Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Hat Is Thnography: Methodological, Ontological, and Epistemological Attributes

    Uploaded by

    flannon
    58 views30 pages
    I
was
shocked
to
hear
this
coming
from
Hochbaum,
as
he
was
one
of
the
originators
of
the
Health
Belief
 Model
 (the
 HBM),
 the
 primary
 theoretical
 tool
 for
 health
 education
 at
 that
 time,
 and
 one
 of
 the
 discipline’s
few
justifications
of
itself
as
science.
Moreover,
the
testing
of
various
constructs
found
in
the
 HBM
 led
 to
 some
 of
 the
 earliest
 used
 of
 testing
 such
 constructs
 for
 their
 psychometric
 properties,
 a
 procedure
 that
 would
 soon
 become
 one
 of
 the
 major
 uses
 of
 so‐called
 quantitative
 methods
 in
 public
 health.
 What
 I
 did
 not
 know
 at
 the
 time,
 but
 would
 soon
 come
 to
 learn,
 was
 that
 Hochbaum
 was
 one
 of
 those
 social
 scientists
 and
 health
 professionals
 who
 had
 grown
 weary
 of
 the
 dominance
 of
 such
 quantitative
 methods
 in
 social
 and
 health
 sciences
 research.
 This
 dominance
 of
 these
 so‐called
 “quantitative
 approaches
 (i.e.
 survey
 and
 measurement
 methods
 such
 as
 psychometrics
 and
 econometrics,
 hypotheses
 testing,
 large
 randomized
 samples,
 reliable
 and
 valid
 instrumentation,
 experimental
designs,
etc.)


    Original Title

    EpiOntAttrib

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    I
was
shocked
to
hear
this
coming
from
Hochbaum,
as
he
was
one
of
the
originators
of
the
Health
Belief
 Model
 (the
 HBM),
 the
 primary
 theoretical
 tool
 for
 health
 education
 at
 that
 time,
 and
 one
 of
 the
 discipline’s
few
justifications
of
itself
as
science.
Moreover,
the
testing
of
various
constructs
found
in
the
 HBM
 led
 to
 some
 of
 the
 earliest
 used
 of
 testing
 such
 constructs
 for
 their
 psychometric
 properties,
 a
 procedure
 that
 would
 soon
 become
 one
 of
 the
 major
 uses
 of
 so‐called
 quantitative
 methods
 in
 public
 health.
 What
 I
 did
 not
 know
 at
 the
 time,
 but
 would
 soon
 come
 to
 learn,
 was
 that
 Hochbaum
 was
 one
 of
 those
 social
 scientists
 and
 health
 professionals
 who
 had
 grown
 weary
 of
 the
 dominance
 of
 such
 quantitative
 methods
 in
 social
 and
 health
 sciences
 research.
 This
 dominance
 of
 these
 so‐called
 “quantitative
 approaches
 (i.e.
 survey
 and
 measurement
 methods
 such
 as
 psychometrics
 and
 econometrics,
 hypotheses
 testing,
 large
 randomized
 samples,
 reliable
 and
 valid
 instrumentation,
 experimental
designs,
etc.)


    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    58 views30 pages

    Hat Is Thnography: Methodological, Ontological, and Epistemological Attributes

    Uploaded by

    flannon
    I
was
shocked
to
hear
this
coming
from
Hochbaum,
as
he
was
one
of
the
originators
of
the
Health
Belief
 Model
 (the
 HBM),
 the
 primary
 theoretical
 tool
 for
 health
 education
 at
 that
 time,
 and
 one
 of
 the
 discipline’s
few
justifications
of
itself
as
science.
Moreover,
the
testing
of
various
constructs
found
in
the
 HBM
 led
 to
 some
 of
 the
 earliest
 used
 of
 testing
 such
 constructs
 for
 their
 psychometric
 properties,
 a
 procedure
 that
 would
 soon
 become
 one
 of
 the
 major
 uses
 of
 so‐called
 quantitative
 methods
 in
 public
 health.
 What
 I
 did
 not
 know
 at
 the
 time,
 but
 would
 soon
 come
 to
 learn,
 was
 that
 Hochbaum
 was
 one
 of
 those
 social
 scientists
 and
 health
 professionals
 who
 had
 grown
 weary
 of
 the
 dominance
 of
 such
 quantitative
 methods
 in
 social
 and
 health
 sciences
 research.
 This
 dominance
 of
 these
 so‐called
 “quantitative
 approaches
 (i.e.
 survey
 and
 measurement
 methods
 such
 as
 psychometrics
 and
 econometrics,
 hypotheses
 testing,
 large
 randomized
 samples,
 reliable
 and
 valid
 instrumentation,
 experimental
designs,
etc.)


    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 30

    2004, Tony L. Whilehead. If quoled, Iease cile. Do nol duIicale or dislribule vilhoul ermission.

    Conlacl: lvhilehe+anlh.umd.edu, or 301-405-1419







    ETHNOGRAPHICALLY INFORMED COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL A55E55MENT
    RE5EARCH 5Y5TEM5 (EICCAR5) WORKING PAPER 5ERIE5



    WHAT I5 ETHNOGRAPHY?
    Mcinc!c|cgica|, Onic|cgica|, an! |pisicnc|cgica| Aiiri|uics



    Tony L. Whilehead, Ih.D., MS.Hyg.
    Irofessor of AnlhrooIogy and Direclor,
    The CuIluraI Syslems AnaIysis Grou (CuSAG)
    Dearlmenl of AnlhrooIogy
    Universily of MaryIand
    CoIIege Iark, MaryIand 20742


    Selember 23, 2002.
    Revised March 27, 2004







    1

    Tab!c nI Cnntcnts
    Intrnductinn..................................................................................................................................2
    Ethnngraphy Inc!udcs bnth Qua!itativc and Quantitativc Mcthnds, and bnth
    C!assica! and Nnn-C!assica! Ethnngraphic Mcthnds............................................................6
    Ethnngraphy is mnrc than 5imp!y Mcthnds, but has Ontn!ngica! and Epistcmn!ngica!
    Prnpcrtics.......................................................................................................................................8
    Ethnngraphy is a "Hn!istic" Apprnach tn thc 5tudy nI Cu!tura! 5ystcms and
    Intrnductinn tn thc Cu!tura! 5ystcms Paradigm (C5P) ........................................................8
    Ethnngraphy is thc 5tudy nI thc 5ncin-cu!tura! Cnntcxts, Prnccsscs, and Mcanings in
    Cu!tura! 5ystcms........................................................................................................................15
    Ethnngraphy is thc 5tudy nI Cu!tura! 5ystcms Irnm Bnth "Emic" and "Etic"
    Pcrspcctivcs.................................................................................................................................16
    Ethnngraphy is Grcat!y Dcpcndcnt nn Fic!dwnrk..............................................................17
    Ethnngraphy is a Prnccss nI !"#$%&'() and Cnntinuing Inquirics in an Attcmpt tn
    Achicvc Emic Va!idity ..............................................................................................................17
    Ethnngraphy is an Itcrativc Prnccss nI *'+(,",- /0"#%1'#.................................................18
    Ethnngraphy is an 20',3 /,1'1 /4'(-',5 *'+(,",- Prnccss, and Nnt a 6"-"1
    7,&'#5"-+5%(38%,5(%99'1 /:0'("4',5 .......................................................................................18
    Ethnngraphy is a High!y F!cxib!c and Crcativc Prnccss ....................................................19
    Ethnngraphy is an 7,5'(0('5"&', 6';9':"&', and 8%,#5(<$5"&"#5 Prnccss ...........................20
    Ethnngraphy Rcquircs thc Dai!y and Cnntinunus Rccnrding nI Fic!dnntcs.................21
    Ethnngraphy May bc Carricd nut by Individua! Invcstigatnrs, nr by Tcams nI
    Invcstigatnrs ...............................................................................................................................21
    Ethnngraphy Prcscnts thc Wnr!d nI thcir Hnsts Within a Human Cnntcxt nI
    "Thick!y" Dcscribcd Casc 5tudics. ........................................................................................23
    RcIcrcnccs Citcd ........................................................................................................................24


    2
    Intrnductinn
    In lhe faII of 1978, as a second year research assislanl rofessor in lhe HeaIlh Iducalion Dearlmenl
    (HIID) al lhe Universily of Norlh CaroIina's (UNC) SchooI of IubIic HeaIlh, I found oul lhal my conlracl
    vas under reviev by lhe dearlmenl's fuII rofessors. I vas shocked vhen Guy Sleuarl, lhe dearlmenl
    chair, began lhe reviev vilh lhe commenl lhal lhe dearlmenl vas considering firing me and hiring a
    reaI anlhrooIogisl. I, of course, had no idea vhal he considered a reaI anlhrooIogisl. I had senl
    more lhan seven years sludying and receiving a IhD from one of lhe nalion's Ieading dearlmenls of
    AnlhrooIogy (Universily of Iillsburgh). Why vasn'l lhal reaI enough` NevIy vedded and Ianning
    lo slarl a famiIy and buy a home I vas, I lhink underslandabIy, aggravaled. I quickIy loId Dr. Sleuarl I
    didn'l undersland his commenl. He resonded:

    Wc nirc! qcu ic |ring an aninrcpc|cgica| pcrspcciitc ic cur ccnnuniiq cjjcris. Bui qcu sccnc!
    |cni cn spcn!ing qcur iinc irqing ic |cccnc a |icsiaiisiician. |j uc uanic! a |icsiaiisiician, uc
    ucu|! natc nirc! a rca| cnc, nci scnccnc unc is irqing sc nar! ic |cccnc scnc quasi-siaiisiician.

    Godfrey Hochbaum, anolher of lhe rofessors, lhen commenled lhal lhe dearlmenl vanled and needed
    an anlhrooIogicaI ersecliveexerience in elhnograhic and quaIilalive research. He conlinued:

    |cr ncrc inan na|j a ccniurq quaniiiaiitc ncinc!s natc !cninaic! inc rcscarcn inai injcrns us
    rcgar!ing unai uc !c. Yci uiin a|| cj inc ncncq inai nas gcnc inic jun!ing incsc jquaniiiaiitc}
    inquirics inic i||ncss an! nca|in |cnaticr, incq natc ccniri|uic! ncining ncu in cur
    un!crsian!ing cj inc nunan ccn!iiicn.

    I vas shocked lo hear lhis coming from Hochbaum, as he vas one of lhe originalors of lhe HeaIlh eIief
    ModeI (lhe HM), lhe rimary lheorelicaI looI for heaIlh educalion al lhal lime, and one of lhe
    disciIine's fev |uslificalions of ilseIf as science. Moreover, lhe lesling of various conslrucls found in lhe
    HM Ied lo some of lhe earIiesl used of lesling such conslrucls for lheir sychomelric roerlies, a
    rocedure lhal vouId soon become one of lhe ma|or uses of so-caIIed quanlilalive melhods in ubIic
    heaIlh. Whal I did nol knov al lhe lime, bul vouId soon come lo Iearn, vas lhal Hochbaum vas one of
    lhose sociaI scienlisls and heaIlh rofessionaIs vho had grovn veary of lhe dominance of such
    quanlilalive melhods in sociaI and heaIlh sciences research. This dominance of lhese so-caIIed
    quanlilalive aroaches (i.e. survey and measuremenl melhods such as sychomelrics and
    economelrics, hyolheses lesling, Iarge randomized samIes, reIiabIe and vaIid inslrumenlalion,
    exerimenlaI designs, elc.) vas because il had become generaIIy acceled lhal such melhods are lhe mosl
    reIiabIe looIs lhal ve have for achieving maximum ossibIe reIiabiIily and vaIidily in exIoring
    hyolhesized reIalionshi belveen lhe faclor associaled vilh heaIlh behavior. These demonslralions of
    scienlific rigor lhen came lo |uslify bolh ubIic and rivale inveslmenls of miIIions of doIIars inlo
    survey research cenlers over lhe asl decade vilhin and oulside of academic inslilulions.

    On lhe olher hand, sociaI scienlisls have Iong knovn lhe veakness of such melhods in assessing lhe
    comIexilies of lhe human condilion. Sciences advocaling slricl ruIes of measuremenl usuaIIy oerale in
    a Iinear fashion lo shov causaI reIalionshis belveen seIecl henomena, bul have been Iong knovn lo be
    veak in roviding insighl on lhe reIalionshis belveen lhe conlexls and rocesses of human sociaI Iife,
    and lhe "meaning" lhal humans allach lo sociaI and hysicaI henomena (Denzin 1970:30-31). I vouId
    come lo Iearn lhal human service oIicy makers have conlinued lo find over lhal lhis huge inveslmenl in
    measuremenl aroaches vas having IillIe imacl on lheir abiIilies lo change or infIuence lhe negalive

    3
    heaIlh and sociaI oulcomes in lhe Iives of lhe ouIalions lhal lhey served. WhiIe conlinuing lo
    recognize lhe imorlanl slrenglhs of quanlilalive aroaches, lhere is a groving avareness lhal
    dominanl quanlilalive melhods vere leIIing us IillIe aboul lhe comIexily of lhe human circumslances in
    vhich iII heaIlh and sociaI condilions occur. In 1978, Hochbaum vas seaking lo vhal vas becoming a
    groving lrend among a number of sociaI and heaIlh science researchers and rofessionaIs: a recognilion
    lhal vhiIe lhe so-caIIed quanlilalive melhods had rovided IillIe in heIing us change risk behaviors
    reIaled lo such chronic aduIl condilions as hearl and olher cardiovascuIar diseases, diabeles, and cancers,
    and lhey have been even more Iimiled in heIing us address many of lhe ma|or adoIescenl heaIlh and
    sociaI robIems of lhe asl lvo decades, arlicuIarIy in urban areas, such as high rales o homicides and
    olher vioIence, drug abuse and lrafficking, AIDS and STDs, elc.). On lhe olher hand, lhere has grovn a
    lrend lovards lurning lo lhe so-caIIed quaIilalive research melhods, such as oen ended inlervieving,
    jccus an! cincr grcup inicrticuing, anaIysis of sace uliIizalion, lexl and discourse anaIysis, and so on, have
    lhe slrenglhs lo beller assess conlexl, rocess, and socio-cuIluraI meaning (Denzin, o cil) lhal underIie
    human behavior, incIuding heaIlh risk behavior. Ilhnograhic research melhods vere incIuded among
    lhese so-caIIed quaIilalive research melhods. ul as I discuss in lhis aer, il is inaccurale lo refer lo
    elhnograhy as simIy |usl anolher quaIilalive research melhod.

