Doing Anthropological Research: A Practical Guide

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Notes on contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction: about Doing Anthropological Research
	Who this book is for
	What this book aims to do
	Organization of the book
1. Getting started: the search for anthropological questions
	Coming up with a research topic
	What is anthropology about anyway?
	Think practical
	Home or away, fieldwork or library-based?
	Thinking both big and small
	What does a field site look like?
	From first-order to second-order questions
	References
2. Planning your research project
	Writing your research proposal
	Literature review
	Ethnographic research methods
		Primary fieldwork methods
		Secondary research methods
	Ethical considerations
	Practical arrangements
		Language proficiency
		Permission and contacts
		Budget and timetable
	References
3. On the primary importance of secondary research
	Not by primary fieldwork alone: varieties of research and sources
	Why does secondary research matter?
	Making your secondary research efficient, systematic and
transparent
	Making it memorable and enjoyable
	Getting started with secondary research
	Next steps in the process of using secondary sources
		Stages or levels of active reading and note-taking
		Some Practical Considerations
	References
4. Doing research: anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork
	‘Deep hanging out’: what is ethnographic fieldwork anyway?
		Fieldwork is a ‘rite of passage’?
		Fieldwork is ‘I was there’?
		Fieldwork is primary research?
		Fieldwork as a diversity of tools and techniques
		Fieldwork is ‘deep hanging out’?
		A useful fieldwork definition
	What is anthropology anyway (part 2), and why does this
matter for doing fieldwork?
		Victor Turner’s ‘Symbols in Ndembu Ritual’
		Kevin Dwyer’s Moroccan Dialogues
		Csordas’s ‘Words from the Holy People: A Case Study in Cultural Phenomenology and Wacquant’s ‘The Pugilistic Point of View’
	References
5. Doing research: fieldwork practicalities
	Arrival in ‘the field’
		Where and how to live
		Plan B
	Generating information
		Participant observation
		Interviews
		Surveys and questionnaires
		Language
	Recording information, writing fieldnotes and embodying
your ethnographic stance
	References
6. Ethics
	Thinking about ‘ethics’
	Dilemmas during research
		Janet’s first dilemma
		John’s first dilemma
		Janet’s second dilemma
		John’s second dilemma
		Janet’s third dilemma
		John’s third dilemma
		Janet’s fourth dilemma
		John’s fourth dilemma
	To sum up
	References
7. Sorting things out: organizing and interpreting your data
	Introduction
	What is data?
	Data management: sorting stuff out
		Fieldnotes
		Recorded interviews and focus groups
		Documents and clippings
		Images: still and moving
	Interpreting your data
		Knowing and using the relevant literature
		Practical analytical steps
			Significant events or ideas
			Vignette writing
			Recurring themes
			Visualization
			Paradoxes
			Doxa
			Idea log
		Missing data
	Articulating your analysis: linking data and theory
	References
8. Communicating the research and writing up
	Introduction
		Writing and communicating (or getting a good grade)
	Getting started
		Free-writing
		Planning to write
			Revisit and revise your research topic
			Mind map
			The outline
	Writing the darn thing
		Introducing the argument
			The introduction
			Reviewing the literature
			Describing your
methods
		Fashioning the argument
			Claims and evidence
			Zooming in and zooming out
		Concluding the argument
	Staying sane, getting help, getting finished
		Be realistic
		Keep writing
		Do not suffer in silence
		Work with your supervisor
		Work with others
		Seek support if you need it
	References
Conclusion: after the dissertation
	Dissemination: sharing and publishing your research
		Reports and presentations
		Conference papers, posters and visual presentations
		Exhibitions and film screenings
		Journal articles
	Skills and attributes
	References
Index