Term
|
Definition
| The major research tool of cultural anthropology; includes both fieldwork among people in society and the written results of fieldwork. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Judging other cultures from the perspective of one's own culture. The notion that one's own culture is more beautiful, rational, and nearer to perfection than others. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The notion that cultures should be analyzed with reference to their own histories and values, in terms of the cultural whole, rather than according to the values of another culture. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The firsthand, systematic exploration of a society. It involves living with a group of people and participating in and observing their behavior. |
|
|
Term
| Participation observation |
|
Definition
| The fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by observing people's behavior and participating in their lives. |
|
|
Term
| Institutional review board (IRB) |
|
Definition
| A committee organized by a university or other research institution that approves, monitors, and reviews all research that involves human subjects. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Feelings of alienation and helplessness that result from rapid immersion in a new and different culture. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Examining a society using concepts and distinctions that are meaningful to members of that culture. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Examining societies using concepts, categories, and rules derived from science; an outsider's perspective which produces analyses that members of the society being studied may not find meaningful. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A person from whom an anthropologist gathers data. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The attempt to find general principles or laws that govern cultural phenomena. |
|
|
Term
| Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) |
|
Definition
| An ethnographic database that includes descriptions of more than 300 cultures and is used for cross-cultural research. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A theoretical perspective focusing on issues of power and voice. Postmodernists suggest that anthropological accounts are partial truths reflecting the background, training and social positions of their authors. |
|
|
Term
| Collaborative anthropology |
|
Definition
| Ethnography that gives priority to informants on the topic, methodology, and written results of research. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Anthropology that includes political action as a major goal of fieldwork. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An anthropologist who does fieldwork in his or her own culture. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The requirement that participants in anthropological studies should understand the ways in which their participation and the release of the research data are likely to affect them. |
|
|
