers found that ____ societies were the most successful in terms of maintaining their populations under changing social and environmental conditions.

A) agricultural
B) horticultural
C) patrilineal
D) matrilineal

Question 31

It is common for any particular anthropological study to incorporate more than one methodology.

Question 32

The most commonly used research method is ethnographic fieldwork.

Question 33

The most flexible research method, in terms of exploring the greatest variety of information, is the structured interview.

Question 34

The early stages of field research are often characterized by "shotgun" questioning.

Question 35

Effective participant observation requires the anthropologist to become involved in virtually all aspects of a group's life.

Question 36

The problem of stereotyping applies primarily to the anthropologist, not to the people under study.

Question 37

Research on the Pueblo Indians, conducted by Leslie White in the first half of the twentieth century, would not meet the ethical standards of the American Anthropological Association today.

Question 38

Ethnographers are rarely totally accepted by the people with whom they are working.

Question 39

There are many reasons for which key informants may give anthropologists inaccurate information.

Question 40

Increasing globalization has made the experience of culture shock much less common for anthropologists in the field.

Question 41

Most anthropologists view fieldwork as a rite of passage.

Question 42

Because they rely on written documents, ethnohistorians only study literate peoples.

Question 43

Comparative study is necessary for formulating generalizations about cultural systems.

Question 44

Matrilineal societies in the Eastern U.S. seem to have been more successful than patrilineal societies in adapting to European contact.

Question 45

Explain the research practices of ethnography and ethnology and the difference between diachronic and synchronic studies.

Question 46

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used in conducting ethnographic fieldwork.

Question 47

Explain why participant observation is such an important aspect of ethnographic fieldwork.

Question 48

Describe three problems that virtually every field researcher must deal with while conducting ethnographic research.

Question 49

Discuss the issues of intellectual property rights and rights to privacy for the peoples studied by anthropologists. What measures have been taken by the American Anthropological Association and by other organizations in order to protect these rights?

Question 50

Develop at least three examples of problems that may occur in terms of the accuracy of interview data and ethnohistorical sources.

Question 51

Describe the two comparative methods discussed in the text. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of conducting this type of research.