Question 1

This chapter's survey of the major theoretical perspectives that have characterized anthropology highlights all of the following EXCEPT
A)a continuous concern with how to define and study culture.
B)the theoretical and methodological shift from complexity to models that simplify human diversity.
C)a continuous concern with scientific fundamentals and whether or not anthropology's research subject is best studied scientifically.
D)attention to whether or not anthropological data ought to be comparative across time and space.
E)the discipline's profound commitment to understanding human diversity.

Accepted Answer

The chapter's survey in fact highlights the shift from models that simplify human diversity to complexity, not the other way around.

Question 2

What is the term for an expert on a particular aspect of native life?
A)representative sample
B)etic informant
C)key cultural consultant
D)biased informant
E)life-history approach specialist

Accepted Answer

A key cultural consultant is an expert on a particular aspect of native life, often consulted by anthropologists for their expertise on cultural practices and traditions. The term "representative sample" refers to a group of people chosen to represent a larger population for research purposes, "etic informant" refers to an outsider's perspective on a culture, "biased informant" suggests an informant who may have a personal bias or agenda, and "life-history approach specialist" refers to a researcher who specializes in collecting and analyzing detailed accounts of an individual's life experiences.

Question 3

An anthropologist has just arrived at a new field site and feels overwhelmed with a creepy, profound feeling of alienation, of being without some of the most ordinary, trivial (and therefore basic) cues of his culture of origin.What term best describes what he is experiencing?
A)culture shock
B)diachrony
C)synchrony
D)configurationalism
E)agency paralysis

Accepted Answer

The feeling of alienation and being without basic cues of one's culture of origin is commonly referred to as culture shock, which is experienced by individuals when they are exposed to a new culture or environment.

Question 4

Despite the variety of research techniques the ethnographer may utilize in the field, in the best studies the hallmark of ethnography remains
A)collaborating with the community to construct a cohesive image of local culture.
B)entering the community and getting to know its people.
C)gathering large quantities of data on a limited budget.
D)defining the local culture in such a way as to highlight what makes the particular culture so unlike any other.
E)providing detailed descriptions of "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior."

Accepted Answer

The hallmark of ethnography is the ethnographer's physical presence in the community, getting to know its people and culture through participant observation and informal conversations. This is what sets ethnography apart from other research methods and what allows for a deep understanding of the complexities of local culture. While the other choices may play a part in ethnographic research, they are not the defining characteristic of the methodology.

Question 5

In survey research, what term is used to refer to the attributes that vary among the members of a population?
A)unknowns
B)questionnaires
C)interviews
D)variables
E)random samples

Accepted Answer

In survey research, variables are used to refer to the attributes or characteristics that vary among the members of a population. These variables can be collected through questionnaires or interviews, and understanding how they differ can help researchers draw conclusions about the population as a whole. Therefore, the correct answer is D) variables.

Question 6

Ethnographers typically combine emic and etic research strategies in their fieldwork.This means they are interested in applying both
A)local- and scientist-oriented research approaches.
B)local and bifocal research approaches.
C)reflexive and salvage approaches.
D)personal and impersonal research approaches.
E)the genealogical and survey methods.

Accepted Answer

Emic research strategy involves adopting the insider perspective, understanding the local culture, and studying the culture from the perspective of the participants. This approach aims to uncover the local knowledge and beliefs, and it is a participant-oriented research approach. Etic research strategy focuses on the outsider's perspective, and it aims to apply universal rules and theories to understand culture. It is a scientist-oriented research approach. Ethnographers use both emic and etic research strategies in their fieldwork to provide a comprehensive understanding of culture. Therefore, the best choice is A - local- and scientist-oriented research approaches.

Question 7

Reflecting today's world in which people, images, and information move about as never before, fieldwork must be more flexible and done on a larger scale.The result of such fieldwork is often an ethnography that
A)challenges anthropologists concerned with salvaging isolated and untouched cultures around the world.
B)becomes less useful and valuable to understanding culture.
C)is increasingly multisited and multitimed, integrating analyses of external organizations and forces to understand local phenomena.
D)is more traditional, negating anthropologists' concerns about defending their field's roots.
E)requires researchers to stay at the same site for more than three years.

Accepted Answer

As fieldwork becomes more flexible and ethnographers increasingly integrate analyses of external organizations and forces to understand local phenomena, ethnography is becoming increasingly multisited and multitimed. This highlights the importance of understanding cultural phenomena in a broader context and negates the anthropologists' concerns about defending their field's roots.

Question 8

In survey research, a sample should
A)include the entire population in question.
B)include anyone who will be interviewed by the ethnographer.
C)target only one social, cultural, or environmental factor that influences behavior.
D)be constituted so as to allow inferences about the larger population.
E)be invariant.

