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Ethnographic Field Research Methods Edicta Grullon Rhode Island College, [email protected]

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Ethnographic Field Research Methods Edicta Grullon Rhode Island College, Edictamg@Gmail.Com Rhode Island College Digital Commons @ RIC Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview and Major Papers 5-2007 Ethnographic Field Research Methods Edicta Grullon Rhode Island College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/etd Part of the African Studies Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Religion Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Grullon, Edicta, "Ethnographic Field Research Methods" (2007). Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview. 16. https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/etd/16 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers at Digital Commons @ RIC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ RIC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD RESEARCH METHODS: MUSLIM NORTH AFRICA CONSIDERED By Edicta Grullón A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Individualized Master of Arts in The African and Afro-American Studies Faculty of Arts and Sciences Rhode Island College May 2007 ii Abstract Ethnography is an important endeavor that serves as a tool for understanding diverse forms of living and experiencing the world. Ethnographic data collected is beneficial for meeting the cultural demands and needs of others. Ethnographic research tools, such as participant observation and questionnaires, have been developed for studying other cultures. However, greater emphasis and reflexivity needs to be given to the role of the anthropologist in the field. The ethnographer is not a one-way street. How s/he is perceived by the local community is imperative to the access of cultural data and the quality of data gathered. The ethnographer’s training should focus on abiding by a code of ethics that emphasizes concern for the well being of the subjects studied. Ethnographic research methods are herein presented along with characteristics (evidential and non-evidential ‘identities’) of an anthropologist that may affect his/her access to information and the quality of data collected. Several examples of field researchers’ experiences are presented. Muslim North Africa is considered as a region demanding attention to its specific cultural realities. These examples address cultural factors in determining appropriate research processes for access to and quality of data. A greater focus on the ethnographer as a research tool and the emphasis on abiding by ethnographic ethical standards would continue to improve the quality of ethnographic data, and the value of its applications. In training anthropologists on research tools, equal emphasis needs to be given to reflexivity and our responsibilities as ethnographers to the people studied. iii Table of Contents Preface………………………………………………………….……………………….iv Note on terminology usage…………………………………………………….….. vi Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………viii Chapter I. Introduction……………………...…………………….……………. 1 Chapter II. Field Research Methods……………………..……………….…….. 7 Quantifying Qualitative Data………………………………….……... 14 Epistemology………………………………………………….……... 17 Chapter III. Anthropologist as a Research Tool…………………...…………… 22 Non-Evidential Variables……………………………………………. 24 Evidential Variables…………………………………………………. 38 o Age……………………………………………………………... 39 o Sex……………………………………………………………... 40 o Gender………………………………………………………….. 43 o Race and Autochthony……………………………………..….. 45 o Composition/Status………………………………………..…... 49 o Children in the Field………………………………………...…. 53 o Marginal Identities……………………………………………... 56 Unfamiliar Grounds…………………………………………………. 57 Informed Audience………………………………………………….. 59 Chapter IV. Ethnography and Ethical Concerns…...…………….……………. 61 Informed Informants………………………………………………… 63 Hidden Agendas……………………………………………………... 66 Funding Source…………………………………….………………… 68 Affecting the ‘Other’………………………………………………… 70 Cultural Relativism and the Ethnographer…………………………... 74 Chapter V. Research in Muslim North Africa…………………….…………… 78 Background……………………………………..……………………. 79 Islam and the Significance of Gender Roles…….…………………… 82 The Importance of Family Composition………….………………….. 88 Alternative Perspectives………………………….………………….. 89 Education and Language………………………….………………….. 90 The Implications of Age………………………….………………….. 93 Trustworthiness……………………………………………………… 94 Reflections on the Field……………………………………………… 94 Chapter VI. Conclusion………………………………………………………….. 99 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………..... 104 iv Preface A goal of this thesis is to give an overview of what ethnographic research is, how it is conducted, and why the quality of the data collected is important. However, the main goals have been to present diverse variables that may affect an ethnographer’s access to critical cultural information in the field, establish reflection as an essential process during the research stage of choosing a topic and community for fieldwork, and the ethical considerations demanded as an overriding stipulation to fulfilling an ethnographer’s responsibility to those studied. It is imperative for anthropologists to know that while having a toolbox full of methods for conducting fieldwork and an unsurpassed enthusiasm for learning about another culture may make us feel fully equipped, there are two crucial aspects to conducting ethnographic fieldwork that should never be overlooked. The first is that being equipped with data-gathering tools is not enough; all cultures will place differing demands and challenges on the ethnographer and will require special consideration when planning the research approach. Secondly, the ethnographer, as the most important research tool and owning internal and external identities, should always be self- consciously reflective on his/her own inherent subjectivity. Research methodology in the social sciences is a double-edged sword. While we approach the field as ‘scientific’, systematizing the way data is gathered, we also must realize the complexity of human nature, its subjectivity, and the need to tailor the measures to address the specific social group. Formulating the ‘perfect’ measure, addressing exactly what one seeks to uncover, and applying the measure to a series of subjects gives the impression that the range of answers will pointedly, and objectively, v answer our inquiry. However, therein lays the ambiguity of our human existence: the measure may not address the piece of information being sought or it may be misinterpreted according to the subject’s culture. While the analysis of research data in all types of research allows for a certain degree of ‘noise’, or disturbance in quality of data, the scientist’s aim should always be to minimize such disturbances. These disturbances are constituted by the reality that as naturally subjective beings, our knowledge is limited, and errors in data collection are bound to occur. The subject of research methods is of utmost importance and foundational as it functions as the cornerstone to all conclusions one derives. If its structure (i.e. the research methods) is weak, the rest is unreliable and questionable. How we know what we know (epistemology) is an issue one needs to be most concerned with as one decides to learn about another culture, especially if anthropological field research is the goal. Students hoping to become anthropologists are taught research methods for gathering fieldwork data: participant observation, questionnaire development, and interviews as the most popular approaches taught. However, specific needs for studying different cultures and suggested approaches are rarely, if ever, addressed. As an undergraduate anthropology student, I innocently embraced the assumption that general research and data gathering methods alone equip a student to study any culture in the world. However, I soon learned via personal experience, and through the experience of others, that cultural demands, biases and other variables require addressing, especially if one is to become a reliable anthropologist. The entry of a researcher into the research field is not a ‘one-way street’. Identity by gender, class and nationality are some of the ‘baggage’ linked to the researcher, and are important, influential, and highly related to the vi information one seeks to gather and what one ultimately gathers. In fact, what the researcher brings with him- or herself is just as important, if not more, to the accessibility and quality of the data as is the data gathering methods utilized. For example, having the proper measure in hand may be of no use if a younger anthropologist attempts to research an area off-limits to youths, but in other areas his youth may encourage natives to ‘educate’ him. However, the research may also bear a marginal identity that permits crossing such divide. It is my conviction that as anthropologists, the data gathered and disseminated about another culture should be as precise and accurate as possible. Ethically, it is the least one can do for a culture and people who have opened the doors into their life and who have given us permission to be their voice to the world. Our first debt is to be as objective as possible, avoiding at all cost the risk of spreading lies and deceitful information,
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