    IoIIoving my meeling vilh Sleuarl and Hochbaum in 1978, I vouId evenluaIIy Iearn lhal lhey never had
    any inlenlion of nol reneving my conlracl al lhal lime. Sleuarl vanled lo shock me inlo foIIoving
    lhrough vilh vhal he lhoughl I vas lrained lo do, and vhy he had hired me. ul vas I reaIIy lrained lo
    use elhnograhic or quaIilalive melhods` I had been hired because of Sleuarl's viev lhal anlhrooIogisls
    vere elhnograhers, and elhnograhers vere lrained lo do fieIdvork. Sleuarl lhoughl lhal he vas
    gelling an exerl vho vouId assisl in buiIding lhe fieId comonenl of HIID's rogram, and I vas
    immedialeIy assigned lo vork vilh lhis comonenl. Hovever, I vas vhal I vouId caII a cIassicaIIy
    lrained cuIluraI anlhrooIogisl. I had assed my reIiminary exams in lhe four subfieIdscuIluraI
    anlhrooIogy, Iinguislics, archaeoIogy and bioIogicaI anlhrooIogy (aIlhough vilhoul considerabIe
    slruggIe in lhe Iasl lvo)my comrehensive in an elhnograhic area (lhe Caribbean) and a loicaI area
    (medicaI anlhrooIogy), and my lvo Ianguage exams (Irench and Turkish). I had aIso comIeled 15
    monlhs of exlensive fieIdvork in }amaica. ul I vas never lrained lo do fieIdvork. In graduale schooI, I
    look one course in vhich lhe rofessor shared fieId noles and exeriences from lhe fieIdvork lhal carried
    oul for her ovn docloraI disserlalion. ul il vas nol a required course, and I didn'l find myseIf reIying on
    anylhing lhal I had Iearned in lhe cIass vhen I venl lo do my ovn fieIdvork. WhiIe sludenls in my
    lraining rogram vere required lo lake a course in quanlilalive melhods (such as slalislics), I had been
    aIIoved a vaiver because of lhe quanlilalive courses lhal I had laken in my rior maslers degree lraining
    in ubIic heaIlh. I had found, in facl, lhal my earIier inlroduclory lraining in survey research, bioslalislics,
    and eidemioIogicaI melhods vere more heIfuI lo me during my disserlalion research in }amaica lhan
    anylhing lhal I had Iearned during my IhD sludy.

    Il is nol my inlenlion here lo crilique lhe dearlmenl vhere I did my lraining. The dearlmenl vas
    foIIoving a slandard aroach lo IhD lraining rograms in anlhrooIogy dearlmenls lhroughoul lhe
    counlry al lhal lime. In facl, lhe Universily of Iillsburgh had vhal vas considered one of lhe mosl
    rigorous lraining rograms in anlhrooIogy al lhal lime (earIy 1970s). My lraining vas grounded in a
    sorl of henomenoIogicaI eislemoIogy of cIassicaI anlhrooIogy lhal vas revaIenl in lhe disciIine
    during lhose yearsan eislemoIogy lhal sliII dominales, arlicuIarIy among senior cuIluraI
    anlhrooIogisls. Hovever, lhere vas IillIe recognilion of lhe vaIue of lhis lye of lraining vilhin lhe
    UNC SchooI of IubIic HeaIlh in vhich I venl lo vork in }anuary of 1976. I found myseIf emIoyed in a
    dearlmenl in vhich everyone seemed lo have rofessionaI orienlalions lhal vere comIeleIy differenl
    from my ovn. My anlhrooIogicaI lraining had been heaviIy lheorelicaI, and anylhing cIose lo being

    4
    aIied vas dismissed as simiIar lo sociaI vork, and definileIy nol anlhrooIogy. HIID, on lhe olher
    hand, vas slrongIy commilled lo sociaI aclion and communily organizing. Il considered sociaI lheory lhal
    had no aIicalion as queslionabIe, if nol useIess. The dearlmenl mainlained an inleresl in quaIilalive
    lhoughl and melhodoIogy desile lhe facl lhal lhe dominanl research aradigm lhroughoul lhe schooI of
    IubIic HeaIlh vas quanlilalive. Hovever, Sleuarl's ongoing suorl gave me lhe courage lo deveIo a
    quaIilalive melhods course, vhich I began leaching in 1980 and conlinued lo leach unliI I Iefl UNC in
    1987.

    Training in elhnograhic and quaIilalive research melhods has grovn subslanliaIIy since lhe 1970s. The
    number of books and |ournaI arlicIes lhal have been commilled lo lhese lvo research orienlalions has
    skyrockeled over lhe Iasl lvo years, and lhere are nov ubIishers (e.g, Sage Iress and AIlamira Iress)
    vhich have dedicaled enlire series lo lhese melhods. IubIic and rivale sonsorshi of quaIilalive and
    elhnograhic research on sociaI and heaIlh issues has aIso grealIy increased since lhe 1970s and earIy
    1980s. There has been a reIaled demand for lraining in quaIilalive and elhnograhic melhods by graduale
    sludenls across many disciIines, even in dearlmenls in vhich lhe dominanl research orienlalion and
    graduale requiremenls are sliII quanlilalive. These dearlmenls are aIso beginning lo hire facuIly
    members vhose research orienlalion is redominanlIy quaIilalive bul vho, because of lheir minorily
    research orienlalion, oflen find lhemseIves feeIing lhal lhey have lo ro|ecl a more quanlilalive
    orienlalion. Iven given lhis demand, mosl coIIeges and universilies offer fev courses in quaIilalive (and
    elhnograhic) melhods reIalive lo lhe number of quanlilalive courses. Sludenls searching for lraining in
    quaIilalive melhods frequenlIy lurn lo facuIly members in lhe humanilies, vhere quaIilalive melhods
    have Iong been lhe rimary research orienlalion, and lo anlhrooIogy vhere quaIilalive and
    elhnograhic melhods redominale.

    One of lhe osilive asecls of lhe quanlilalive-quaIilalive debale over melhods in lhe sociaI sciences over
    lhe Iasl 30 years has been lhe groving accelance of quaIilalive melhods in sociaI science research,
    research funding, and research lraining rograms. One of lhe dovnsides of lhis debale for elhnograhy,
    hovever, has been lhe crealion of a quanlilalive-quaIilalive melhods dicholomy, vherein elhnograhy is
    considered as simIy anolher quaIilalive research melhod. Thus one of lhe rimary uroses of lhis
    aer is lo argue lhal vhiIe thc prcdnminant mcthnds paradigm of elhnograhy is qua!itativc,
    elhnograhy is mnrc lhan simIy a quaIilalive research melhod. One of lhe reasons lhal lhis dislinclion
    becomes reIevanl is vilh regards lo research funding. Wilh lhe groving accelance of quaIilalive
    research, in heaIlh and human service research funding, lhere has been an increasing caII for research
    ro|ecls lo incIude bolh quanlilalive and quaIilalive comonenls as a means of overcoming lhe
    shorlcomings of bolh. Al lhe same lime, hovever, lhe quanlilalive comonenls in lhese muIli-melhod
    aroaches are sliII lhe dominanl comonenls, vilh lhe quaIilalive comonenls being frequenlIy
    aIIocaled Iess lime and money lo achieve lhe oulcomes lhal vouId be mosl beneficiaI lo ro|ecl oulcomes.
    As such, lhe quaIilalive melhods used are mosl oflen chosen based on vhal is erceived lo be Ieasl coslIy
    and lime consuming. This arlicuIar viev has oflen Ied lhe adolion of a singIe quaIilalive research
    melhod, and one lhal is chea and can be quickIy comIeled, so lhal lhe ro|ecl can move on lo doing lhe
    reaI science. UnforlunaleIy, in heaIlh and human research, focus grou inlervievs are frequenlIy
    chosen as lhal quick and chea melhod. Thus any elhnograher vorking in such an environmenl oflen
    find lhemseIves having lo abandon any inleresl in doing elhnograhy, and adol focus grou, or some
    olher quick and chea melhod lhal is considered quaIilalive. Ior anlhrooIogisls, lhis abandonmenl of
    elhnograhy is aIso somelimes faciIilaled by lhe inabiIily lo arlicuIale vhal is elhnograhy is, and vhy
    shouId il be used. Il lhen becomes easier lo carry oul focus grous, and accel il as a suilabIe subslilule
    for anolher so-caIIed quaIilalive melhod, elhnograhy. Thus anolher urose of lhe resenl aer is lo

    5
    define vhal elhnograhy is. The remainder of lhis aer viII discuss vhal I caII lhe strcngths or
    attributcs nI cthnngraphy, as lhe foIIoving:

    (1) Ilhnograhy incIudes |cin qua|iiaiitc an! quaniiiaiitc ncinc!s, an! |cin c|assica| an!
    ncn-c|assica| cinncgrapnic apprcacncs.

    (2) Ilhnograhy is more lhan simIy ncinc!s, bul has cnic|cgica| and cpisicnc|cgica|
    roerlies.

    (3) Ilhnograhy is a nc|isiic aroach lo lhe sludy of cu|iura| sqsicns.

    (4) Ilhnograhy is lhe sludy of lhe sccic-cu|iura| ccnicxis, prcccsscs, and ncanings vilhin
    cuIluraI syslems.

    (5) Ilhnograhy is lhe sludy of cuIluraI syslems from bolh cnic and ciic erseclives.

    (6) Ilhnograhy is grealIy deendenl on jic|!ucrk.

    (7) Ilhnograhy is a rocess of !iscctcrq, making injcrcnccs, and ccniinuing inquirics in an
    alleml lo achieve cnic ta|i!iiq.

    (8) Ilhnograhy is an iicraiitc rocess of |carning cpisc!cs.

    (9) Ilhnograhy is an cpcn-cn!c! cncrgcni |carning prcccss, and nol a rigi! intcsiigaicr
    ccnirc||c! cxpcrincni.

    (10) Ilhnograhy is a nign|q j|cxi||c and crcaiitc
    1
    rocess.

    (11) Ilhnograhy is an inicrprciitc, rcj|cxitc, and ccnsiruciitisi rocess.

    (12) Ilhnograhy requires lhe daiIy and conlinuous recording of jic|!ncics.

    (13) Ilhnograhy may be carried oul by individuaI invesligalors, or by leams of
    invesligalors.

    (14) Ilhnograhy resenls lhe vorId of ils ncsi pcpu|aiicn
    2
    in human conlexls of inick|q
    !cscri|c! casc siu!ics.

    1
    A caveal here is lhal lhis Iisl of elhnograhic allribules shouId nol be considered lo be exhauslive. Olher elhnograhers may see
    olher allribules lhal are nol Iisled here, and maybe even disagree vilh lhese. The remainder of lhis aer, hovever, viII consisl of
    brief discussions of each of lhese fourleen allribules.
    2
    In vriling lhis essay, I have adoled lhe hrase of hosl ouIalions or elhnograhic hosls lo refer lo lhe members of lhe
    cuIluraI syslem being sludied by lhe elhnograher. I refer lhe vord hosls ralher lhan lhe lradilionaI elhnograhic lerm of
    informanl because in my vork in inner cily communilies I found lhe vord informanl lo be quile avkvard because of lhe use of
    lhe same vord lo refer lo oIice snilches, vho are grealIy disIiked. The vord hosl aIso fils lhe eislemoIogicaI orienlalions being
    discussed in lhe resenl aer of moving avay from any connolalion of lhe researcher being lhe dominanl aclor in lhe researcher-
    researched dyad. As such, I refer lhe vord hosls over lhe sychoIogicaI research use of sludy sub|ecls, or lhe socioIogisls use of
    resondenls or sludy ouIalions, because lhese lerms can aIso imIy a higher slalus in lhe researcher researched reIalionshi for
    lhe researcher. I seIecled lhe vord hosls aIso, lo furlher confirm lhe roIe of fieIdvork in lhe elhnograhic rocess, vhere in lhe
    elhnograher is Iiving in lhe vorId of his or her hosls.

    6

    Ethnngraphy Inc!udcs bnth Qua!itativc and Quantitativc Mcthnds, and bnth
    C!assica! and Nnn-C!assica! Ethnngraphic Mcthnds
    A rimary reason as lo vhy one shouId nol calegorize elhnograhy as simIy anolher quaIilalive
    research melhod is lhal vhiIe lhe dominanl melhodoIogicaI orienlalion of elhnograhy has lradilionaIIy
    been quaIilalive, lhere are some elhnograhers vho have aIvays lended lovards quanlilalive melhods in
    lheir vork. ul erhas, more imorlanlIy, vhiIe mosl elhnograhers mainlain a redominanlIy
    quaIilalive focus in lheir research, some comIemenl lhal focus vilh quanlilalive melhods, vhere use of
    lhe Ialler is aroriale.

    The elhnograher shouId emIoy any and aII means necessary and rudenl lo creale lhe mosl hoIislic
    underslanding of lhe cuIluraI syslem or grou being sludied, incIuding quaIilalive, quanlilalive, cIassicaI,
    and non-cIassicaI elhnograhic melhods. We viII soon discuss lhe hoIislic allribule of elhnograhy,
    vherein individuaIs or grous are sludied vilhin lhe hoIislic conlexls of famiIies, househoIds, nelvorks,
    communilies, socielies, and individuaI and grou hislory. Such hoIislic or conlexluaI anaIysis requires a
    muIli-melhod aroach, vhelher such melhods are quanlilalive or quaIilalive. AIso, vhereas quaIilalive
    dala may rovide rich conlexluaI informalion regarding lhe individuaI roviding such informalion,
    quanlilalive dala musl lhen be coIIecled in order lo slrenglhen bolh lhe inlernaI vaIidily (vhelher lhe
    elhnograher's inlerrelalion of lhe dala is vhal il means lo lhose roviding il) and lhe exlernaI vaIidily
    (reresenlaliveness or generaIizabiIily) of lhe dala.

    CIassicaI elhnograhic melhods are lhose lhal elhnograhers have lradilionaIIy used, such as carrying
    oul fieIdvork and Iiving in lhe Iiving communilies of lheir hosls, observing aclivilies of inleresl,
    recording fieIdnoles and observalions, arlicialing in aclivilies during observalions (arlicianl
    observalion), and carrying oul various forms of elhnograhic inlervieving. Olher melhods lhal
    anlhrooIogisls have lradilionaIIy used incIude lhe hysicaI maing of lhe sludy selling, conducling
    househoId censuses and geneaIogies, assessing nelvork lies, and using holograhy and olher
    audio/visuaI melhods.

    Ilhnograhers have aIso added many non-cIassicaI melhods lo lheir looI kils. The sludy of
    elhnosemanlics is a good examIe of a non-cIassicaI melhod. Ior examIe, elhnograhy is grounded in
    lhe sludy of cuIluraI domains, or lhe meaning lhal sociaI, hysicaI, and melahysicaI henomena have
    for lhe members of a cuIluraI grou. The iniliaI key lo underslanding lhese domains vas in lhe slruclure
    and use of Ianguage. Thus elhnosemanlics evoIved as a lechnique for exIoring cuIluraI domains
    (Casagrande and HaIe 1967, Galevood 1984, HenIey 1969, Lounsbury 1964, Romney and D'Andrade
    1964, SradIey 1979, WaIIace & Alkins 1960). Nev lechniques of slruclured inlervieving evoIved in lhe
    conlinued sludy of cuIluraI domains, incIuding free Iisling, iIe sorling, and aired and lriadic
    comarisons (ernard, orgalli 1999, orsler 1994, orsler & }ohnson 1989, urlon & NerIove 1976,
    Chavez el aI 1995, WeIIer and Romney 1988). ecause such elhnosemanlic exIoralions are carried oul in
    a slruclured inlerviev formal, lhey are nol vhal are generaIIy lhoughl of as quaIilalive research melhods.
    Al lhe same lime, because lhey are exIoralory, ralher lhan hyolhesis lesling, and are usuaIIy nol
    adminislered lo randomized samIes, lhey can nol be calegorized as quanlilalive in lhe more lradilionaI
    sense of lhe vord.

    Anolher non-cIassicaI melhods lhal some elhnograhers have added lo lheir research looI kils incIude
    such comuler assisled lechnoIogies as Geograhic Informalion Syslems (GIS) lo faciIilale lradilionaI

    7
    elhnograhic aroaches of maing lheir hosl communilies (e.g., see AIdenderfer and Maschner 1996,
    CromIey 1999, OIiver-VeIez, el aI. 2001, ennardo 2002, Mallhevs, DelviIer and urlon (in ress). Olher
    non-cIassicaI aroaches lhal have been adoled by many aIied elhnograhers, bul vhich vere nol al
    firsl accelabIe lo lhose anlhrooIogisls vho defined elhnograhy in cIassicaI lerms, are Iocus Grou
    Inlervievs (Agar and MacDonaId 1995) and Raid Ilhnograhic Assessmenls or AraisaIs (Risl 1980,
    Whilehead and rovn 1986, Scrimshav and Hurlado 1987, eebe 1995, Harris, }erome, and Iavcell 1998,
    eebe , 2001). In summary, because of lhe orienlalion lovards underslanding conlexl and meaning from
    lhe erseclives of lheir hosls, elhnograhers nol onIy use a range of melhods, bul lhey musl lhey be
    oen lo lhe use of aII melhods of underslanding lhe human condilions, and nol be rison lo lhe arlificiaI
    boundaries lhal can be crealed by lhe use of such IabeIs as quanlilalive versus quaIilalive (Reichardl and
    Cook 1979), or cIassicaI versus non-cIassicaI elhnograhic melhods.

    To exemIify lhe use of bolh quanlilalive and quaIilalive research melhods vhiIe conducling cIassicaI
    elhnograhy, I offer my disserlalion research in }amaica during lhe caIendar year of 1974, and lhe
    summer of 1975. My research, focused on lhe roIe of emIoymenl and economic slalus on maIe famiIy
    roIe (husband-falhers) erformance in a }amaican sugar lovn (Whilehead 1976). Some reIevanl slalislicaI
    and secondary dala vere anaIyzed rior lo arriving in lhe fieId selling, and conlinued lhroughoul lhe 15
    monlh dala coIIeclion eriod. ShorlIy afler arriving in lhe fieId, I designed a survey inslrumenl and
    carried oul a househoId survey of a randomized samIing of lhe enlire sludy communily (quantitativc).
    Iarlicianl observalion (qua!itativc) melhods vere carried oul during lhe enlire fieIdvork eriod, as
    lime vas senl in various sellings in vhich maIes senl lheir limes (in lhe homes, in vork sellings, in
    rum shos, church, elc.). Iarlicianl-observalion fieIdnoles reveaIed lhal my hosls frequenlIy used
    vords such as |ig, |iii|c, gcc!, uickc!, sircng, ucak, rcspccia||c, and reulalion, vhen discussing maIe
    allribules, and in some cases, femaIe allribules. So elhnograhic inlervievs vere carried oul on a
    subsamIe lo exIore lhe meanings imIied in lhis Ianguage vhen used as gender allribules. These
    inlervievs vere carried oul in a survey formal lo convenience samIes of 180 maIes belveen lhe ages of
    18 and 55 of bolh Iov and high income maIes lo gel some idea of hov broadIy lhese allribules vere
    reresenled, as veII as some olher ilems, in lhe communily. During lhree monlhs of lhe summer of 1975,
    I relurned lo adminisler a queslionnaire simiIar lo lhe Iasl one lo a samIe of femaIes in lhe hosl
    communily (Whilehead 1978). During lhe summer of 1983, I again relurned lo again exIore such
    characlerislics in a more informaI and semi-slruclured inlervieving. (Whilehead 1984,1986, 1992).

    As ve shaII soon see in lhe discussions beIov, elhnograhers oflen find lhemseIves in hosl sellings vhere
    lhe invesligalor conlroI desired in quanlilalive or pcsiiitisi research is IargeIy imossibIe. Thus, insisling
    on mainlaining a singIe, redelermined melhod of inquiry vouId revenl lhe coIIeclion of meaningfuI
    informalion. As such elhnograhers are oen lo a variely of melhods, incIuding melhods lhal are more
    quanlilalive or osilivisl in lheir eislemoIogies. As Denzin and LincoIn (1994:2) have suggesled,
    foIIoving Levi-Slrauss (), lhe effeclive elhnograher shouId be a bricoIeur, a |ack of aII lrades, one
    vho uses vhalever looIs and lechniques are al hand in order lo gain an in-delh underslanding of lhe
    henomena in queslion. According lo lhis definilion, elhnograhy shouId nol be made a sIave lo any
    singIe melhod, vhalever lhal melhod mighl be.



    8
    Ethnngraphy is mnrc than 5imp!y Mcthnds, but has Ontn!ngica! and Epistcmn!ngica!
    Prnpcrtics
    In lhe receding aragrah, lhe reader mighl nolice lhe inlroduclion of lhe vord osilivisl or osilivism.
    This is being done deIiberaleIy lo suggesl lhal in differenlialing research orienlalions ve need lo move
    beyond simIy a discussion of melhods, as in lhe quanlilalive-quaIilalive differenlialion, as lhere are
    olher allribules invoIved in differenl research aroaches. Tvo key allribules of difference, according lo
    Guba and LincoIn (1994) are aIso onloIogicaI and eislemoIogicaI orienlalions. They suggesl lhal schoIars
    vilh differenl research orienlalions may aIso differ nol onIy in lerms of melhods, bul aIso in lerms of
    erseclives on inc naiurc cj unai is |cing siu!ic! (onloIogy), and hov lo besl undersland lhis ob|ecl of
    sludy (eislemoIogy). Researchers may differ in lheir onloIogicaI orienlalions in lerms of vhelher lhey
    adol lhe idea lhal vhal is being sludied exisls as some cxaci henomenon (i.e., lhe idea of an exacl
    ob|eclivily), lhe more osilivisl orienlalion, or lhe nalure of lhe henomenon viII tarq based on a range
    of faclors, incIuding sociaI, economic, oIilicaI, silualionaI, or exerienliaI/ersonaI. Researchers may
    aIso differ eislemoIogicaIIy in lheir beIiefs lhal lhe besl vay lo accuraleIy undersland human sellings is
    lhrough lhe osilivisl invesligalive aroach lhal emhasizes a searalion belveen invesligalor and
    sub|ecl, or an accelance lhal vhal is underslood of lhal selling is lhe roducl of an inlersub|eclive
    rocess belveen invesligalor and sub|ecl. (More on osilivism viII be discussed in Ialer seclions of lhis
    essay).

    My oinl here is lhal underslanding onloIogicaI and eislemoIogicaI orienlalions are reIevanl lo
    underslanding differences in research aroaches, il is aIso imorlanl lo undersland lhal lhese differenl
    hiIosohicaI orienlalions viII frequenlIy diclale lhe seIeclion of melhods lo be used in sociaI research,
    and hov lhose melhods viII be carried oul. Thus differenlialing researchers in lerms of lheir onloIogicaI
    and eislemoIogicaI orienlalions may be more usefuI lhan lrying lo differenliale lhem based on melhods
    because researchers of differenl research hiIosohies may use eilher quanlilalive and quaIilalive
    melhods, or bolh. The rimary argumenl in lhe resenl aer is lhal elhnograhy differs from vhal is
    caIIed quaIilalive research because vhiIe elhnograhy may share many of lhe onloIogicaI,
    eislemoIogicaI, and melhods orienlalions of quaIilalive melhodoIogisls, il may aIso share some vilh so-
    caIIed quanlilalive researchers, and have cerlain orienlalions lhal are nol found in eilher. The remainder
    of lhe elhnograhic allribules lhal are discussed in lhis aer refIecl lhe onloIogicaI and eislemoIogicaI
    roerlies of elhnograhy, as veII as addilionaI references lo melhods.

    Ethnngraphy is a "Hn!istic" Apprnach tn thc 5tudy nI Cu!tura! 5ystcms and
    Intrnductinn tn thc Cu!tura! 5ystcms Paradigm (C5P)
    Ilhnograhers are fond of saying lhal elhnograhy is aIvays defined by lheories of cuIlure. ul rareIy do
    lhey inform you as lo vhal lhose lheories of cuIlure are. In facl, lhroughoul lhe hislory of cuIluraI and
    sociaI anlhrooIogy, lhere have been debales as lo vhal lhe nalure of cuIlure lruIy is. The facl lhal some
    refer lo lhemseIves as sociaI anlhrooIogisls vhiIe olhers refer lo lhemseIves as cuIluraI anlhrooIogisls
    refIecls one of lhe earIiesl robIems vilh lhis concel. More lhan fifly years ago, Kroeber and KIuchon
    (1952) roduced a book lhal comiIed definilions of lhe concel of cuIlure and came u vilh more lhan
    250 conceluaIizalions. Il is a comIex concel, bul in my oinion, a very imorlanl one, even lhough
    difficuIl lo gras. Il is for lhese reasons lhal in lhis seclion, I viII give significanl allenlion lo il, and hov il
    evoIved lo become my rimary onloIogicaI framevork for research and aIied anlhrooIogicaI raclice.


    9
    The Iack of a slandard anlhrooIogicaI definilion of cuIlure conlribuled lo my redicamenl earIy on al
    UNC. Surrounded by coIIeagues vho execled a frequenlIy used anlhrooIogicaI concel lo be
    measurabIe or oeralionaI in aIied sellings, I had difficuIly arlicuIaling a definilion of cuIlure. Over
    years of exerience I began lo synlhesize many definilions of cuIlure lo formuIale a cuIlure concel of my
    ovn, bul aIso one lhal dravs on a variely of olher conceluaIizalions. SimiIar lo lhe resenl discussion
    defining elhnograhy in lerms of ils allribules, cuIlure loo can be defined in lerms of ils allribules of
    cuIlure, among vhich I incIude lhe foIIoving:

    (1) Cu!turc is a "hn!istic" I!cxib!c and nnn-cnnstant systcm vilh conlinuilies belveen
    ils inlerreIaled comonenls, vhich incIude shared i!caiicna| sqsicns (knovIedge,
    beIiefs, alliludes, vaIues and olher menlaI redisosilions), and prcjcrrc! |cnaticrs
    and siruciura| (sccia|) rc|aiicnsnips.

    (2) Cu!turc prnvidcs ru!cs and rnutincs that Iaci!itatc nrdcr, rcgu!arity, Iami!iarity,
    and prcdictabi!ity in vhal is olhervise a disorganized vorId of eoIe, lhings, ideas,
    and behaviors.

    (3) Cu!turc prnvidcs "mcaning" in lhe inlerrelalion of eoIe's behavior, lhings in lhe
    hysicaI and melahysicaI vorId, evenls, occurrences, and so on, so lhal eoIe can
    conslrucl and communicale lheir reaIilies.

    (4) Cu!turc is thc primary snurcc nI a pcnp!c's knnw!cdgc abnut thc wnr!d. In lhe
    conlexl of elhnograhy, cuIlure rovides no inherenl hierarchy of knovIedge,
    inslead il aIies IocaI concelions of lhe definilion of knovIedge (See erger
    1967:15),

    (5) Cu!turc is a sharcd phcnnmcnnn. Members of a cuIluraI grou oflen share
    knovIedge and meaning syslems, or a common sense of reaIily, (erger: 1967:23),
    vhich is referred lo as inlersub|eclivily.

    (6) Cu!turc cnntributcs tn human cnmmunicatinn and 4"#$%44<,"$+5"%,. The
    meanings and inlerrelalions rovided by a cuIluraI syslem nol onIy faciIilale
    communicalion belveen lhose vho share various asecls of such syslems, bul lhey
    may aIso give rise lo miscommunicalions and misunderslandings belveen members
    vho are from differenl syslems.

    (7) Cu!turc imp!ics va!ucs, or lhe referred raclices, sociaI reIalionshis, or ideas and
    senlimenls of a human communily.

    (8) Cu!tura! pattcrns may bc "1'+9 as wc!! as ('+!. IeoIe's slalemenls as lo vhal lheir
    reaIilies are may conlradicl vhal lheir behavioraI allerns and roducls imIy.

    (9) Cu!turc may bc 5+$"5 as wc!! as ':09"$"5. IxIicil cuIlure is cuIluraI knovIedge lhal
    eoIe can easiIy laIk aboul in a direcl fashion. Tacil cuIlure is knovIedge lhal
    molivales arlicuIar idealionaI or behavioraI allerns, bul aboul vhich eoIe may
    nol be abIe lo direclIy seak. (SradIey 1979: 8-9). The concel of ersonaI sace
    (lhe dislance of comforl in lhe conlexl of ersonaI inleraclions) is an examIe of lacil
    cuIlure.

    10

    (10) Cu!tura! pattcrns arc =%(">%,5+99) (vilhin generalions) and &'(5"$+99)
    (inlergeneralionaIIy) rcprnduccd. Hovever, lhere is aIso conlinuous change laking
    Iace vilhin cuIluraI syslems. Thus in Ianned change rograms, such concels as
    core and eriheraI cuIluraI allerns are heIfuI, as core allerns can be
    assumed lo be more resislanl lo change. ul even vilhin core cuIluraI allerns lhere
    is conlinuaI slress for change, as veII as suballerns lhal emerge, disaear, and
    reemerge.

    (11) Thc cxprcssinn nI cu!tura! pattcrns is ="-=9) ",;9<',$'1?@<5 ,%5 1'5'(4",'1 @)?
    ',&"(%,4',5A olh hysicaI and sociaI environmenlaI faclors infIuence cuIluraI
    exression. InvironmenlaI infIuences of a hysicaI nalure mighl lake years or even
    generalions lo exress lhemseIves, vhiIe sociaI environmenlaI fealures may
    infIuence cuIluraI exressions immedialeIy and conlinuaIIy because of cuIluraI
    mechanisms of sociaI feedback.

    (12) Cu!turc is a ="#5%("$+9 0(%1<$5"%,. The emergence and conlinuily of cuIluraI syslems
    are nol onIy roducls of verlicaI and horizonlaI reroduclion. Significanl evenls and
    rocesses can aIso give rise lo lhe roduclion and reroduclion of secific cuIluraI
    allerns.

    (13) Cu!turc is ;<,$5"%,+9. Il is nol ouIar in ouIar schoIarIy discourses of
    oslmodernism and cuIluraI crilicism lo refer back lo lhe funclionaIisl erseclives
    of earIier schoIars Iike MaIinovski, RadcIiffe rovn, and Iarsons. ul lhrough many
    years of exerience as an aIied anlhrooIogisl vorking vilh heaIlh and human
    service rofessionaIs, I have found nolions of cuIlure's roIe in meeling an array of
    human needs lo be very fruilfuI. WhiIe I share crilicaI revievs of lhe misuse of lhe
    concel of cuIlure by asl anlhrooIogisls, I have found lhal hoIislic aroaches lo
    lhe funclionaI quaIilies of cuIluraI syslems are invaIuabIe in deveIoing slralegies
    vhich combal simIislic rograms lhal can do more lo harm lhan lo heI.

    Discerning for myseIf lhe allribules of lhe cuIlure concel has heIed me immenseIy in arlicuIaling il lo
    olhers. Anolher necessary chaIIenge lhal I have faced is in allemling lo oeralionaIize lhe cuIlure
    concel, or arls of il, in order lo use il in an elhnograhic and inlerrelive fashion. In olher vords,
    gaining a cIearer concelion of cuIlure rovided a degree of slandardizalion lo lhe fundamenlaI
    lheorelicaI concel lhal underIies lhe elhnograhic inquiries carried oul by anlhrooIogisls. This sle vas
    mosl necessaryfor lhe nearIy 35 years lhal I have vorked as a heaIlh elhnograher, I have been caIIed
    on lo rovide elhnograhic exerlise lo dozens of ro|ecls vhich cul across a range of heaIlh and sociaI
    fieIds. Moreover, lhe research unil lhal I found in lhe faII of 1989, lhe CuIluraI Syslems AnaIysis Grou
    (CuSAGhll://vvv.cusag.umd.edu), survived for some lime, Iike so many aIied anlhrooIogisls,
    rimariIy on shorl-lerm research conlracls
    3
    . Ior enlilies vhose exislence is deendenl on lhe successfuI

    3
    Ior nine years, CuSAG survived lhrough rimariIy my soIilary efforls lo secure conlracls. Hovever, because elhnograhy had nol
    yel enlered lhe mainslream minds of lhose funding heaIlh conlracls as vorlhy of Iong lerm conlracls and research granls lhal vere
    offered lo more ouIar heaIlh research foIIoving lhe more ouIar osilivisl aroaches, lhe conlracls lhal CuSAG received vere
    shorl lerm (usuaIIy a year or Iess), I found il imossibIe lo mainlain lhis lye of roduclivily in a smaII anlhrooIogy dearlmenl,
    and meel my resonsibiIilies as a fuII lime facuIly member. Moreover, afler suffering a range of chronic heaIlh condilions belveen
    1996 and 2003 (diabeles, cancer, and hyerlension), in 1998, I caIIed a moralorium on ursuing conlracls for CuSAG. Having
    achieved some conlroI over my heaIlh robIems, lhis asl year I have slarled lhe revivaI of CuSAG, bul nol as a conlracl ursuing

    11
    securing of such conlracls, nol having some degree of slandardizalion in bolh melhodoIogies and lheir
    underIying lheorelicaI concels means conslanlIy 'reinvenling lhe vheeI for each nev ro|ecl. This is
    hysicaIIy and menlaIIy lrying. My allemls lo avoid lhis lrying silualion Ied lo lhe deveIomenl of lhe
    CuIluraI Syslems Iaradigm (CSI), a framevork for research vhich is grounded in lhe dimensions of
    cuIlure discussed above.

    Iigure I is a schemalic iIIuslralion of lhe CSI's conslrucl calegories and subcalegories. An assumlion of
    lhis schema is lhal lhe range of human aclivilies can be groued inlo one or more of 9 descrilive
    calegories:

    (1) Thc individua! human nrganism and ils bioIogicaI slalus, sychoIogicaI makeu,
    ersonaIily and idiosyncralic lendencies (incIuding agency), inleIIigence, skiII
    IeveIs, elc.

    (2) Thc sncia! systcms or unils of sociaI reIalionshis vhich individuaIs inleracl vilhin,
    are infIuenced by, and have an infIuence on (residenliaI unils, exlra-residenliaI
    nelvorks and dyads, and communily or socielaI organizalions and agencies).

    (3) IndividuaI and shared (vilh olhers in seIecl sociaI syslems) bchavinra! pattcrns.

    (4) The significanl "idca" systcms (knovIedge, alliludes, beIiefs, vaIues, and
    symboIisms or unils of meaning) heId by individuaIs and sociaI syslems.

    (5) Exprcssivc Cu!turc as reresenled in such forms as Ianguage, music, arl, elc.

    (6) TechnoIogies and human made maleriaI ob|ecls, or matcria! cu!turc.

    (7) The physica! cnvirnnmcnts in vhich humans inleracl.

    (8) Nccds lhal humans musl meel in order lo achieve lhe IeveI of hysicaI funclioning
    necessary lo lhe survivaI of lhe individuaI and grou.

    (9) The human grou's sharcd histnry of significanl evenls and rocesses.

    WhiIe lhe CSI has become my rimary conceluaI framevork for bolh lhe anaIysis of sociaI and cuIluraI
    syslems, lhe schema offered in Iigure 1 is oflen criliqued vhen I have incIuded il in resenlalions al
    anlhrooIogy and olher sociaI science conferences, As such, I feeI lhal I need lo demonslrale lo readers
    lhal il is more lhan lhal by roviding some background on hov lhe CSI evoIved as arl of my
    onloIogicaI and eislemoIogicaI orienlalion as an elhnograher and an aIied anlhrooIogisl. .

    WhiIe lhe CSI vas firsl ubIished in lhe earIy 1980s (Whilehead 1984), ils origin robabIy slarled vilh
    my lraining in ubIic heaIlh in lhe Iale 1960s. Al lhal lime, lhe syslemic aroaches of Iarsons and olhers
    (e.g. Iarsons and aIes , iIIingsIey 1968 ) had nol yel been abandoned as slagnanl funclionaIism, as lhey
    oflen are in loday's more ouIar lheorelicaI aroaches in lhe sociaI sciences, in arlicuIar osl

    enlily as in lhe asl, bul simIy as an onIine enlily, offering informalion and assislance lo lhose vho mighl lhink CuSAG has lhe
    skiIIs lhal lhey vanl.


    12
    modernism, osl slrucluraIism, and crilicaI erseclives. During my graduale schooI days in lhe Iale
    1960s and earIy 1970s, syslems lheory conlinued lo be heaviIy laughl by sociaI scienlisls al Iillsburgh
    vhiIe I vas lhere, and I vas allracled lo lhe aroach for ersonaI reasons. Moreover, my earIy ersonaI
    hislory of groving u bIack in ruraI segregaled soulhern overly conlribuled lo my IifeIong inleresl in
    lhe aIicalion of my lraining lo issues of overly and inequilies in access lo heaIlh and sociaI resources.
    The syslem's framevork of lhe individuaI as a member of muIliIe sociaI syslems significanlIy
    conlribuled lo my conlinued focus on slrucluraI faclors lhal conlribuled lo overly and reIaled robIems.
    The inlroduclion lo syslems lheory lhal I received in ubIic heaIlh, allracled me lo lo lhe concelion of
    hoIism in anlhrooIogy, and lo lhe slrucluraIisl and slrucluraI-funclionaIisl lheories of RadcIiffe-
    rovn () and MaIinovski (). Moreover, as a cuIluraIIy derived
    4
    African American vho grev u
    share croing in lhe Soulh, funclionaIism rovided me vilh a baIance in conlrasl lo lhe bIaming lhe
    viclim modeIs vhich dominaled lhe lhinking on sociaI robIems al lhal lime. In facl I have never found
    loo greal a dislinclion belveen earIy funclionaIisl lheory in anlhrooIogy, and lhe resenl ouIar
    nolions of ersonaI agency vhich is omniresenl in lhe currenlIy ouIar crilicaI aroaches lo
    underslanding lhe human condilion. ul vhal vas so imorlanl lo my deveIomenl as an aIied
    anlhrooIogisl vas lhal lhis earIy inlroduclion lo syslems lheory heIed me lo undersland lhe ossibIe
    sources for lhe comIexily of any sociaI issue lhal olher lheorelicaI modeIs did nol address.

    The CSI began lo emerge as a formaI lheorelicaI and research aradigm during and afler lhe
    elhnograhic fieIdvork vhich I conducled for my Ih.D. disserlalion in }amaica in 1974-75. Ixisling
    lheorelicaI modeIs exIaining Wesl Indian famiIy and reroduclive behaviors veren'l being exIained by
    dominanl lheories al lhe lime on lhe sIil ersonaIilies (Kerr 1963) and normalive duaIism (Smilh 1966) of
    Wesl Indian eoIe. My fieId exerience laughl me lhal lhe sources of ersislenl overly and reIaled
    condilions, as veII as lheir imacl on famiIy slruclure and funclion, vere much more comIex lhan such
    modeIs suggesled. These modeIs vere simiIar lo lhe bIaming lhe viclim modeIs found in Iileralure on
    bIack famiIies in lhe Uniled Slales, as discussed in lhe receding aragrah, and faiIed lo give adequale
    allenlion lo lhe broader more slrucluraI sources of lhese condilions.

    y lhe lime I arrived in lhe fieId in 1974, my lraining in anlhrooIogy had Ied lo a more Marxisl
    orienlalion, somevhal
    5
    reIacing Iarsonian slrucluraIism as lhe lheorelicaI framevork lo heI me
    undersland vhal I sav and exerienced. Hovever, lhe fieIdvork exerience moved me avay from a
    Marxisl modeI because from vhal I couId see, Marxism seemed lo viev everylhing in lerms of broader
    slrucluraI sources. AIlhough a focus on lhe agency of oor eoIe is usuaIIy associaled vilh Marxisl
    lhinking, il did nol rovide me vilh an adequale framevork for underslanding lhe comIexily of lhe
    i!caiicna| syslems of my elhnograhic hosl. I have ubIished eIsevhere lhe comIexily of hov maIes
    among my elhnograhic hosl vieved lhemseIves in lhemseIves in lerms of lheir reIalionshi lo olher
    sociaI syslems in vhich lhey Iived, lheir famiIies, communilies, lhe Iarger }amaican sociely and
    Caribbean, and in lhe reIalionshi of }amaica and }amaicans lo lhe overfuI cosmooIilan counlries of
    IngIand, Canada, and lhe Uniled Slales (Whilehead 1978, 1984, 1986, 1992).

    The }amaican exerience vas vaIuabIe in lerms of my exeriencing hov eoIe inlegraled ecoIogicaI
    faclors, sociaI syslems, and idealionaI conslrucls inlo a syslemic vhoIe, i.e., lhe cuIluraI syslems
    aradigm. Hovever, il vas nol unliI my arrivaI al UNC lhal lhe CSI became a formaI lheorelicaI and
    research modeI. The syslemic orienlalions of Iarsons and olhers became usefuI again vhen I vas asked
    lo leach a course on lhe famiIy, rimariIy because of lhe famiIy heaIlh orienlalion of my ubIic heaIlh

    4

    5


    13
    lraining, and lhe kinshi focus of my anlhrooIogy lraining. I found lhal my earIy allraclion lo syslems
    lheory overIaed vilh lhe facl lhal syslemic (e.g. iIIingsIey 1968) and deveIomenl
    6
    aroaches (e.g.,
    see AIIen 1978) vere lhen and conlinue lo be ouIar lheorelicaI aroaches lo lhe sludy of lhe famiIy.

    The CSI did nol fuIIy emerge unliI lhe Iale 1970s and earIy 1980s as a aradigm for lhe sludy of cuIluraI
    syslems, and as a framevork for designing and imIemenling comrehensive elhnograhic research and
    anaIysis. Il vas al UNC, vhere I slruggIed vilh lhe anxielies and confIicls of being in an aIien
    disciIinary Iand, lhal lhe CSI emerged in resonse lo lvo imorlanl faclors: (1) a Iack of adequale
    modeIs for inlerreling lhe comIex dala generaled by elhnograhic aroaches in a manner aroriale
    for aIied sellings (IeIlo el aI, 1980), and (2) lhe frequency vilh vhich elhnograhic inquiry yieIded
    narralive ansvers from informanls vhich exressed a range of concerns oulside of lhe research queslions
    bul vhich aeared lo be of exlreme imorlance lo lhose being sludied. These diIemmas gave rise lo
    lhree underIying elhnograhic rinciIes vhich are buiIl inlo lhe CSI.

    The firsl elhnograhic rinciIe of lhe CSI is vhal I refer lo as Tnc Princip|c cj Unitcrsa| Hunan Cu|iura|
    Caicgcrics. This rinciIe hoIds lhal ihere are cerlain calegories of henomena vhich are universaIIy
    reIevanl lo human communilies, lhough lhese communilies differ in lerms of hov lhese henomena are
    exressed (cu|iurc). This assumlion is in conlrasl lo lhe eislemoIogy lhal drives mosl osilivisl and
    elhnograhic research aradigms. Il suggesls lhal uc |cck jcr uaqs inai nunans an! incir cu|iurcs arc sini|ar
    before ve began lo Iook for hov lhey vary. Thinking in lhis vay Ied me lo consider lhe deveIomenl of
    broad universaI cuIluraI calegories for designing communily elhnograhies, and for managing and
    anaIyzing lhe Ielhora of dala lhal lhis research oflen yieIds. Thus, lhe basis for lhe nine generaI
    calegories of lhe CSI discussed above, and lhe subcalegories found in each as rovided in Iigure 2.
    Hovever, very imorlanl lo lhis arlicuIar orienlalion is lhal vhiIe lhe CSI suggesls |rca! unitcrsa|
    cu|iura| caicgcrics, il musl be noled lhal nunan communilies and lheir individuaI members tarq in icrns cj
    ncu incsc ccnpcncnis arc cxprcssc!. The |ob of elhnograher, lhen, is lo !ccipncr inc spccijic cu|iura| an!
    in!iti!ua| cxprcssicns uiinin incsc !aia caicgcrics.

    The second elhnograhic rinciIe of lhe CSI is vhal I caII lhe Princip|c cj Para!ignaiic ||cxi|i|iiq, vhich
    slales lhal because of lhe differences in behavioraI and idealionaI exressions across human grous and
    individuaIs, ccnccpiua| jrancucrks inai injcrn inc siu!q cj cu|iura| sqsicns nusi |c j|cxi||c. As a consequence
    of varialions in exression, vhiIe lhe calegories of lhe CSI rovide a framevork for inilialing
    elhnograhic sludy and sloring elhnograhic dala, lhe boundaries of lhese calegories are nol rigid. Dala
    lhal are slored in one CSI calegory al one oinl in lhe elhnograhic rocess may be moved lo or shared
    vilh anolher calegory as lhe elhnograher conlinues lo Iearn aboul his or her hosl cuIlure. The calegories
    of lhe CSI are nol necessariIy ermanenl. Indeed lhe CSI's calegories and subcalegories have changed a
    greal deaI since lhe aradigm vas firsl conceluaIizeda rocess of evoIving conceluaIizalion lhal viII
    conlinue as concelions of human cuIluraI and individuaI varialions aIso evoIve.

    The lhird elhnograhic rinciIe of lhe CSI is vhal I caII lhe Princip|c cj inc |nicrrc|aiicnsnip |ciuccn Sccic-
    cu|iura| Ccnicxis, Prcccsscs, an! Mcaning Sqsicns. This rinciIe hoIds lhal in order lo undersland vhy
    cerlain behaviors emerge and ersisl, incIuding heaIlh risk and resiIiency behaviors, ve musl undersland
    lhe socio-cuIluraI conlexls in vhich lhese behaviors occur, lhe socio-cuIluraI rocesses of behavioraI
    conlexls, and lhe socio-cuIluraI meanings lhal lhese conlexls and rocesses have for lhose vho raclice
    lhem. More secificaIIy, lhe CSI aIIovs us lo hoIislicaIIy sludy:


    6


    14
    (1) inc sccic-cu|iura| ccnicxis of lhe sncia! systcms (househoIds and famiIies, formaI and
    informaI nelvorks, organizalions, grous, dyads, inslilulions and reIalionshis of lhe
    vider communily, sociely, inler-socielaI Iinkages), of vhich individuaIs are
    members, of lhe physica! cnvirnnmcnts occuied by individuaIs and lheir
    significanl sociaI syslems, and of signiIicant individua! and sharcd histnrica!
    pattcrns,

    (2) inc sccic-cu|iura| prcccsscs incIuded in lhe intcractinns nI individua!s with and
    within thcir signiIicant sncia! systcms, vilh and vilhin lhe hysicaI environmenls
    lhal individuaIs and lheir significanl sociaI syslems occuy, and in individuaI and
    shared hislories and allerns of individuaI and grou human needs fuIfiIImenl, and

    (3) inc sccic-cu|iura| ncanings lhal individuaIs and lheir significanl sociaI syslems aIy
    lo sociaI syslemic reIalionshis, lhe hysicaI environmenls lhey occuy, individuaI
    and shared hisloricaI allerns, and allerns of basic human need fuIfiIImenl
    7
    .

    WhiIe lhe concel of cuIlure is usuaIIy lhoughl of as being aIicabIe lo lhe anaIysis of
    socielies, elhnic or nalionaI grous, or IocaI communilies, I have used lhe CSI, and lhe lheories of cuIlure
    lhal underIie lhe aradigm, mosl frequenlIy in lhe anaIysis of iIIness ouIalions (e.g, ersons suffering
    from HIV/AIDS), organizalions, organizalionaI subunils, inslilulions, academic disciIines and
    rofessionaI grous, or olher sociaI human grou as cuIluraI syslems. The use of lhe CSI in anaIyzing
    lhese various sociaI unils as cuIluraI syslems is made ossibIe vhen lhese syslems have lhe foIIoving:

    (1) referred sociaI reIalionshis or slruclures,

    (2) referred (or normalive) idea syslems and behavior allerns,

    (3) vaIued and olher ob|ecls lhal have been roduced by lhe grou,

    (4) exisl vilhin cerlain hysicaI and sociaI environmenls,

    (5) a shared sense of needs lhal lhe grou allemls lo meel, and

    (6) shared hisloricaI evenls and rocesses lhal grou members eilher exIicilIy knov, or
    are lacilIy infIuenced by.

    Discussions of lhe use of lhe CSI in aIied elhnograhic research can be found in exisling ubIicalions
    on food research vhich vere carried oul in Norlh CaroIina in lhe Iale 1970s and 1980s (Whilehead 1984,
    1992). DeveIoing lhe CSI in lhis conlexl vas cruciaI lo my being abIe lo design and effecliveIy carry oul
    a Ialer raid leam elhnograhy ro|ecl in Cameroon (Whilehead and rovn 1986). The CSI has aIso been
    used lo inform lhe design and imIemenlalion of mosl of lhe urban heaIlh reIaled ro|ecls in vhich I
    have been invoIved since eslabIishing CuSAG (See hll://vvv.cusag.umd.edu/rograms).


    7
    There are lhree calegories of human needs oulIined in lhe CSI, nol onIy lhe basic or bioIogicaI/organic needs as oulIined by
    MasIov, bul aIso sociaI needs such as educalion, and exressive needs such as lhe need for having an orderIy viev of lhe hysicaI,
    sociaI, and melahysicaI vorIds. The lhree calegories of human needs are discussed in more delaiI in lhe CIHC Working aer,
    The CuIluraI Syslems Iaradigm.

    15
    Ethnngraphy is thc 5tudy nI thc 5ncin-cu!tura! Cnntcxts, Prnccsscs, and Mcanings in
    Cu!tura! 5ystcms
    To exIore lhis arlicuIar allribule of elhnograhy, ve relurn lo lhe lhird elhnograhic rinciIe of lhe
    CSI discussed above, lhe inlerreIalionshi belveen socio-cuIluraI conlexls, rocesses, and meanings lhal
    are found in cuIluraI syslems. The idea for lhis rinciIe as il aIies lo elhnograhy emerged from lhe
    reaIizalion earIy in my career lhal lhe lradilionaIIy dominanl quanlilalive or osilivisl aroaches lo
    research and inlervenlion rograms in ubIic heaIlh vere rareIy grounded in lhe sociaI, hisloricaI, or
    environmenlaI ccnicxis of lhe Iives of lhe eoIe being sludied or largeled. The sccic-cu|iura| prcccsscs lhal
    lake Iace vilhin lhese ouIalionsand lhal may affecl lheir reaIilies and behaviorsare inadequaleIy
    addressed by such aroaches (See uchanan 1998). The comIexily of human meanings aIied lo
    conlexls and rocesses are oflen ignored, or are bounded in narrovIy defined (for lhe sake of
    measuremenl and demonslralions of causaIily) conslrucls of invesligalor defined alliludinaI scaIes.
    Token Ii service is somelimes given lo discussions of meaning syslems by bringing in quaIilalive
    researchers or anlhrooIogisls. ul lhese consuIlalions have usuaIIy been underlaken in order lo confirm
    or comIemenl aIready exisling non-conlexluaI or bIame lhe viclim modeIs by calegorizing lhese so-
    caIIed beIiefs and vaIues as ecuIiar lo lhe ouIalion being sludied. Olhervise, discussions of beIiefs,
    vaIues, and olher domains of meaning among lhe ouIalion being sludied are ignored in lhe ma|orily of
    heaIlh research.

    The elhnograher is inleresled in lhe socio-cuIluraI conlexls and rocesses in vhich eoIe Iive lheir
    Iives, as veII as lhe meaning syslems vhich molivale lhem. Wilhin an elhnograhic aradigm, lhe aclors
    and lheir corresonding aclions, behaviors, and beIiefs are examined vilhin lhe cuIluraI and socielaI
    conlexl in vhich lhey lake Iace. In so doing, as Agar (1996) suggesled in lhe udale of his cIassic Tnc
    Prcjcssicna| Sirangcr, an elhnograher musl go beyond a focus on IocaI communilies |bul shouIdj..shouId
    siluale lhem vilhin lhe Iarger oIilicaI economy, as eoIe are arl of slales and of a lurbuIenl vorId
    (.11). Such sociaI conlexl brings muIliIe syslems of meanings, some more dominanl lhan olhers in
    affecling lhe Iives of eoIe al lhe IocaI IeveI. As discussed by CIifford:

    !"#$%&'()*$+ -. )/#0)11+ .-#0)#23 42#522% *&52(601 .+.#27. &6 72)%-%'8 9# *&.2. -#. :02.#-&%. )#
    #$2 4&0%3)(-2. &6 /-;-1-<)#-&%.= /01#0(2.= /1)..2.= ()/2. )%3 '2%32(.8 "#$%&'()*$+ 32/&32. )%3
    (2/&32.= #-11-%' #$2 '(&0%3. &6 /&112/#-;2 &(32( )%3 3-;2(.-#+= -%/10.-&% )%3 2>/10.-&%8 9# 32./(-42.
    *(&/2..2. &6 -%%&;)#-&% )%3 .#(0/#0()#-&% )%3 -. -#.216 *)(# &6 #$2.2 *(&/2..2.8? (1986:2)

    oyIe (1994) has suggesled lhal a ccnira| icnci cj cinncgrapnq is inai pccp|cs |cnaticr can cn|q |c un!crsicc!
    in ccnicxi. Al lhe same lime, hovever, emhasis in elhnograhy is Iaced nol on searale behavioraI
    acls, as is oflen lhe case in osilivisl aroaches, bul on hov behavioraI rocesses are Iinked. The rocess
    of ursuing a hoIislic viev of grou oflen incIudes environmenlaI and hisloricaI consideralions vhich
    heI lhe elhnograher gain a beller underslanding of lhe conlexl in vhich an individuaI or grou
    oerales.

    Ilhnograhy lhen aroaches lhe inlerreIalionshis belveen socio-cuIluraI conlexls, rocesses and
    meaning syslems as lhey conlribule lo lhe comIexilies of human reaIilies. Mosl oflen lhis is
    accomIished in vays lhal cannol be adequaleIy addressed by osilivisl aroaches aIone. This became
    very aarenl lo me vhiIe carrying oul research on food and cuIlure in Norlh CaroIina during lhe Iale
    1970s. In order lo be avarded a granl lo ursue lhis research, I had lo commil lo foIIoving a quanlilalive
    aroach vhich vas informed by osilivisl eislemoIogies. ul even afler uliIizing vaIidaled, slruclured
    research inslrumenls, and inlervieving more lhan 200 sludy arlicianls regarding lheir food raclices,

    16
    lhere vere queslions aboul resonse vaIidily because of, among olher lhings, lhe varied meanings
    allached lo much of lhe lerminoIogy ve used in our research (e.g. ealing belveen meaIs.
    8
    ). Iven afler
    seIecling inslrumenls vhich had suosedIy vaIidaled for ruraI bIack ouIalions, and lhen allemling
    lo confirm lheir vaIidily for our secific ouIalion by adminislering a relesl lo a subsamIe of residenls
    of our sludy counly, ve conlinued lo exerience serious robIems, nol onIy vilh varying meanings of
    vords
    9
    , bul aIso vilh Ianguage slruclure, as veII as lhe sliII seemingIy aIien quaIily of lhe inslrumenl
    10
    ,
    and vilh inlerviever-inlervievee sychodynamics. These sychodynamics oflen resuIled in sludy
    arlicianls finding a safe Iace vilhin our coded ansvers lo resond, regardIess of lhe queslion lhal vas
    being asked. A subsequenl granl aIIoved us lo dro lhe lradilionaI eidemioIogicaI modeI ve had been
    foIIoving in favor of a more elhnograhic aroach
    11
    . Abandoning a more osilivisl aroach aIIoved us
    lo achieve lhe ma|or findings of lhe sludy, rimariIy lhal concelions of food exlended veII beyond
    simIy ealing and nulrilion and vere infIuenced by a variely of comIex socio-cuIluraI faclors. We have
    found simiIar inlerreIalionshis in sludies of vioIence (Whilehead, el aI 1994), risk faclors for AIDS in
    inner cily communilies (Whilehead, 1997), drug lrafficking and lhe resenl incarceralion eidemic among
    bIack men (Whilehead, 2000), and in lhe risk behaviors of adoIescenl African American femaIes.

    Ethnngraphy is thc 5tudy nI Cu!tura! 5ystcms Irnm Bnth "Emic" and "Etic"
    Pcrspcctivcs
    The rimary aim of elhnograhy is lo undersland lhe socio-cuIluraI conlexls, rocesses, and meanings of
    a cuIluraI syslem from lhe erseclive of lhe members of lhal syslem. To achieve lhis underslanding, lhe
    elhnograher shouId mainlain bolh an emic and an elic aroach lo sludying any given cuIluraI
    syslem. An emic aroach allemls lo undersland comonenls of a cuIluraI syslem from lhe erseclive
    of lhe grou being sludied. The elic aroach, on lhe olher hand, anaIyzes a cuIluraI syslem vilh
    research aradigms broughl by lhe researcher from oulside of lhal syslem (IeIlo and IeIlo 1978).

    The emic erseclive is crilicaI lo lhe elhnograher's rimary goaI of Iearning lhe vorId of his or her hosl
    communily from lhe erseclives of ils members. As MaIinovski oinled oul more lhan 80 years ago, lhe
    goaI of elhnograhy is ic grasp inc naiitcs pcini cj ticu.ic rca|izc nis tisicn cj inc ucr|! (1922:25).
    Moreover, as suggesled by Guba and LincoIn (1997:198), lhe various hyolheses, lheories, and
    inlerrelive framevorks broughl by oulside invesligalors naq natc |iii|c cr nc ncaning uiinin inc cnic
    ticu cj siu!ic! in!iti!ua|s, grcups, scciciics, cr cu|iurcs. Al lhe same lime, comIemenling lhe emic vilh an
    elic vievoinl is imorlanl for underslanding aII asecls of a human grou. ecause lhe allribules of
    cuIlure incIude dicholomies such as lhe ideaI versus lhe reaI and lhe lacil versus lhe exIicil, lhe
    elhnograher musl mainlain some sense of an exlernaI, ob|eclive framevork. This rovides vhal I caII
    'emic vaIidily'underslanding from lhe erseclives of elhnograhic hosls lhrough rigorous and
    ileralive observalions, inlervieving, and olher modes of elhnograhic inquiry. In lhe end, lhe
    elhnograher musl kee in mind lhal lhe roducl of elhnograhic vork is a descrilive reconslruclion of

    8
    We had found in our relesls lhal lhe use of lhe vord snacking vas oen lo broad varialions in meaning, so ve adoled lhe
    hrase of ealing belveen meaIs. Hovever, as ve Ialer found in our elhnograhic sludy, much of lhe dala ve had in resonse lo
    lhe queslion of ealing belveen meaIs vas aIso invaIid because for some of our arlicianls, a meaI vas somelhing lhal you sil
    dovn lo a labIe and eal. Thus some eoIe vieved lhemseIves as onIy having one meaI er day, bul vas ealing belveen meaIs aII
    of lhe lime.
    9

    10

    11


    17
    lhe hosls' ovn conslruclion of lheir vorIds. This reconslruclion can be besl achieved by baIancing lhe
    emic underslanding vilh vhal is Iearned lhrough an elic erseclive.

    Ethnngraphy is Grcat!y Dcpcndcnt nn Fic!dwnrk
    SradIey (1980:3) slaled lhal cinncgrapnic jic|!ucrk is inc na||nark cj cu|iura| aninrcpc|cgq. Agar (1980) has
    argued lhal lhe very name for !cing cinncgrapnq is fieIdvork. My use of lhe vord elhnograhic hosls
    ralher lhan lhe lradilionaI informanl used lradilionaIIy in elhnograhy imIies lhe roIe of fieIdvork in
    elhnograhy, vherein lhe elhnograher Iive among lhose uon vhom he or she is researching, and lhey
    are his or her hosl. A rimary reason for fieIdvork is lo achieve lhe emic vaIidily lhal elhnograhy
    romises. eing in lhe fieId and coming lo a lhorough underslanding of lhe daiIy Iives of lhe grou
    under sludy is one of lhe key comonenls of any elhnograhic enlerrise. IieIdvork aIIovs lhe
    researcher lo observe and examine aII asecls of a cuIluraI syslem, eseciaIIy lhose lhal couId nol be
    addressed lhrough Iaboralory or survey research aIone. Sending Iong eriods of lime in lhe fieId is
    considered lhe cruciaI asecl of lhe cIassicaI elhnograher's abiIily lo comrehensiveIy describe
    comonenls of a cuIluraI syslem as accuraleIy and vilh as IillIe bias as ossibIe. IislemoIogicaIIy, lhe
    cIassicaI elhnograher beIieves lhal lhe onIy vay lo gain a nalive's viev of his or her ovn vorId is lo
    send lime in lhal vorId, according lo SradIey (ibid), pariicipaiing in aciitiiics, asking qucsiicns, caiing
    sirangc jcc!s, |carning a ncu |anguagc, uaicning ccrcncnics, iaking jic|!ncics, uasning c|cincs, uriiing |ciicrs
    ncnc, iracing cui gcnca|cgics, c|scrting p|aq, inicrticuing injcrnanis, an! nun!rc!s cj cincr inings.

    Indeed, one of lhe rimary melhods used in elhnograhy is arlicianl observalion, vhich imIies lhal
    lhe elhnograher nol onIy observes aclivilies in lhe fieId selling, bul aIso arliciales in lhem vherever
    ossibIe. Long-lerm arlicianl observalion, as advocaled in cIassicaI elhnograhy, is lhe means for an
    elhnograher lo discern vhal is reaI versus vhal is ideaI, vhal is exIicil from vhal is lacil, and vhal is
    emicaIIy vaIid. Iarlicianl observalion by definilion lakes Iace vilhin lhe sociaI sellings lhal are famiIiar
    and significanl lo lhe elhnograher's hoslslhose sociaI sellings lhal rovide lhe socio-cuIluraI conlexls,
    rocesses, and meaning syslems of lheir vorId.

    Ethnngraphy is a Prnccss nI !"#$%&'() and Cnntinuing Inquirics in an Attcmpt tn
    Achicvc Emic Va!idity
    Among lhe onloIogicaI orienlalions in vhich elhnograhy is grounded is lhe viev lhal humans, as lhe
    rimary ob|ecl of sludy, conslrucl nu|iip|c rca|iiics lhal are comIex, muIlifaceled, differenlIy exressed in
    secific silualions, and conlinuaIIy undergoing change. IislemoIogicaIIy, lo gras an underslanding of
    such reaIilies, lhe cIassic elhnograhic enlerrise does nol begin vilh redelermined hyolheses lo be
    roved or disroved as ob|eclive sociaI facl, bul begins vilh oen-ended exIoralory allemls lo Iearn as
    much as ossibIe aboul lhose reaIilies. In lhe end, lhis rocess enabIes lhe elhnograher lo describe lhese
    reaIilies and lhe conneclions belveen lhem vilh as much emic vaIidily as ossibIe. A Iarge arl of
    gaining as much informalion as ossibIe is lhrough lhe coIIeclion of secondary and exisling informalion
    (slalislicaI, schoIarIy and ouIar ubIicalions, elc.) on lhe elhnograhic hosl and lheir sociaI and
    hysicaI environmenls. ecause of lhe exIoralory orienlalion of elhnograhy, lhis secondary
    informalion is nol assessed so much lo generale hyolheses lo be roved or disroved in lhe
    elhnograhic selling (aIlhough lhis is an olion), as il is lo conlribule baseIine knovIedge aboul lhe
    research selling, and lo generale queslions vorlhy of elhnograhic exIoralion. The elhnograhic
    enlerrise is as much aboul discovering lhe righl queslions lo ask (rocess) as il is aboul finding lhe
    ansvers lo lhose queslions (roducl). Ilhnograhy enlaiIs conlinuaI observalions, asking queslions,

    18
    making inferences, and conlinuing lhese rocesses unliI lhose queslions have been ansvered vilh lhe
    grealesl emic vaIidily ossibIe.

    The elhnograher is nol aIvays immedialeIy avare of nev discoveries vhiIe in lhe fieId. I discuss nol
    discovering lhe imorlanl concel of baIance among lhe }amaican maIe hosls unliI I had been in lhe
    fieId selling for eighl monlhs, unliI I recognize lhrough revievs of my fieIdvork lhal lhe vork vas
    reealedIy used in conversalions by maIes regarding maIes. Once discovering il, I lhen began focusing on
    il and found lhal il vas an imorlanl concel in exIaining lhe uzzIe lhal I had had for some lime
    regarding hov maIes couId seem lo vaIue behaviors lhal seemed lo be oosile from my erseclive.
    Ior examIe, for some maIes having chiIdren vas an indicalor of a man's slrenglh, lhe more chiIdren by a
    number of vomen, lhe slronger lhe man. Al lhe same lime hovever, a man vho had so many chiIdren
    lhal il couId mesh u (deslroy) his reIalionshi vilh his rimary male vas seen as veakness. (See
    Whilehead 1986, 1992).

    I discussed my slruggIes vilh lhe conslrucl of baIance in }amaica vilhin Agar's (1982) aIicalion of
    Gadamer's (1975) concels of |rcak!cun, rcsc|uiicn, and ccncrcncc. Ior lhe elhnograher, according lo
    Agar (1982:783), breakdovn occurs vhen lhere is a dis|unclion belveen vorIdslhe elhnograher's
    vorId and lhe hosl cuIlure's vorId. Thal is, lhe elhnograher does nol have a framevork for making
    sense of vhal he or she is observing, as his or her assumlion of coherence has been vioIaled. ResoIulion
    is lhe (elhnograhic) rocess of achieving coherence. In facl, Agar imIies lhal vhiIe an elhnograher
    mighl have been in lhe fieId for some vhiIe, lhe elhnograhic rocess begins in earnesl vhen
    breakdovns occur because lhe need for finding coherence romls lhe deveIomenl of focused queslions
    and a search for ansvers--lhe rocess of resoIulion. The rocess of breakdovn-resoIulion-rocess aIso
    accenluales lhe imorlance of being in lhe fieId, as such rocesses viII occur more frequenlIy in lhose
    environmenls in vhich elhnograhic hosls send mosl of lheir lime.

    Ethnngraphy is an Itcrativc Prnccss nI *'+(,",- /0"#%1'#
    The rocess of conlinuaI inquiries discussed in lhe receding seclion are organized and carried oul in a
    !iscursitc or iicraiitc formal. The elhnograher enlers a research selling vilh an orienlalion lovards
    discovering nev knovIedge lhrough muIliIe Iearning (elhnograhic dala coIIeclion) eisodes. Iach
    subsequenl Iearning eisode buiIds on queslions lhal emerged during receding eisodes. As such, each
    subsequenl dala coIIeclion melhod or inslrumenl is designed and imIemenled in order lo comIemenl
    and enhance lhe dala aIready coIIecled. Thal is lhis ileralive aroach aIIovs an elhnograher's ongoing
    exerience in lhe fieId lo inform decisions on subsequenl melhods and aroaches. As slaled earIier, lhis
    rocess invoIves muIliIe lechniques and melhods for dala galhering or Iearning, as melhods are seIecled
    for lheir uliIily in reveaIing vhal is lo be Iearned.

    Ethnngraphy is an 20',3 /,1'1 /4'(-',5 *'+(,",- Prnccss, and Nnt a 6"-"1
    7,&'#5"-+5%(38%,5(%99'1 /:0'("4',5
    SradIey (1979) has commenled lhal elhnograhy is nol so much aboul sludying eoIe as |carning jrcn
    incn. Ilhnograhy is lhe rocess of Iearning aboul elhnograhic hosls' vorIds or cuIluraI syslems, as
    lheir sociaIizalion inlo or exerience vilh lhese syslems has rendered lhem as exerls on various asecls
    of lheir vorIds. Thus lo be effeclive al his or her crafl, lhe elhnograher Iearns lo become comforlabIe
    vilh aearing unknovIedgeabIe or ignoranl of lhe vorId aboul vhich he or she is Iearning. This
    Iearning rocess is an ongoing one lhroughoul lhe fieIdvork enlerrise, unliI lhe elhnograher feeIs lhal

    19
    he or she has an underslanding of lhal vorId from lhe erseclives of his or her hosls. As such, many
    elhnograhers have lradilionaIIy re|ecled or been quile uncomforlabIe vilh lhe emhasis Iaced on
    invesligalor conlroI lhal is lhe cornerslone of quanlilalive or osilivisl aroaches lo sociaI research. The
    osilivisl emhasis on invesligalor conlroI is oflen characlerized by lhe deveIomenl of a research design
    and hyolheses lo be lesled, as veII as lhe deveIomenl of dala coIIeclion inslrumenls and anaIysis rior
    lo lhe researcher sending any significanl lime in lhe cuIluraI syslem lo be sludied. The osilivisl
    researcher musl buiId inlo his research design melhods for conlroIIing variabIes lhal mighl ossibIy
    infIuence lhe oulcome of lesls lo vaIidale hyolhesized reIalionshi(s) belveen sludy variabIes. Il is nol
    onIy lhis redelermined slruclure lhal is robIemalic for elhnograhers, bul aIso lhe rigidily lhal is
    inherenl in lhe imIemenlalion of lhese designs. In osilivisl or quanlilalive orienlalions, nol onIy are
    one's research queslions, hyolheses, and melhods redelermined before significanl lime is senl in lhe
    sociaI selling lo be sludied, bul once such designs are eslabIished, lhey usuaIIy can nol be aIlered,
    regardIess of vhal is Ialer Iearned from lhe sludy selling. Why elhnograhers may Iearn such rigid
    osilivisl aroaches, and use lhem lo ansver secific research queslions, or in secific research sellings,
    lhe elhnograhic allribule of discovery orienled diclale lhal elhnograhers musl aIso remain oen lo nev
    discoveries as lhey emerge during lhe fieIdvork rocess. Thal is, lhe elhnograher musl nol aIIov
    exisling knovIedge (incIuding scienlific, lheorelicaI, and melhodoIogicaI orienlalions) from revenling
    lhe absorlion of nev knovIedge gained during lhe fieIdvork rocess, or as Geerlz (1973) uls il lhe
    elhnograher musl aIIov comonenls of lhe cuIluraI syslem lo be reveaIed lhrough lhe fieIdvork
    rocess.

    I have numerous examIes from differenl fieIdvork sellings lo suorl lhe oinl of being oen lo
    discoveries in lhe fieId, and hov lhese discoveries can Iead lo a more vaIid underslanding of lhe sociaI
    selling and issues being sludied. Hovever, I onIy have sace in lhis aer for one, vhich I lake from lhe
    cIassic elhnograhic fieIdvork lhal I carried oul in }amaica in 1974-75 on maIe famiIy roIe erformance.
    As a IhD candidale, I vas quile knovIedgeabIe regarding lhe Ielhora of Iileralure on }amaican and
    Wesl Indian famiIy slruclure, and one of ils mosl imorlanl domains, maIe-femaIe con|ugaI reIalionshis.
    Hovever, I had nol come across lhe hrase vicked voman in lhal Iileralure, bul vhich lurned oul lo
    be one lhal I vouId come lo hear oflen during lhe course of my fieIdvork. The frequency vilh vhich I
    heard lhe hrase, and ils reIalionshi lo lhe imorlanl domain of maIe-femaIe reIalionshi meanl lhal I
    needed lo undersland vhal lhe hrase meanl for lhose vho used il. Thus afler 8 monlhs of cIassicaI
    elhnograhy, I deveIoed an inslrumenl lo exIore lhe meaning among convenience samIes of 80 men,
    and 40 femaIes, and came lo find lhal lhe behavior of lhe vicked voman of significance lo conslrucls of
    mascuIinily vas nol lhe roslilule or lhe femaIe con|urer, bul lhe voman vho vouId Ieave her arlner
    afler he had vorked hard lo rovide for her
    12
    .

    Ethnngraphy is a High!y F!cxib!c and Crcativc Prnccss
    Anolher reason lhal elhnograhers, in arlicuIar lhose of subslanliaI elhnograhic exerience, find lhe
    rigid melhodoIogicaI orienlalion of osilivism difficuIl, if nol imossibIe, lo foIIov is because of lheir
    exerience of finding lhemseIves in so many research sellings over vhich lhey are nol abIe lo have lhe
    invesligalive conlroI lhal is so highIy vaIued in more osilivisl research orienlalions. Mosl oflen lhe
    elhnograher vorks in a silualion in vhich his or her hosl ouIalion has grealer immediale conlroI of
    lhe research selling lhan lhe elhnograher
    13
    . Thus lhe success of lhe elhnograher's research enlerrise is

    12

    13
    Ixcelions vouId be elhnograhies carried oul among inslilulionaIized or some olher calive ouIalion, such as hosilaI or
    rison inmales, cIassrooms of sludenls, elc.

    20
    more deendenl on lhe goodviII and cooeralion of his or her hosl lhan is usuaIIy lhe case for lhose vho
    ersisl in foIIoving a more osilivisl research aradigm. In some inslances, il is nol onIy lhe research
    rocess uon vhich lhe elhnograher is deendenl on his hosl ouIalion, bul he or she may find earIy
    in lhe elhnograhic rocess lhal his or her menlaI and hysicaI funclioning or comforl is deendenl on
    his or her hosl. ecause of such circumslances, lhe elhnograher oflen finds him or herseIf having lo go
    vilh lhe fIov of lhe socio-cuIluraI conlexls and rocesses of lhese research sellings. Thus elhnograhers
    have lo be highIy fIexibIe in lheir aroach lo underslanding lhe human condilion. Moreover lhe oen-
    ended, emergenl and ileralive allribules of elhnograhy described earIier mean lhal lhe elhnograher
    musl conslanlIy be crcaiitc during lhe elhnograhic rocess. Once in lhe fieId selling, elhnograhers
    somelimes find lhal eilher lhe melhodoIogicaI or lheorelicaI orienlalions lhal lhey had Ianned lo foIIov
    vere nol ossibIe, or acluaIIy had no reIevance for lhe ouIalion or lhe issue lhey had iniliaIIy Ianned
    lo sludy. Or once in lhe fieId, silualions and circumslances change conslanlIy. Gaining access lo
    arlicianls, being abIe lo documenl fieIdnoles in a limeIy manner, having lo use muIliIe melhods,
    managing a leam of eoIe, aII require crealivily and resourcefuIness. In elhnograhy, lhere is a greal
    deaI of uncerlainly. An allilude of fIexibiIily and crealivily can grealIy ease lhe rocess lhal enabIes
    research success.

    Ethnngraphy is an 7,5'(0('5"&', 6';9':"&', and 8%,#5(<$5"&"#5 Prnccss
    In addilion lo vhal I have been referring lo here as emic vaIidily (underslanding lhe meanings of sludied
    henomena from lhe hosl erseclive), AIlheide and }ohnson (1994) discusses lhe concel of
    inlerrelive vaIidily. Their lerminoIogy is based on lhe erseclive lhal aII research findings are
    inlerrelalions made by lhe researcher of vhal he or she has observed in lhe research selling. As such il is
    Iong been acceled among osilivisl researchers lhal biased inlerrelalions are ossibIe, and lhus lhey
    have Iong allemled lo overcome such biases lhrough slalislicaI and melhodoIogicaI lrealmenls. Since
    osilivisl aroaches have dominaled lhe sociaI science research scene, lhe findings from elhnograhers
    and quaIilalive researchers have Iong been dismissed as nol having vaIidily because lhey don'l
    reIigiousIy foIIov such rigid melhodoIogicaI regimens. As such, as AIlheide and }ohnson oinl oul,
    rcj|cxitiiq is lhe besl rescrilion for enhancing inlerrelive vaIidily. They define refIexivily as lhe
    recognilion lhal lhe scienlific observe is arl and arceI of lhe research selling, conlexl and cuIlure he or
    she is lrying lo undersland and reresenl (AIlheide and }ohnson 1994:486). As such lhe inlerrelalion or
    reresenlalion (research findings) bias lhal an elhnograher mighl have may be based nol onIy his or her
    ovn cuIluraI, ersonaI lheorelicaI or melhodoIogicaI aradigms broughl lo lhe research sellings, bul aIso
    lo lhe dynamics of lhe research rocesshis or her inleraclions vilh lhe hosl communily.
    14
    As such,
    anolher definilion of elhnograhic refIexivily is lhal il's nol onIy an ongoing rocess of nol onIy vhal is
    being observed or sludied, bul aIso a conlinuing examinalion and reexaminalion of lhe basis for one's
    inlerrelalions, and lhe olenliaI biases in reresenlalion.

    Anolher allribule of conlemorary elhnograhy is lhe underslanding lhal a orlion of lhe reaIilies lhal
    are reresenled in an elhnograher's findings are conslruclions crealed nol onIy by lhe observalions of
    lhe elhnograher bul aIso because of inul from lhe hosl. A conslruclivisl vievoinl imIies lhal for lhe

    14
    Il shouId be noled hovever, lhal vhiIe vhal is considered as a refIexive erseclive is videIy acceled in conlemorary
    elhnograhy, il vas nol aIvays lhe case. WhiIe lhere has Iong been some lradilion of refIexivily in elhnograhy (for examIe in lhe
    oasian schooI of anlhrooIogy and lhe Chicago SchooI of SocioIogy), lhe orienlalion became a core eislemoIogicaI allribule of
    elhnograhy vilh lhe rise of oslmodern and oslslrucluraI lhinking in lhe sociaI sciences and humanilies during lhe 1970s, vhich
    coincided vilh lhe ubIicalion of MaIinovski's diary (vhich indicaled lhal some of his reresenlalions of his MeIanesian hosls
    mighl have been infIuence by his ovn lhoughls and inleraclions vilh his hosl communily.

    21
    elhnograher, reaIily does nol exisl as a neulraI ob|eclive henomena lhal can be accuraleIy reveaIed, Iel
    aIone accuraleIy measured. Ralher, reaIilies are |oinlIy conslrucled al given oinls in lime by lhe
    elhnograher in con|unclion vilh lhe eoIe being sludied. Thal is, anolher elhnograher sludying lhe
    same loic in lhe same elhnograhic selling may come oul vilh differenl findings because of lhe
    differences in lhe elhnograhers, lhe fieIdvork dynamics, and some differences in lhe hosl ouIalion.

    Ethnngraphy Rcquircs thc Dai!y and Cnntinunus Rccnrding nI Fic!dnntcs
    Ilhnograhers are conlinuousIy recording as fieIdnoles, vhal lhey are observing and Iearned in lhe fieId
    selling. The oen-ended, emergenl, discovery-orienled ileralive, and refIexive allribules of lhe
    elhnograhic enlerrise make lhe coIIeclion of daiIy fieIdnoles necessary simIy as a means of recording
    vhal is being observed and exerienced by lhe elhnograher. As lhe elhnograher Iearns aboul lhe
    cuIlure in vhich he or she is vorking, simiIar lo a sludenl laking noles in a cIassroom, he or she musl
    record dala and observalions vhiIe lhey are sliII fresh in lhe mind. The rich delaiIs vhich make fieIdnoles
    vaIuabIe require lhal an elhnograher make lhese noles each and every day in lhe fieId. Wilh each day
    lhal asses foIIoving a fieIdvork exerience, lhe recoIIeclion of il inevilabIy Ioses lhe cIarily and
    significance uon vhich anaIysis is bases. Mosl elhnograhers mainlain lheir daiIy fieId noles in fieId
    |ournaIs. ecause of lhe emergenl nalure of elhnograhy, lhe vaIue of mainlaining fieId noles becomes
    aarenl during Ialer revievs of lhe |ournaI as lhe elhnograher begins lo ick u on cuIluraI allerns.
    These allerns oflen reveaI a sociaI or cuIluraI significance of vhich lhe elhnograhic hosls lhemseIves
    may nol even have been consciousIy avare. DaiIy fieIdnoles aIso faciIilale lhe ileralive and inlerrelive
    rocesses of elhnograhy, as lhe reealed coIIeclion and recording of dala heIs lhe elhnograher
    achieve an emicaIIy vaIid roducl in vhich findings are reealed oflen and in delaiI. Taking fieIdnoles
    aIso faciIilales lhe elhnograhic allribules of refIexivily and conslruclivism, in lhal lhe elhnograher nol
    onIy records his or her observalions of lhe elhnograhic selling, bul aIso his or her reaclions lo vhal is
    observed or exerienced.

    Ethnngraphy May bc Carricd nut by Individua! Invcstigatnrs, nr by Tcams nI
    Invcstigatnrs
    Ior many researchers, lhis asecl of elhnograhy may aear lo be obvious. Hovever, many
    elhnograhers (and many of lhose vho hire elhnograhers) lhink of elhnograhy as an individuaI
    endeavor. Indeed, mosl cIassicaI elhnograhic reorls have been lhose of Ione elhnograhers.
    Inlerrelivisl, refIexive, and conslruclivisl eislemoIogies have suorled lhis cIassicaI aroach lo
    elhnograhy. UndoubledIy, an individuaI researcher vho has senl a Iong eriod of lime in lhe fieId is
    caabIe of roviding carefuI and veII lhoughl oul anaIyses in lhe course of elhnograhic anaIysis and
    vriling. I am a slrong advocale of an elhnograher's lraining incIuding lhis kind of cIassicaI elhnograhic
    exerience. I beIieve lhal such an exerience is cruciaI lo deveIoing imorlanl eislemoIogicaI
    orienlalions of elhnograhy. Al lhe same lime, hovever, I am aIso a slrong advocale of mosl
    elhnograhy being a leam efforl because of lhe dislincl advanlages of division of Iabor and increased
    manover, arlicuIarIy in aIied sellings.

    I admil lhal I have aIvays been a IillIe uneasy aboul my abiIily lo be lrue lo lhe concel of hoIislic sludy
    of communilies vhen I have vorked aIone, and I am a IillIe susicious of coIIeagues vho say lhey can
    rovide such comrehension. Taking a hoIislic aroach lo lhe elhnograhic sludy of human
    communilies requires an overvheIming amounl of vorkmore vork lhan a singIe elhnograher can
    reasonabIy accomIish, no maller hov Iong-lerm lhe research. Moreover, in mosl of lhe communilies in

    22
    vhich I have vorked lhere have been conslrainls on my abiIily lo reach cerlain segmenls of lhe
    ouIalion because of barriers regarding sex, age, elhnicily, race, cIass, or nalionaIily. As such, lhe
    rimary advanlages of lhe leam elhnograhy aroach is a division of Iabor and, in lhe case of a
    henolyicaIIy and socio-cuIluraIIy diverse leam, lhe abiIily lo use differenl members of lhe research
    leam lo gain enlree inlo differenl ouIalion segmenls of lhe hosl communily.

    Al lhe same lime, in aIied research, lhe hoIislic erseclive lhal an anlhrooIogisl can bring aIied
    efforls (e.g. Ianned inlervenlions lo address communily heaIlh robIems) is cruciaI because vilhoul
    such hoIislic erseclives inlervenlions informed by such research can be misdirecled because of ils Iack
    of emic vaIidily. Al lhe same lime, if research based on a hoIislic erseclive is going lo be
    recommended, il shouId have lhe research skiIIs invoIved lo achieve lhal erseclive. Oflen limes lhe
    singIe elhnograher does nol have lhe range of research skiIIs necessary lo adequaleIy address lhe
    comIexilies inherenl in a hoIislic aroach lo lhe sludy of a cuIluraI syslem.

    eyond melhods, a leam aroach aIso aIIovs lhe elhnograhy lo cailaIize on lhe slrenglhs and
    comensale for lhe veaknesses of any individuaI leam member. Ior examIe, some researchers are more
    skiIIed al inleracling vilh communily residenls, for inslance, vhiIe olhers are nol as comforlabIe or
    inleresled in lhose inleraclions. Olhers may be roficienl in lhe Iileralure and documenl anaIysis reIaled
    comonenls of lhe elhnograhy, or more skiIIed al using lhe inlernel lo la inlo olher eIeclronic sources
    of informalion. In olher vords, lhe various slrenglhs of leam members can be broughl lo bear in order lo
    exIoil lhe fuII range of dala sources avaiIabIe, uIlimaleIy roducing as hoIislic and comrehensive a
    iclure of lhe communily residenls as is ossibIe.

    Irom lhe refIexive recognilion lhal differenl researchers may bring differenl inlerrelive framevorks lo a
    sludy selling, assurances of achieving emic vaIidily are enhanced vilh discussions belveen leam
    members foIIoving elhnograhic dala coIIeclion eisodesregarding vhal had been observed during
    lhe day, vhy and hov vere cerlain sellings or aclivilies seIecled for observalion, and vhelher lhere vere
    varialions in lhe inlerrelalions of vhal vas observed. Such refIexive and inlerrelivisl erseclives aIso
    diclale lhe resence of bolh cu|iura| cuisi!crs and cu|iura| insi!crs on lhe research leam. TechnicaIIy
    lrained researchers (incIuding elhnograhers) are usuaIIy cuIluraI oulsiders, in lhal lhey usuaIIy sludy
    cuIluraI syslems oulside of lhe ones of vhich lhey are members. They oflen bring lechnicaI research skiIIs
    lo lhe leam lhal are nol resenl among lhe communilies and ouIalions lhal lhey sludy. They may
    bring a cerlain degree or lye of ob|eclivily lo lhe research rocess because of a Iess IikeIihood of emolionaI
    allachmenl lo cerlain fealures of lhe cuIlure under sludy. Moreover, being of a differenl cuIlure, lhe cuIluraI
    oulsider may make observalions lhal slimuIale nev and cuIluraIIy significanl elhnograhic queslions
    (referred lo by Agar as a eriod of "breakdovn" in lhe elhnograhic rocess), vhereas lhe cuIluraI insider's
    encuIluraIlion and famiIiarily vilh lhe same henomena may have made il so rouline lhal such queslions
    may nol even be considered.