Accepted Answer

A sample should be constituted so as to allow inferences about the larger population. This means that the sample should be representative of the population, allowing researchers to generalize their findings to the larger group. This is important for making accurate predictions and drawing conclusions about the population based on the sample data.

Question 9

All of the following are characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer EXCEPT
A)detailed work with key consultants.
B)direct, firsthand observation of behavior, including participant observation.
C)in-depth interviewing, often leading to the collection of life histories.
D)problem-oriented research.
E)longitudinal analysis of data sets gathered from state-sponsored statistical agencies.

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal analysis of data sets gathered from state-sponsored statistical agencies is not a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer. The other options are all commonly used by ethnographers to conduct their research.

Question 10

In survey research, what is sampling?
A)the collection of a study group from a larger population
B)the interviewing of a small number of key cultural consultants
C)a form of participant observation
D)the collection of life histories of every member in a community
E)a collection reflecting the emic perspective

Accepted Answer

Sampling is the process of selecting a representative group from a larger population for the purpose of conducting research. This allows researchers to gather data more efficiently and effectively without having to study the entire population.

Question 11

Which of the following research methods is a distinctive strategy within anthropology?
A)its practice of cross-cultural comparison
B)the biological perspective
C)ethnography
D)the evolutionary perspective
E)working with skilled respondents

Accepted Answer

Ethnography is a distinctive research method within anthropology that involves immersive fieldwork and the study of cultural practices and beliefs from the perspective of those being studied. While cross-cultural comparison and evolutionary perspectives are also important to anthropology, they are not unique to the discipline. The biological perspective may be used in anthropological research, but it is not a distinctive strategy within the field. Working with skilled respondents may be a useful approach, but it is not specific to anthropology.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT an example of participant observation?
A)administering interviews according to an interview schedule over the phone
B)helping out at harvest time
C)dancing at a ceremony
D)buying a shroud for a village ancestor
E)engaging in informal chit-chat

Accepted Answer

Administering interviews over the phone is not considered participant observation, as the researcher is not physically present in the social setting being studied. The other options involve direct participation in the cultural practices being observed.

Question 13

In the field, ethnographers strive to establish rapport: a good, friendly working relationship based on personal contact
A)that is necessary in conducting any valuable research in the social sciences, not just anthropology.
B)that, if done properly, ensures the ethnographer's ability to conduct detached, unbiased research.
C)achieved in large part by engaging in participant observation.
D)and if that fails, the next option is to pay people so they will talk about their culture.
E)as well as on payment, based on local standards, for people's time spent with the researcher.

Accepted Answer

Establishing rapport is an important aspect of ethnographic research because it helps the researcher gain access to the culture they are studying and develop trust with their informants. This is often achieved through participant observation, where the researcher immerses themselves in the culture and participates in the daily activities of the community. Payment for time spent with the researcher may be necessary in some cases, but it is not the primary way rapport is established. Option A is too broad and option B is incorrect as establishing rapport does not guarantee detachment and unbiased research. Option D is an unethical approach to research.

Question 14

Franz Boas is the undisputed father of four-field U.S.anthropology.One of his most important and enduring contributions to anthropology was
A)the field's earliest example of multitimed and multisited ethnography.
B)providing evidence that both biology and culture are susceptible to evolutionary forces, thus providing a framework for the comparative method.
C)stressing the relevance of independent invention in human cultural history.
D)showing that human biology is plastic, and that biology (including race) does not determine culture.
E)expanding the local ethnographic focus to include a regional perspective.

Accepted Answer

Franz Boas was a strong advocate for cultural relativism and believed that culture was not determined by biology or race. He argued that human biology was plastic and could be shaped by cultural practices and that cultural differences should be studied on their own terms.

Question 15

Traditional ethnographic research focused on the single community or culture, which was treated as more or less isolated and unique in time and space; however,
A)all such single communities have already been studied, so anthropologists have very limited project choices.
B)there has been a shift within the discipline toward a recognition of ongoing and inescapable flows of people, technology, images, and information.
C)the American Anthropological Association still requires its members to strive toward research focused on one single community.
D)this is no longer true, nor has it ever really been true, a fact that renders classic ethnographies historical curiosities and not serious academic works.
E)there has been a shift within the discipline against the concept of culture and toward the individual as the only true, reliable unit of analysis.

Accepted Answer

There has been a shift within the discipline toward a recognition of ongoing and inescapable flows of people, technology, images, and information. This means that traditional ethnographic research focused on a single community or culture is no longer considered adequate, and anthropologists are now exploring and understanding the interconnectedness of communities and cultures.

Question 16

The research technique that uses diagrams and symbols to record kin connections is called
A)kin-based interviewing.
B)genealogical participant observation.
C)interpretive anthropology.
D)DNA testing.
E)the genealogical method.

