Objectivity and Fieldwork Essay - 1118 Words

Objectivity and Fieldwork Researchers throughout the world most often conduct practical work in a all natural environment outside their laboratory or office in order to experience in firsthand what it is to live outside the society they have been exposed to all their lives, and integrate into another civilization that imposes cultural traditions and policies that the researcher may have never been imposed to in the past. These types of works or studies that ethnographers conduct are called fieldworks; and they help researchers learn the ways and customs of a certain group or kin outside a society. The researcher’s method of fully understanding the culture of the group of individuals they study is by integrating into their assemblage or†¦show more content†¦Being the daughter of an Arab and also of an American; she portrayed herself as being in â€Å"numerous ways culturally more American than an Arabian† individual (Abu-Lughod, 1988:140). Throughout her work, the author makes it clear t hat the factors of being a woman of Arab descent and her positionality had several consequences in the types of research she could perform and the ties and relationships she could build with the members of the Bedouin tribe. The fact that she was a â€Å"Dutiful daughter† doing fieldwork in a segregated society helped her understand the significance of modesty and humility for women in the Bedouin tribe. â€Å"†¦with the contributors to this volume I share the experience of being a woman studying a sex-segregated society. Unlike most of them, I was in the peculiar situation of being neither completely a cultural insider, nor a total outsider.† (Abu-Lughod, 1988:140). Being in a segregated society were male dominance was a basic characteristic of the natives exposed the author to both sides, but mostly to the female’s side, and that is what her research was mostly based on. Being one of the natives benefited her fieldwork, because she had the opportunity to feel and act just as one of them by adapting to their culture. Malinowski on the contrary was more reserved when writing his fieldwork experiences, because he did notShow MoreRelatedEating Christmas in the Kalahari906 Words   |  4 Pagesthe way Japanese people show gratitude. Cultural anthropologist conduct research by doing fieldwork and using its characteristic method called participant observation(Cultural Anthropology pg48) Researchers trained in cultural anthropology use different methods when they study other cultures. Cultural anthropologists often live for months or years with the people they study. This is called fieldwork. The main method of anthropological research involves long-term, direct observation of and participationRead MoreAnthropology : A Study Of Humanity1202 Words   |  5 Pagesholistically, comparatively, and relativistically through fieldwork. The way that anthropologists utilize and integrate each aspect of this methodology allows them to add specificity to this broad topic and to set it uniquely aside from all others. The way that anthropologists conduct research is generally believed to be what sets anthropology aside from all other humanities and hard sciences. Anthropologists hold fast to the emphasis on fieldwork, which is defined as data collection while in contactRead MoreAnalysis Of The Article Body Rituals Among The Veldt By Horace Miner964 Words   |  4 Pagesdiversity of cultural customs; and that even if they have not encountered a surprising exotic custom they should be aware that it might exist in an unidentified tribe. In a way it helps desensitize to avoid cultural shock for when an anthropologist does fieldwork. This does not only help anthropologist, but individuals in general. The desensitization of American culture can be due to media in which outside cultures are portrayed stereotypically. Our stereotype other cultures develops through nurture necessaryRead MoreFlight Transportation Corporation.1183 Words   |  5 Pagesnation at the time, acquired FTC as an audit client in March 1980. Besides Harrington, the audit engagement team assigned to the 1980 and 1981 FTC audits included an audit manager, Gregory Arnott, and three staff auditors. Arnott supervised the fieldwork for both audits. The 1980 FTC audit was the first engagement on which Arnott had served as an audit manager. Audit Theory†¦. In 1980 The company’s president, William Rubin insisted that the audited financial statements be ready for the printerRead MoreCrazy Eddie Case1147 Words   |  5 Pagesvery important part of a successful audit and a crucial standard under GAAS relates to the level of fieldwork an auditor must do. The auditors again did not successfully comply with this standard as well. Sam Antar stated during one of trials that the company used something called â€Å"obstruction by distraction† on the auditors. The company did their very best to distract auditors from their fieldwork by engaging them in plenty of â€Å"small talk† (Antar, 48). The auditors submerged into conversation andRead MoreEngaging The Adult Learner For Adult Learners1028 Words   |  5 Pagesthat encompasses the use of skills to conquer their concentration and interest. The engagement is performed to ensure the adult learners will immediately identify with the information and the objective of the teaching. On ce the identification and objectivity is formed learning is able to proceed. Therefore, the engagement process for adult learners must be unique and display sensitivity in an effort to achieve learning. Moreover, it is necessary for adults to know their efforts put towards lifelongRead MoreSelling Crack : By Philippe Bourgois1866 Words   |  8 Pages24 drug dealers and their families (p.2) and obtained information through means such as â€Å"taped conversations, hundreds of nights in crack houses, †¦ went to parties and intimate reunions† (p.13). This total immersion allowed Bourgois, through his fieldwork, to create relationships which would reveal detailed information about their real life experiences. Through participant observation Bourgois was able to understand the complexities and intricacies of street culture and be sure that the informationRead MoreData Collection Method Participant Observation Essay1503 Words   |  7 Pagessituations using the five senses, providing a written photograph of the situation under study (ERLANDSON, HARRIS, SKIPPER, ALLEN, 1993). DeMUNCK and SOBO (1998) describe participant observation as the primary method used by anthropologists doing fieldwork. Fieldwork involves active looking, improving memory, informal interviewing, writing detailed field notes, and perhaps most importantly, patience (DeWALT DeWALT, 2002, p.vii). Participant observation is the process enabling researchers to learn aboutRead MoreQuantitative And Qualitative Research Methods871 Words   |  4 Pagesassociated with interpretive and critical paradigms. A further assumption is that some critical approaches to research, such as feminism, only use qualitative approaches. In addition, quantitative and qualitative approaches are strongly associated with objectivity (quantitative) and subjectivity (qualitative)†. Quantitative research methods include surveys such as standardized/self-completion questionnaires. Researchers can deliver questionnaires in a range of ways, including, by post, through email, orRead MorePhilosophical Implications of Cultural Relativism4081 Words   |  17 Pagesare ethnocentric when we use our cultural norms to make generalizations about other peoples cultures and customs. Franz Boas argued that any human science had to transcend the ethnocentrism of the scientist. Boas urged to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in order to overcome their ethnocentrism. Boas developed the principle of cultural relativism as a tool for developing non-ethnocentric studies of different societies. Hence in a rapidly changing world society where people are in closer interaction