Musarrat Lamia
ANTH 101.00-CN1/Schindler
Final #4: The Anthropology of Ethnographic Fieldwork In anthropology, and with all sorts of research and studies, there are set guidelines that must be followed in order for the research to be considered accurate. In fact, how research is conducted can be studied anthropologically. Why do we feel that a finding needs to meet certain standards in order for it to be considered truthful? What is the most ethical yet accurate way of doing research and what determines that?
In anthropology, guidelines must be followed when conducting research in order to prevent biases such as ethnocentric ideas and prejudices. The anthropological methodology of conducting research is primarily based off of ethnographic …show more content…
He addresses some vital aspects about the reality of anthropological methods in a critical manner. Anthropologists often fail to mention that, although a system does exist that affects the lives of the individuals they study, those same individuals are a part of the system and they do have flaws. They tend to unconsciously romanticize the people of their studies since they build intimate ties with the subjects of their studies and as Bourgois points out, “ethnographers never want to make the people they study look ugly.” Biases are present in all circumstances so the most we can do is minimize them to remain objective. However, personally I find that it is difficult to stay completely objective in order to gain effective data anthropologically. The most effective appeal to humans is the appeal of pathos, or appeal to emotion and rarely does emotion not cause subjectivity. Emotion contributes to the tone and style of writing, particularly in ethnographies since the writer themselves has obtained their own experiences additional to the data they have collected. The objectivity and accuracy truly lie in the wording and specifications of the ethnography and its methods. I find this to be the reason why often anthropologists often spend pages and pages in their reports explaining and distinguishing their findings to avoid generalizations. Surely, the author's perspective …show more content…
Each element of ethnographic fieldwork has room to move and change and is specific to that anthropologist and that study. Ethnographic fieldwork is unique in the fact that neutrality of the author isn’t always necessary in the presentation of an anthropologist’s findings but is present in the context of their findings. Incorporating emotions and personal accounts do not necessarily weaken your argument or question the validity of your studies, but instead enhances it. The glory of anthropological methodology is in the diversity it offers in its
ANTH 101.00-CN1/Schindler
Final #4: The Anthropology of Ethnographic Fieldwork In anthropology, and with all sorts of research and studies, there are set guidelines that must be followed in order for the research to be considered accurate. In fact, how research is conducted can be studied anthropologically. Why do we feel that a finding needs to meet certain standards in order for it to be considered truthful? What is the most ethical yet accurate way of doing research and what determines that?
In anthropology, guidelines must be followed when conducting research in order to prevent biases such as ethnocentric ideas and prejudices. The anthropological methodology of conducting research is primarily based off of ethnographic …show more content…
He addresses some vital aspects about the reality of anthropological methods in a critical manner. Anthropologists often fail to mention that, although a system does exist that affects the lives of the individuals they study, those same individuals are a part of the system and they do have flaws. They tend to unconsciously romanticize the people of their studies since they build intimate ties with the subjects of their studies and as Bourgois points out, “ethnographers never want to make the people they study look ugly.” Biases are present in all circumstances so the most we can do is minimize them to remain objective. However, personally I find that it is difficult to stay completely objective in order to gain effective data anthropologically. The most effective appeal to humans is the appeal of pathos, or appeal to emotion and rarely does emotion not cause subjectivity. Emotion contributes to the tone and style of writing, particularly in ethnographies since the writer themselves has obtained their own experiences additional to the data they have collected. The objectivity and accuracy truly lie in the wording and specifications of the ethnography and its methods. I find this to be the reason why often anthropologists often spend pages and pages in their reports explaining and distinguishing their findings to avoid generalizations. Surely, the author's perspective …show more content…
Each element of ethnographic fieldwork has room to move and change and is specific to that anthropologist and that study. Ethnographic fieldwork is unique in the fact that neutrality of the author isn’t always necessary in the presentation of an anthropologist’s findings but is present in the context of their findings. Incorporating emotions and personal accounts do not necessarily weaken your argument or question the validity of your studies, but instead enhances it. The glory of anthropological methodology is in the diversity it offers in its