Using Methods in the Field

Victor C. de Munck is an assistant professor of anthropology at SUNY-New Paltz. Elisa J. Sobo is associate professor of anthropology at San Diego State University.

• 1 Foreword2 The Forest of Methods3 Participant Observation: A Thick Explanation of Conflict in a Sri Lankan Village4 Content Analysis of Words in Brief Descriptions: How Fathers and Mothers Describe Their Children5 Freelisting: Management at at Women's Federal Prison Camp6 Freelists, Ratings, Averages, and Frequencies: Why so Few Students Study Anthropology7 Pile Sorting: "Kids Like Candy"8 Guttman Scaling: An Analysis of Matsienga Men's Manufacturing Skills9 Triad Questionnaires: Old Age in Karen and Maya Cultures10 Decision Modeling: Its Use in Medical Anthropology11 Consensus Analysis: Sampling Frames for Valid, Generalizable Research Findings12 Consensus Analysis: Do Scottish Business Advisors Agree on Models of Success?13 Consensus Analysis: High Blood Pressure in a Mexican Barrio14 Visual Data: Collection, Analysis, and Representation15 MDS and QAP: How Do Children Rate Painful Experiences?16 Afterword

The text is eminently practical... The cultural anthropologists run into a dizzying variety of problems and tackle them with diverse approaches. Those who study the relationship between language and culture equally need a combination of flexibility and tried and true methods of dealing with both people and data.The 20 experts here give the benefit of their hands-on research experience, whether with problems of healthcare providers, or prison populations, Sri Lankan nationalization and modernization conflicts.