Accepted Answer

The genealogical method is the research technique that uses diagrams and symbols to record kin connections. The other answer choices are not related to this particular research technique.

Question 17

What did Bronislaw Malinowski mean when he referred to everyday cultural patterns as "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior?"
A)Features of culture such as distinctive smells, noises people make, how they cover their mouths when they eat, and how they gaze at each other are so fundamental that natives take them for granted but are there for the ethnographer to describe and make sense of.
B)Everyday cultural patterns are full of senseless cultural "noise," and it is the anthropologist's job to get at the truly valuable behaviors that distinguish one culture from another.
C)Everyday cultural patterns of native life can best be studied by asking key informants to explain them.
D)Features of everyday culture are, at first, imponderable, but as the ethnographer builds rapport, their logic and functional value in society become clear.
E)Everyday cultural patterns are important but so numerous that their detailed description should not be included in the main body of an ethnographic study.

Accepted Answer

Bronislaw Malinowski meant that features of culture that are part of everyday life, such as smells, gestures, and gaze, are so fundamental to the natives that they take them for granted. However, these imponderabilia of native life are crucial details for the ethnographer to describe and make sense of in their study of a particular culture.

Question 18

Lewis Henry Morgan is well known for his work The League of the Iroquois, considered anthropology's earliest ethnography.This and others of his works illustrate his view of unilinear evolutionism, which is that
A)cultural diversity was actually a sign of the slowing down of cultural evolution.
B)only the better and more civilized societies could survive.
C)all societies are on some path toward civilization, but the exact paths vary.
D)natural selection acts simultaneously on the biological and cultural aspects of human life.
E)there is one line or path through which all societies have to evolve, and this path involves specific stages that cannot be skipped, ending at the final stage of civilization.

Accepted Answer

Lewis Henry Morgan believed in unilinear evolutionism, which argues that there is only one path that all societies follow on their path to civilization. This path involves specific stages, which cannot be skipped, and it ends at the final stage of civilization. Cultural diversity is seen as deviations from this path, not as different equally valid paths.

Question 19

The relatively recent creation of virtual worlds has attracted contemporary ethnographers to venture into online communities.Of the various techniques used to study these virtual worlds, which has been most important?
A)participant observation
B)interviews
C)genealogical method
D)key consultants
E)life histories

Accepted Answer

Participant observation is the most important technique for studying virtual worlds as it allows the researcher to immerse themselves in the community and observe interactions and social structures firsthand. This method also allows for the researcher to gather rich data on the social norms, values, and behaviors of the virtual community. Interviews, genealogical methods, key consultants, and life histories can also provide valuable data, but they are not as effective in capturing the complexity of virtual worlds.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer?
A)structured interviewing
B)life histories
C)random sampling
D)working with informants
E)the genealogical method

Accepted Answer

Random sampling is not a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer. Ethnographers typically use structured interviewing, life histories, working with informants, the genealogical method, and other techniques that involve a more targeted approach to understanding a specific cultural group or community. Random sampling is more commonly used in quantitative research methods.

Quiz 3: Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology

This chapter's survey of the major theoretical perspectives that have characterized anthropology highlights all of the following EXCEPT

What is the term for an expert on a particular aspect of native life?

An anthropologist has just arrived at a new field site and feels overwhelmed with a creepy, profound feeling of alienation, of being without some of the most ordinary, trivial (and therefore basic) cues of his culture of origin.What term best describes what he is experiencing?

Despite the variety of research techniques the ethnographer may utilize in the field, in the best studies the hallmark of ethnography remains

In survey research, what term is used to refer to the attributes that vary among the members of a population?

Ethnographers typically combine emic and etic research strategies in their fieldwork.This means they are interested in applying both

Reflecting today's world in which people, images, and information move about as never before, fieldwork must be more flexible and done on a larger scale.The result of such fieldwork is often an ethnography that

In survey research, a sample should

All of the following are characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer EXCEPT

In survey research, what is sampling?

Which of the following research methods is a distinctive strategy within anthropology?

Which of the following is NOT an example of participant observation?

In the field, ethnographers strive to establish rapport: a good, friendly working relationship based on personal contact

Franz Boas is the undisputed father of four-field U.S.anthropology.One of his most important and enduring contributions to anthropology was

Traditional ethnographic research focused on the single community or culture, which was treated as more or less isolated and unique in time and space; however,

The research technique that uses diagrams and symbols to record kin connections is called

What did Bronislaw Malinowski mean when he referred to everyday cultural patterns as "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior?"

Lewis Henry Morgan is well known for his work The League of the Iroquois, considered anthropology's earliest ethnography.This and others of his works illustrate his view of unilinear evolutionism, which is that

The relatively recent creation of virtual worlds has attracted contemporary ethnographers to venture into online communities.Of the various techniques used to study these virtual worlds, which has been most important?

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer?