Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research

Pertti J. (Bert) Pelto, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, where he played a major role in developing the program in applied medical anthropology. He has also served as a consultant for many international health organizations, providing training in mixed methods ethnographic research for community-based applied projects. Best known for his groundbreaking book on research methods (Anthropological Research: The Structure of Inquiry, 1970), Professor Pelto was recently (2016) honored by the Society for Applied Anthropology with the establishment of the biennial "Pertti Pelto International Travel Award," in recognition of his contributions to training in applied field research methods in international contexts.

• CONTENTSPrefaceChapter 1. Mixed Methods Research in Ethnography, Qualitative and QuantitativeEthnography in Earlier TimesAl BiruniBernadino de Sahagun (1499-1590)Applied Ethnographic Field Work, Cultural Patterns, and Research MethodsApplied Field Research: Many Disciplines, Many PlayersThe Different Histories of Quantitative and Qualitative Research in Applied Field Research and Academic Research Disillusionment with Quantitative SurveysThe New Interest in "Mixed Methods" in the Social SciencesChapter 2. Mixed Methods in 19th Century EthnographyJ. Sjogren, Finnish Linguist-EthnographerMathias A. Castren Other 19th Century Finnish Ethnographer-LinguistsVladimir Bogoraz, Russian Ethnographer/Linguist/RevolutionaryFranz Boas: Promoter of Mixed Methods in North AmericaChapter 3. The Developing Discourse of Mixed Method ResearchThe QUAL versus QUAN Paradigm DebatesMany Problems in the Current Mixed Methods "Paradigm Concepts"How Did Qualitative Data-Gathering Gain Acceptance in Quantitative-Dominated Research Areas?A New Wave of Mixed MethodsQUAN+qual, QUAL à quan; Let’s Get on with the FunMore Complex, Multiple Methods Mixtures (MMM)QUAL+quan and QUAL à quan designs are very common The Traditions of Publishing Make a Big Difference for Mixing of MethodsSummary and ConclusionsChapter 4. Culture and Personality Studies: Plenty of Mixed MethodsLife in a Mexican Village; A Study by Oscar Lewis and AssociatesPersonality Formation among the Navaho PeopleAcculturation and Culture/Personality StudiesThe "Newer" Culture and Personality StudiesAcculturation, Self-Identification and Personality Adjustment in an Inuit VillageAnalysis of the DataFarmers and Herdsmen in East Africa: Effects of Ecological Factors on Values, Attitudes, and Psychological Characteristics Quantitative Scale from "Full-Scale Farming to Full-Scale Herding"Discussion and ConclusionsChapter 5. Large Multi-Year, Multi-Site, Multi-Disciplinary Research ProjectsThe Hawthorne Study: Mixed Methods in an Early Applied ProjectYankee City Series: Volume IV. "The Strike: A Social Analysis"The Big StrikeThe Great Mix of Methods: Qualitative and QuantitativeThe Ethnic Groups in Yankee City "Yankee City" in Historical Perspective: Criticisms and Credits"Public Health as a Career in Medicine:" Another Large-Scale StudyPhase TwoSummary and ConclusionsChapter 6. Ecosystems Theory, Adaptation, and New Directions in ResearchAn Early Applied Study of Up-grading Navaho Economy and HealthMassive Environmental Change: Ecosystem Effects of a Dam ProjectCommentaryPigs for the Ancestors: A Focus on Ritual as Ecological RegulatorQuantitative DataQualitative Data: Ethnography of Ritual Discussion and Criticism Sparked by Pigs for the AncestorsStructural Change in Northern Thai Rice VillagesSarmela’s English Language SummaryFocus on Agricultural Adaptations in Rural MexicoDiscussion and ConclusionsChapter 7. Medical Anthropology and Mixed Methods ResearchAnother Epidemic: Diphtheria Immunization in ThailandSorcery and Medicine in the PhilippinesThe Sociology of an Indian Hospital WardThe Complex Varieties of Academic and Applied Medical AnthropologyBiological and Cultural Adaptations: The Ecological FrameworkAnthropology and Mental Health: Psychosis in East AfricaLong-Term Multidisciplinary Research in Selected Study PopulationsMultiple Research Methods in Complex Ethnography: West AfricaAn Unusual Category: Combining Ethnography and Quantitative ExperimentIntervention: Development and Testing of a Model MCE ProgramConclusionChapter 8. QUAL+qual and QUAL à qual Studies: Common Practices in EthnographyComing of Age in Samoa 1928: Margaret Mead’s Seminal StudyA Famous QUAL+QUALà qual Study: Street Corner SocietyGetting Started, Learning Field ResearchComponents of the Research Methods"Doc," the Most Famous "Key Informant" in Field Research LiteratureSub-Project: Mapping the Social Interactions at the ClubOther Examples of Mixed Methods in QUAL Research. Mixed Methods in Linguistic ResearchQUALà qual TriangulationJames