Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology [Paperback]

H. Russell Bernard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1988 | ISBN-10: 0803929781 | ISBN-13: 978-0803929784

This is a major textbook in research methods for cultural anthropologists by a world-renowned scholar. The text reflects the significant changes that have taken place in the study of anthropology over the last decade, and includes many examples from real field projects. The author lays out the major methods of designing research and collecting and analyzing data in a systematic, scientific fashion. He addresses today's anthropologist's concern with applied work, quantification, sampling and validity, balanced with discussions of more traditional methods. In addition to standard methodological topics, Bernard includes sections on choosing the right research project; taking, managing and coding field notes; and conducting comprehensive litera

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About the Author

H. Russell Bernard is Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus at the University of Florida. He served as editor of the American Anthropologist and Human Organization. He is co-founder (with Pertti Pelto and Stephen Borgatti) of the Cultural Anthropology Methods journal (1989), which became Field Methods in 1999. The four editions of his methods text Research Methods in Anthropology (AltaMira 2006) and his general research methods text Social Research Methods (Sage 2000), have been used by tens of thousands of students. Bernard co-founded (with Pelto) and co-directed (with Pelto and Borgatti) the National Science Foundation's Institute on Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology and has done fieldwork in Greece, Mexico, and the U.S.A. His publications include (with Jesús Salinas Pedraza) Native Ethnography: A Otomí Indian Describes His Culture (Sage, 1989) which won special mention in the Chicago Folklore Prize. In 2010, Bernard was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc (July 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803929781
• ISBN-13: 978-0803929784
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #706,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Prof. Bernard saves the researcher/paper-publisher's bacon!, July 14, 2010

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E Hernandez "Don't-believe-in-coinky-dinks" (Otherwhere) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology (Paperback)

This book is what I call a thorough, proper scientific guide. Bernard far outweighs the overpriced, trendy newer book which I reviewed (HOW TO WRITE AND PUBLISH A SCIENTIFIC PAPER, which subject the authors needed to study before writing a book on it).

Bernard, as a professor of cultural anthropology, is leaning into the anthropological academic wind here. Nonetheless, if you replace strictly anthropological words here with your field's terms, the book is beautiful, clear, an excellent guide with some drips of wry humor that resonate because they matter--Bernard is one of those rare academics who has a golden "academic" sense of humor. And he doesn't overdo it.

It seems the emphasis on statistical analysis and coding was a huge obsession for Bernard, but thinking on it a bit, I realized it is exactly what even a graduate student needs to know about any field when preparing a paper. Bernard is most thorough about several issues that plague any researcher: choice of problem/subject for thesis, scientific validity of the theory, what it will cost altogether to research (as an example he cites whether the researcher is willing to pay the price of learning and mastering a new language in order to begin research).

Professor Bernard even addresses academically personal things, such as the researcher's true liking of the topic, the personal impact of paper-publishing, and the different field notebooks that must be maintained.

That is thorough and delightful writing. I half expected Prof. Bernard to describe to me the exact notebooks I should buy...and he came close. Get a little memo notebook in-pocket for the day-to-day notes. That notebook, he said, could be more than memo-sized, if you want it to do more for you than jotting.

The thing I learned formally about field books is something I had heard in the tv film CRANFORD, in which a character explains how they kept diaries of what they thought would happen and at day's end, then recorded what actually happened. Bernard says the field log is for that purpose: one page as a to-do list, the opposite page for the have-done list. Incredible! I'd never done that and I doubt I ever will, but one sees the educational value. Did your professors ever suggest such a field book to you?

In all, Bernard recommends four field books: the 'jotter' (memo), the 'log', the 'field notebook', and the 'diary'. To my mind that is gilding the lily; but then a busy researcher in the field may find it priceless.

One thing to bear in mind: Prof. Bernard is writing for the cultural anthropologist in the field, especially beginners. This means he is thinking about poor, desperate souls in Godforsaken lands gathering cultural or population data, and the emphasis here is the scientist who is not at home. You may think this tiresome, but READ IT: it is fascinating reading, and I've never read a better writer than Prof. Bernard. He tops Asimov in this style of expositional writing.

Bear in mind also that Bernard discusses things like population samples and the need for sampling. You may or may not need this--I certainly never did--yet it also helps. It got me thinking about such data as it related to my work, and I found it was useful after all. Do not dismiss any part of this book just because it isn't applicable. I've learned more here than I have learned in the last 3 years!

I admit I have read deeply into most chapters and have not yet gotten to the lesser chapters yet. That is no trouble because this book is so good, so expertly and beautifully written, that I am savoring what I am studying now. The lesser chapters will be my dessert.

DO NOT waste your money on a single other title than this, if you are an academic, a rogue scientist, a crazy amateur or an outcaste theoretician. If you are interested in pursuing your research, whether you publish or not, Professor Bernard is the MAN.

And for heaven's sake, stay away from HOW TO WRITE AND PUBLISH A SCIENTIFIC PAPER.