    On lhe olher hand cuIluraI insiders (members of lhe cuIluraI syslem being sludied) viII knov of sources of
    cuIluraI meaning lhal couId be very imorlanl lo lhe sludy, bul maybe comIeleIy unknovn lo lhe oulsider.
    Moreover, cuIluraI insiders can be very imorlanl lo issues of enlre inlo a sludy communily, and lhe
    deveIomenl of raorl and lrusl. I have found our research among drug lraffickers, slreel roslilules, HIV
    osilive ersons, urban adoIescenls al risk for a variely of iIIs, lhe vorId of chiIdren, and even African chiefs
    and Queen Molhers grealIy faciIilaled by having members of lhese cuIlures and subcuIlures resenl on lhe
    leam. IrequenlIy, as cuIluraI oulsiders, ve have found insiders lo be very imorlanl loo as firsl conlacl
    cuIluraI informanls as ve vreslIe vilh exIoring conlinuaIIy nev breakdovns during lhe elhnograhic
    rocess. And finaIIy, I have found lhe leam aroach aIso found lhalare some of lhe mosl inleIIecluaIIy

    23
    slimuIaling exeriences of an elhnograhic enlerrise. IinaIIy, I have found lhe leam discussions heId al
    lhe end of each elhnograhic dala coIIeclion eisodesmenlioned al lhe beginning of lhe receding
    aragrahlo be some of lhe mosl inleIIecluaIIy slimuIaling aclivilies in lhe research rocess, indeed
    more slimuIaling lhan lhose individuaI allemls lo find meaning and reIevance in lhe elhnograhic dala
    assessed lhrough individuaI elhnograhic efforls.

    Ethnngraphy Prcscnts thc Wnr!d nI thcir Hnsts Within a Human Cnntcxt nI
    "Thick!y" Dcscribcd Casc 5tudics.
    In conlrasl lo osilivisl and quanlilalive research aroaches such as lhe surveys, vhich oflen coIIecl dala
    from Iarge samIes in an efforl lo achieve exlernaI vaIidily and reresenlaliveness, rich descrilive case
    sludies can rovide vaIuabIe, in-delh dala even vhen lhe number of cases is smaII. In olher vords,
    vhereas lhe survey rovides dala lhal is |rca! (in lerms of exlernaI reIiabiIily or reresenlaliveness),
    good elhnograhy, lhrough rich, hoIislic case sludies, can rovide dala lhal are !ccp, rich, or vhal Geerlz
    (1973) refers lo as lhick. The richness or lhickness of elhnograhic dala comes from Iacing individuaIs
    vilhin lheir various socio-cuIluraI conlexls, and exIoring hov socio-cuIluraI rocesses and meaning
    syslems are exressed vilhin lhese conlexls. In good elhnograhy, hosls are nol reduced lo simIe
    numericaI vaIues, bul are deicled lhrough lhe gamul of human exerience, incIuding rich conlexluaI,
    rocess, and idealionaI conslruclions. WhiIe elhnograhers rareIy use lhe reaI names of lheir hosls for
    reasons of confidenliaIily and roleclion, lhey oflen rovide seudonyms. This naming rocess lends lo
    humanize individuaI hosls for lhe reader of elhnograhic lexls, and organizing lhal individuaIs
    conlexluaI dala around him or her conlinues lhis rocess. I have had exerience graduale sludenls in
    bolh anlhrooIogy and ubIic heaIlh coIIecl very rich and reIevanl dala on very smaII and non-
    robabiIislic samIes, bul vhich had lhe olenliaI of yieIding nev insighls aboul a heaIlh or sociaI
    robIems lhal had lherelofore been unexIored. ul vhen il came lo lhe anaIysis and resenlalion of lhis
    dala, lhe dominalion of osilivism in lheir lraining has been so slrong, lhal lhe rich conlexluaI dala are
    lhen omilled, and lhey alleml quanlilalive anaIyses vilh dala from samIes loo smaII and non-
    reresenlalive for lhe slalislicaI anaIyses lhal lhey are allemling. I have seen such sludenls lhen have
    robIems vilh gelling lheir roducls aroved by lheir lhesis commillees, or if lhe commillee aroves
    lheir lhesis, lheir vork is never furlher used by anyone as lhe vork is melhodoIogicaIIy unsound,
    irreIevanl, and considered lo be oor vork on lhe arl of rofessionaIs. UnliI researchers Iearn lhal lhere
    are aIlernalives lo lhis dominalion of osilivisl erseclives, and can be lrained lo ursue hov lo deveIo
    lhe rigor necessary lo carry oul lhese aIlernalives lo sludying lhe human condilion, lhen our advances in
    lhe human sciences viII conlinue lo be Iimiled, as Godfrey Hochbaum suggesled lo me many years ago.




    24
    RcIcrcnccs Citcd

    Agar, M.A. (1982). Tovards an Ilhnograhic Language., 84:779-95

    Agar, M.A. (1996). Tnc Prcjcssicna| Sirangcr: An |njcrna| |nirc!uciicn ic |inncgrapnq. San Diego, CA:
    Academic Iress.

    Agar, M. and }. MacDonaId. (1995). Iocus Grous and Ilhnograhy. Hunan Organizaiicn 54 (1).

    AIdenderfer, Mark and Herberl D.G. Maschner. 1996. Aninrcpc|cgq, Spacc an! Gccgrapnic |njcrnaiicn
    Sqsicns. Oxford Universily Iress.

    AIlheide, DL and }M }ohnson (1996). Crileria for Assessing Inlerrelive VaIidily in QuaIilalive
    Research, in Han!|cck cj Qua|iiaiitc |cscarcn. Denzin and LincoIn (eds.) Thousand Oaks, CA,
    Sage IubIicalions

    AIIen, WaIler R. (1978). The Search for AIicabIe Theories of Iack IamiIy Life. jcurna| cj Marriagc an!
    inc |ani|q 40(1):117-29.

    eebe, }ames (1995) asic Concels and Techniques of Raid AraisaI. Human Organizalion, 54(1):
    Iages 42-51.

    eebe }ames (2001) |api! Asscssncni Prcccss- An |nirc!uciicn. WaInul Creek, CaIif.: AIlaMira Iress,
    erger, Ieler and Thomas Luckmann(1967) Tnc Tnc Sccia| Ccnsiruciicn cj |ca|iiq . A Trcaiisc in inc Sccic|cgq
    cj Kncu|c!gc. Anchor.

    ennardo, Giovanni. 2002. Ma Draving in Tonga, IoIynesia: Accessing MenlaI Reresenlalions of
    Sace. |ic|! Mcinc!s, 14 (4):390-417.

    ernard, H. RusseII (2002). Research Melhods in AnlhrooIogy: QuaIilalive and Quanlilalive Aroaches.
    (3
    rd
    .Id.). WaInul Creek, CA: AIlaMira Ir..

    erreman, GeraId D. (1968). Ilhnograhy: Melhod and Iroducl. IN: |nirc!uciicn ic Cu|irua|
    Aninrcpc|cgq. }ames A. CIiflon (ed.) oslon: Houghlon MiffIin. I. 336-373.
    iIIingsIey, Andrev (1968). B|ack |ani|ics in Wniic Ancrica. IngIevood CIiffs, N}: Irenlice-HaII

    orgalli, S.I., (199). IIicilalion Techniques for CuIluraI Domain AnaIysis. In }.}. SchensuI, el aI (eds),
    |nnancc! |inncgrapnic Mcinc!s. Au!ictisua| Tccnniqucs, |ccusc! Grcup |nicrticus an! ||iciiaiicn
    Tccnniqucs. (. 115-151). ). WaInul Creek, CA: AIlaMirra Iress

    orsler 1994,

    orsler & }ohnson 1989,

    oyIe, }.S. 1994. SlyIes of Ilhnograhy, in Criiica| |ssucs in Qua|iiaiitc |cscarcn. CaIifornia, Sage
    IubIicalions Inc.


    25
    uchanan, David R. (1998) Bcqcn! Pcsiiitisn. Hunanisiic Pcrspcciitcs cn Tnccrq an! |cscarcn in Hca|in
    |!ucaiicn, HeaIlh Iducalion Research. 13(3):439-450

    urlon & NerIove 1976,

    Cassagrande, }.. & HaIe, K.L. (1967) Semanlic reIalions in Iaago IoIk-Definilions. In D. Hymes and
    W.I. illIe (eds.). Siu!ics in Scuiucsicrn |innc|inguisiics. The Hague: Moulon, .165-196.

    Chavez el aI 1995,
    CIifford, }ames and George Marcus. (1986) Wriiing Cu|iurc Tnc Pcciics an! Pc|iiics cj |inncgrapnq,
    Universily of CaIifornia Iress

    CromIey, I.K., (1999). Maing SaliaI Dala. In }.}. SchensuI, el aI (eds.) Mapping Sccia|

    Denzin, N.K. 1970). Tnc |cscarcn Aci

    Denzin, N.K. and Y.S. LincoIn (1994), Inlroduclion: Inlering lhe IieId of QuaIilalive Research in
    Han!|cck cj Qua|iiaiitc |cscarcn. Denzin and LincoIn (eds.) Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage
    IubIicalions:

    Durkheim, ImiIe Tnc |u|cs cj inc Sccic|cgica| Mcinc!, (Id. by Sleven Lukes,TransIaled by W.D. HaIIs).
    Nev York: Iree Iress, 1982 (originaIIy 1895)

    Imerson, R, M., R. Irelz and L, Shav. (1995) Wriiing |inncgrapnic |ic|!ncics, Chicago: Universily of
    Chicago Iress.

    Gadamer, H.G. (1975). Truin an! Mcinc!. Nev York: Conlinuum

    Galevood 1984,

    Geerlz, CIifford (1973). Tnc |nicrprciaiicn cj Cu|iurcs. NY: asic ooks. I. 33-54.

    Goodenough`

    Guba, IG and YS LincoIn (1994), Comeling Iaradigms in QuaIilalive Research in Handbook Han!|cck
    cj Qua|iiaiitc |cscarcn. Denzin and LincoIn (eds.) Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage IubIicalions:

    Harris, K.}., N.W. }erome, and S.. Iavcell (1998). "Raid Assessmenl Irocedures: A Reviev and Crilique."
    Hunan Organizaiicn 56(3):375-378.

    Harris, Marvin (1968) Tnc |isc cj Aninrcpc|cgica| Tnccrq. Nev York: CroveII.

    HenIey 1969,

    Kerr, M. (1963). Pcrscna|iiq an! Ccnj|ici in janaica. London: CoIIins


    26
    Kroeber and KIuchon (1952 ). Cu|iurc. A Criiica| |cticu cj Ccnccpis an! Ocjiniiicns. Nev York: Random
    House

    Levi-Slrauss () cilalions for ricoIeur

    Lounsbury 1964,

    MaIinovski (1922).

    MaIinovski ().

    Mallhevs, S.A., }. DelviIer and L. urlon (in ress). Vieving eoIe and Iaces: CouIing geograhic
    informalion anaIysis vilh elhnograhic research. In I. Harvey, M. Kvan, M. IavIovskaya (eds).
    OIiver-VeIez, D. el aI. 2001. Maing lhe Air-ridge Localions: The AIicalion of Ilhnograhic
    Maing Techniques lo a Sludy of HIV Risk ehavior Delerminanl in Iasl HarIem, Nev York
    and ayamon, Iuerlo Rico. Hunan Organizaiicn. 61 (3): 262-276.

    Iarsons, TaIcoll ()

    IeIlo, I.}. and G.H. IeIlo (1978). AnlhrooIogicaI Research: The Slruclure of Inquiry.(2
    nd
    .
    Id.). NY: Cambridge U. Ir.

    (IeIlo el aI, 1980)

    RadcIiffe-rovn ()

    Reichardl, C.S. and T.D. Cook (1979) eyond QuaIilalive and Quanlilalive Melhods
    in QuaIilalive and QuaIilalive Melhods in IvaIualion Research, everIy HiIIs,
    CaIifornia: Sage IubIicalions.

    Risl, Ray C. (1980). "Iilzkrieg Ilhnograhy: On lhe Transformalion of a Melhod inlo a
    Movemenl." IducalionaI Researcher 9(2):8-10.

    Romney and D'Andrade 1964,

    Scrimshav, Susan, and IIena Hurlado (1987). Raid Assessmenl Irocedures for Nulrilion
    and Irimary HeaIlh Care. Los AngeIes: U. of CaIifornia Lalin American Cenler
    IubIicalions.

    Smilh, M.G. (1966). Inlroduclion In: Iidlh CIarke, Mq Mcincr Wnc |aincrc! Mc. London: George AIIen
    and Unvin, .i-xiiv

    SradIey, }.I., (1979) Tnc |inncgrapnic |nicrticu. Nev York: HoIl. Rineharl and Winslon.


    27
    SradIey, }.I., (1980) Pariicipani O|scrtaiicn. Nev York: HoIl. Rineharl and Winslon.

    WaIIace & Alkins 1960).

    Whilehead, T.L. 1976).

    Whilehead, T.L. (1984) Socio-cuIluraI dynamics and food habils in a soulhern communily. In Mary
    DougIas (ed.) |cc! in Tnc Sccia| Or!cr. ( ),, Nev York: The RusseII Sage Ioundalion

    Whilehead, T.L, (1992). In Search of SouI Iood. IN: Ajrican Ancricans in inc Scuin, H. aer and Y. }ones
    (ed.). (. 94-110) Alhens: Univ Georgia Iress,.

    Whilehead, T.L. (1997). Urban Lov Income African American Men, HIV/AIDS, and Gender Idenlily.
    Mc!ica| Aninrcpc|cgq Quaricr|q, (December)

    Whilehead, T.L. (2000). The `Iidemic' and `CuIluraI Legends' of Iack MaIe Incarceralion: The
    SociaIizalion of African American ChiIdren lo a Life of Incarceralion IN: Bui|!ing Vic|cncc. Hcu
    Ancricas |usn ic |ncarccraic Crcaics Mcrc Vic|cncc, }ohn I. May (ed.). Sage IubIicalions

    Whilehead, T.L. and }. rovn (1986). "Gender-reIaled Issues in Carrying Oul Raid Team IieIdvork in
    lhe Cameroon." IN: SeIf, Sex, and Gender in Cross-CuIluraI IieIdvork. Urbana, IL: U. of IIIinois
    Ir.. I.196-212

    Whilehead, T.L., }. Ielerson, and L. KaI|ee (1994). The 'HuslIe': Socioeconomic Derivalion, Urban Drug
    Trafficking, and Lov-Income, African-American MaIe Gender Idenlily. Pc!iairics. 93(6):1050-
    1054.


    28




    Figure 1: The Cultural Systems Paradigm
    Physical Environment
    Human
    Survival
    Needs
    Historical
    Events &
    Processes
    Individual Human Organism
    Social Systems
    -Domestic Units
    -Broader Associations
    -Wider Community &
    Society
    -Extra-societal Links
    Idea Systems
    (Individual and Shared)
    -knowledge
    -attitudes
    -beliefs
    -values
    -meanings
    -expressive culture &
    significant symbolisms
    Behavioral Patterns
    (Individual / Shared)
    -Activities
    -Socio-cultural
    Characteristics
    Material Culture /
    Technologies
    Cultural System
    Cultural System
    Human Eco-system

    29

    You might also like