P. Spradley: "Grand Tour Interviews" and Other Special MethodsExtensive Participation: Sometimes It Is A "Supplemental Method" Concluding CommentsChapter 9. The Development of Quantitative Methods in Ethnographic ResearchBritish Ethnographers Started Doing Surveys Early in the 20th CenturyAn "Experiment" with Survey Research Methods in AfricaMore Specialized Survey Research "Experiments"Small-Scale Surveys: Other Variations on the Survey Model(s)A Different Kind of Mixed Method Research: Cultural Analysis of P-3 Pilot ErrorThe Study of High Concordance DomainsHigh versus Low Concordance Domains, and Sampling"Tight" and "Loose" SocietiesCultural Consensus and Sample SizesCultural Data, Key Informants, and ConcordanceSummary and ConclusionsChapter 10. Food, Diet and Nutrition StudiesStudies of Food Distribution and Dietary BehaviorsDiet and Hunger in Northern RhodesiaHunger MonthsThe Monograph as a Classic Mixed Methods Study of Food and NutritionDiet in the Mexican Town of TepoztlanA Diet and Nutrition Intervention in South AfricaNutritional Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods ResearchNew Achievements in Mixed Methods Diet and Nutrition StudiesThe Role of Fruits and Wild Greens in the Shambaa Diet in TanzaniaA Study of Malnutrition in Mali Research on Vitamin A Deficiency: A Multi-Site, Interdisciplinary StudyHypothetical Scenarios for Getting Data on Night-Blindness and Other SymptomsMulti-Year, Multi-Disciplinary Mixed-Methods Study in Central MexicoMajor Finding: "Small is Not Healthy and Happy"Summary and ConclusionsChapter 11. The Rise of Community Studies and Ecological Theory: Paradigm Transitions in FinlandHilma N. Granqvist: Ethnographic Study of a Palestinian Village, 1925-1931Research in Lapland: Kalle Nickul’s "Discover" of the Skolt Saami CommunityMapping and Other Mixed Methods Research in Suenjel (Kola Peninsula)Kai Donner: Another "Early Modern" Contributor to Paradigm ChangeCommunity Studies and Ecological Frameworks: Later Trends in the 20th CenturyAdaptive Strategies in the Aland IslandsCommunity Studies and Ecological Theory in More Recent Finnish Ethnographic ResearchConcluding DiscussionChapter 12. My Explorations in QUAL+quan Research MethodologyDoctoral Dissertation Research in Finnish LaplandThe Upper Mississippi Research ProjectThinking about Research Methods Thinking about Different Kinds of SocietiesThe Snowmobile Revolution: Technology and Social ChangeTechnology and De-localizationNotes on MethodologyVarieties of Delocalization: Food and DietConclusions: More Recent DevelopmentsChapter 13. Triangulation and Descriptive Expansion: The Uses of Mixed Methods in Ethnographic ResearchExploring "Descriptive Expansion" and Related Purposes of Mixed Methods DesignsUnderstanding the Concept of Triangulation in Mixed-Methods ResearchBroader Definitions of "Triangulation"Triangulation Studies for Assessing Informant Accuracy Key Informant Reliability: Another Look at Interview DataTriangulation and Informant PrecisionComparing Individual In-Depth Interviews and Group Discussion MethodsTriangulation and Mixed-Methods Research in ActionTriangulation with Multiple Quantified Data Gathering Methods: AlaskaTriangulation at the Level of Theory and Data AnalysisInformal Triangulation in Ethnographic Field ResearchA Loose Use of the Triangulation Concept in Ethnographic ResearchTriangulation in Qualitative Ethnographic Research: A Case of "Investigator Triangulation"Triangulation is Only One of Several Mixed-Methods Research CategoriesCriticisms and Critiques of Triangulation in the Social SciencesSummary and ConclusionsThe Basic Lesson Chapter 14. Two Decades of Mixed-Methods in South AsiaThe Technical Assistance Program: "Building Social Science Capacity for Research on Women’s Health in India"QUAL-QUAN Mixed-Method Research ToolsMixing Qualitative and Quantitative Data Was Already Common in South AsiaDeveloping a Manual for Field Training and Guidelines for Data-Gathering and AnalysisOther Developments in the Mid-1990sImplementing a Reproductive Health Agenda in India: The BeginningReproductive Health in India: New EvidenceEthnographic Field Research in South AsiaWomen’s Perceptions of White Vaginal Discharge: Ethnographic Data from Rural MaharashtraEvaluation of a Rural Community Health ProgramWomen’s Work and Child HealthEthnographic Study of Sex Workers in a Red Light District in KolkataExamples of Mixed Methods Research in BangladeshThe HIV/AIDs Pandemic and Mixed Methods ResearchHIV/AIDs and the 21st Century in South Asia: Our Book of Research ResultsExamples of Research on Sexual Behavior during the Technical Assistance ProgramOther Noteworthy Studies in this CollectionMen’s Sexual Health Concerns in MumbaiWomen’s Reproductive Health in the Time of AIDsContinued Research in Issues around