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Anthropological Research Anthropological Research

Anthropological Research - PowerPoint Presentation

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Uploaded On 2018-09-23

Anthropological Research - PPT Presentation

Theories Questions Scales Data and Models Anthropological Research Research begins with an idea or question about something From the literature Derived from a theory or model From a discovery of a pattern in the data ID: 677348

data view questions people view data people questions site model individual check models culture theories research artifact emerge ecology

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Slide1

Anthropological Research

Theories, Questions, Scales, Data, and Models Slide2

Anthropological Research

Research begins with an idea or question about something:

From the literature

Derived from a theory or model

From a discovery of a pattern in the data

The purpose of research is to evaluate the support for that ideaSlide3

Theories in Anthropology

Linked sets of statements about how people behave and why, e.g.

Zipf’s

Law of the Minimum – people minimize their effort

Cultural Ecology – people behave in ways that harmonize with their

environment

Behavioral Ecology – natural selection shapes our behaviorSlide4

Kinds of Theories in Anthropology

Biology

(population genetics)

Environment/Ecology

(exogenous)

Demography (endogenous)

Culture (innovation, diffusion, migration, interaction, stratification)

Psychology (individual

needs/wants/ strategic action)Slide5

Who Questions

Who has power?

Who has wealth?

Who

is related to whom?

Who were the first

agriculturalists?

Who were the first

Americans/ Australians?Slide6

What Questions

What do people call their kin?

What are the rules for dividing shares?

What kind of houses do they build?

What was this artifact used for?

What disturbances have altered the site?Slide7

When Questions

When did the first humans emerge?

When did agriculture begin?

When did Western influences become important?

When was the New World colonized?Slide8

Where Questions

Where do people

live, work,

p

lay?

Where are various activities performed?

Where are people buried?Slide9

Why Questions

Why do people believe in . . . ?

Why do people do . . . ?

Why was agriculture invented?

Why are pots decorated

?

Why did states emerge?Slide10

How Questions

How

was

Australia

colonized?

How did the

Indo European

language spread?

How did human culture emerge?

How do people classify . . .?

How does globalization affect local culture?Slide11

Scale

Global view – big picture processes

Temporal view – periods, phases

Regional view – social networks, territories

Local view

– neighborhood

Site/Village view – structure,

context

Individual view – life history, typesSlide12

Global View

Climate, soils, topography, ecological zones, isolation, ocean currents

Data on cultures,

nations – demography, economy, ideology

Broad patterns between global characteristics and cultureSlide13

Temporal View

Archaeological

time/space

charts spanning millennia

Historical timelines spanning centuries

Generational data

Life history dataSlide14

Regional View

Environmental variability at regional level – rivers, mountains, vegetation, ecological communities

Locations of sites/villages

Characteristics of sites/villagesSlide15

Site/Village View

Site neighborhood

Location

of

structures, features, artifact clusters

Household composition

VariabilitySlide16

Household View

Location (within

village/site)

Pattern of structures

,

features, and activity areas

Comparison with other householdsSlide17

Individual View

Physiology, genetic makeup, skeletal characteristics

Life history

Statuses and roles

Decision making

Belief systemSlide18

Individual (Artifact) View

Group (classification)

Composition

Properties

– size, shape, color, quality, wear, breakage, material,

Style

vs.

FunctionSlide19

Models

A model uses a theory to develop expectations about what kinds of patterns we will find in the data

Models use theories

and operational arguments to tell us what is important in the data

Statistics can help evaluate the fit between model and dataSlide20

Evaluation

Must

check reasoning from theory to model

Must check operational

arguments and proxy measures

Must check data gathering process

Must

check role of formation processesSlide21

Quantitative Approaches

Estimation

and

Confirmation

Sampling

Parametric vs. Non-parametric

Response (Dependent) vs. Explanatory (Independent) variables (causal models)

Descriptive

Data

Reduction, Pattern Recognition (Exploratory Data Analysis)Slide22

Kinds of Data

Scales of measurement – nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio (dichotomy)

Discrete vs. Continuous

Composition/Assemblage

(Percentages

)