Practical Guide for Using Methods in the Field

Experienced ethnographers know that the prescriptive advice often found in methods textbooks rarely provides adequate guidance for dealing with real people in real field settings. This casebook aims to address that gap by presenting the work of scholars who have used a variety of key methods regularly employed by anthropologists, such as participant observation, consensus analysis, simple surveys, scaling, freelisting and triads, networks, and decision modeling.

The editors have commissioned these scholars to describe their use of these techniques in the context of real-world field work, drawing on cases from diverse settings, including an Arkansas college campus, a Mexican barrio, a Thai village, and a Scottish business. The cases cover a range of topics, including health, community politics, family relations, and child development.

By presenting these real-world examples, the casebook gives students a clear understanding of the diversity of methods used by anthropologists and the complexities involved in their application. Rather than offering prescriptive advice, the casebook provides a more nuanced and contextual understanding of how these methods can be employed in practice.

This approach is in contrast to the typical methods textbook, which tends to focus on the technical aspects of these techniques without fully addressing the challenges and considerations that arise in the field. By highlighting the experiences of seasoned researchers, the casebook offers a more realistic and valuable resource for students and practitioners of anthropology.

The diversity of the cases presented in the casebook also reflects the broad scope of anthropological inquiry, demonstrating the wide range of topics and settings in which these methods can be employed. This, in turn, underscores the versatility and relevance of anthropology as a discipline, and the importance of understanding the practical realities of field research.

Overall, this casebook represents a valuable contribution to the field, providing a more grounded and contextual understanding of the methods used by anthropologists. By focusing on real-world examples, the casebook offers a richer and more nuanced perspective on the complexities of field research, and the challenges and considerations that researchers must navigate in order to successfully engage with the people and communities they study.

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