Pregnancy, Childbirth, Abortion, and other Reproductive Health MattersSummary: Mixed Methods Research in South AsiaChapter 15. Two "Histories" of Mixed Methods ResearchMixed Methods in Ethnographic Research: Early TimesNew Pathways to Mixed Methods in the 20th CenturyMulti-Disciplinary and Large-Scale Projects Often Led to Mixed MethodsInter-Disciplinary Research Teams: A Different Pathway to MMMixed Methods in Health ResearchEthnographic Publications are often in Books or Large Printed ReportsQuantitative Research Approaches Have Often Been InductiveThe "Other History" of Mixed Methods and the Recent Spread of Interest in Qualitative Ethnographic ResearchNew Explorations in Qualitative Research Methods, Especially in Developing Country ProgramsParticipatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RR)Focused Ethnographic Studies (FES)Other Influences Favoring Qualitative Data Approaches and Mixed MethodsInfluences from the Computer RevolutionThe Big Picture: Mixed Methods Approaches Are Essential Because Each Individual Method Has Weaknesses. But There Is More: There Are Multiple Sectors of Data in the Real World

Prime architect of the methodology of employing mixed methods in ethnographic research, Pertti J Pelto, traces it's historical evolution globally. His personal narrative provides practical, experiential learnings for obtaining nuanced answers to complex research questions. Through decades of work with research networks and communities in India and other developing countries, Pelto succeeded in legitimizing the once suspect qualitative techniques. It is because of his untiring efforts that integrating qualitative with quantitative methods has become the norm today.Saroj Pachauri, MD, PhD, DPH, Distinguished Scholar, Population CouncilOnly Pertti Pelto could have written this history –a tour de force of erudition. The book makes clear that anthropology is and has always been about mixed methods, but social scientists of all stripes will find wonderful material here for teaching mixed methods.H. Russell Bernard, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Florida; Director of the Institute for Social Science Research, Arizona State UniversityIn his latest book, Pertti Pelto takes us on a captivating, personal and historical tour of the use of mixed methods in social science research. His narrative style and stories from the from the field make this both a fun read and an important reference for students and researchers who want to gain a broader understanding of past and present developments in ethnographic research methods.Patricia Hudelson, PhD, Anthropologue médicale, Consultation transculturelle et interprétariat, Département de médecine communautaire, de premier recours et des urgences, Hôpitaux Universitaires de GenèveIn this immensely insightful, rich and readable ‘story’ of ethnographic research in the use of mixed methods, Professor Pelto reminds us how important is the historical perspective concerning research methods and strategies. In the absence of this clarity, social scientists and public health researchers are likely to polarize the discourse of qualitative versus quantitative methods and fail to take cognizance of various nuanced ways in which multi-method approaches enhance our knowledge creation. I can hardly overemphasize the timeliness of this bookRavi Verma, PhD, Regional Director, Asia, International Center for Research on Women Mixed Methods Research captures a wide and throughout picture of ethnographical research methods. It brings interestingly together the historical development and Pelto’s personal reflections on interaction of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Pelto’s wide experience of ethnographical research makes this book is an enjoyable reading and important guide for students as well as professional scholars all over the world. This book answers to a growing need for a practical guide in data-gathering. Inker-Anni Linkola, Senior Officer, Sámi Archives, SajosEven in constructing his comprehensive and complex work on the application of mixed metholodologies, Pertti J. Pelto is a lively and engaging academic narrator, who succeeds to interpret deep issues and problems which have occupied generations of anthropologists. He weaves into the discussion his intensive long-term personal knowledge and experiences in multiple disciplines in various cultural settings, from the Skolt Sami in northernmost Europe to rural communities in South Asia. Pelto provides researchers and other actors, such as non-governmental organizations, with insights, strategies, and tools to apply mixed methodologies to health and social issues or economic and ecological understanding in an easily accessible manner."Veli-Pekka Lehtola, Professor for Sámi cultural studies, Giellagas Institute, University of Oulu