Comments on: Books For Methods http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/ Notes and Queries in Anthropology — A Group Blog Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:06:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: molly http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-601721 molly Sun, 10 May 2009 19:00:07 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-601721 Does any one here teach "theory and method" to not-very-advanced or sophisticated undergrads? We require only a one-semester course for our majors. Always torn between a historical approach and one more methods-focused. Most of our students get nothing out of reading classical theorists, much as I like teaching them. And even if they do, then they are lost when it comes to dealing with our ever-more exacting IRB. Would love to hear more about what others do. Does any one here teach “theory and method” to not-very-advanced or sophisticated undergrads? We require only a one-semester course for our majors. Always torn between a historical approach and one more methods-focused. Most of our students get nothing out of reading classical theorists, much as I like teaching them. And even if they do, then they are lost when it comes to dealing with our ever-more exacting IRB. Would love to hear more about what others do.

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]]> By: Owen Wiltshire http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-593040 Owen Wiltshire Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:29:34 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-593040 Anthropobotanical, I'm using "Freemind" to play around with my thesis - I went this route after stalling out and finding a lot of my research material was tough to incorporate into a single direction/argument. http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Anthropobotanical, I’m using “Freemind” to play around with my thesis – I went this route after stalling out and finding a lot of my research material was tough to incorporate into a single direction/argument.

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

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]]> By: Jim http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-592085 Jim Sat, 04 Apr 2009 17:35:57 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-592085 @John: I'm quite intrigued by Evernote too, especially because everything is being stored centrally and accessible from anywhere you want. And nothing gets lost, in case your notebook gets stolen. But I'm less happy about the lack of SSL encryption in the free version and the insecure storage on the servers. Fieldwork data is a lot about places & persons and imho as such confidential. @John: I’m quite intrigued by Evernote too, especially because everything is being stored centrally and accessible from anywhere you want. And nothing gets lost, in case your notebook gets stolen. But I’m less happy about the lack of SSL encryption in the free version and the insecure storage on the servers. Fieldwork data is a lot about places & persons and imho as such confidential.

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]]> By: Carole McGranahan http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591966 Carole McGranahan Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:39:32 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591966 I like Allaine Cerwonka and Liisa Malkki's Improvising Theory: Process and Temporality in Ethnographic Fieldwork (Chicago 2007). I taught it last year in our grad theory course for the week on critical ethnographic methods and thought it worked well. It gives a great sense of what fieldwork actually looks like, how one moves from the conceptualizing of a project to the actual carrying out of it, and thinks out loud in productive ways. It might also be a good foil to some of the more manual-style books you've listed. Here's the link: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=227491 I like Allaine Cerwonka and Liisa Malkki’s Improvising Theory: Process and Temporality in Ethnographic Fieldwork (Chicago 2007). I taught it last year in our grad theory course for the week on critical ethnographic methods and thought it worked well. It gives a great sense of what fieldwork actually looks like, how one moves from the conceptualizing of a project to the actual carrying out of it, and thinks out loud in productive ways. It might also be a good foil to some of the more manual-style books you’ve listed.

Here’s the link: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=227491

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]]> By: John McCreery http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591922 John McCreery Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:29:39 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591922 Curio (Mac-only) for brainstorming and sorting things out Evernote, my midden, where everything I catch on the fly goes — now, I have just learned, accessible directly from Curio. Zotero, for notes from published sources. Keeps notes synchronized across desktop and laptop, can generate references/bibliographies as needed. Filemaker Pro for data, makes finding, sorting and recoding on the fly a snap DataDesk, for exploratory quantitative work Pajek, for social network analysis That's my current toolkit. I note how heavily dependent I am on broadband or fast WiFi access. Don't know how this would work in places without these modern conveniences. Curio (Mac-only) for brainstorming and sorting things out
Evernote, my midden, where everything I catch on the fly goes — now, I have just learned, accessible directly from Curio.
Zotero, for notes from published sources. Keeps notes synchronized across desktop and laptop, can generate references/bibliographies as needed.
Filemaker Pro for data, makes finding, sorting and recoding on the fly a snap
DataDesk, for exploratory quantitative work
Pajek, for social network analysis

That’s my current toolkit. I note how heavily dependent I am on broadband or fast WiFi access. Don’t know how this would work in places without these modern conveniences.

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]]> By: anthroboticonological http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591762 anthroboticonological Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:19:10 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591762 On the topic of qualitative reserach on the computer, has anyone tried mindmapping software (http://lifehacker.com/5185318/best-mind-mapping-software) or programs like evernote for organizing fieldnotes? It seems like they might work pretty well, though I haven't tried this. On the topic of qualitative reserach on the computer, has anyone tried mindmapping software (http://lifehacker.com/5185318/best-mind-mapping-software) or programs like evernote for organizing fieldnotes? It seems like they might work pretty well, though I haven’t tried this.

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]]> By: Rex http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591760 Rex Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:33:10 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591760 The course will include some theoretical framing at the beginning, and separate weeks on issues of ethics. So it is not going to be _just_ where on the island to buy a USB foot pedal (although we will be covering that). I'm planning to start class with a brief discussion of a case study of someone else's fieldwork (for example, read sections of Street by Mitch Duneier on the week we cover collaborative ethnography). But the goal is not to reflect on fieldwork but to give students a sense of the range of possibilities of what fieldwork is and how it can happen -- to get some ethnography of fieldwork into them. I don't know where I would come down on the 'science/humanities' divide on debates about methods. I guess I know too many epigraphers to think that the humanities aren't rigorous and lack methods. But yes, the goal is to give students something to hang on to in the field. If they jettison that and do deeply auto/reflexive/post-something fieldwork then that is ok -- at least they will have a choice. Our department has separate class on research design, so I am not worrying too much about that here. The idea is that students come with a research question and we show them how to 'operationalize' it. And thanks for the TAMS link -- I'd seen it around but didn't know if people had had good experiences with it or not. The course will include some theoretical framing at the beginning, and separate weeks on issues of ethics. So it is not going to be _just_ where on the island to buy a USB foot pedal (although we will be covering that). I’m planning to start class with a brief discussion of a case study of someone else’s fieldwork (for example, read sections of Street by Mitch Duneier on the week we cover collaborative ethnography). But the goal is not to reflect on fieldwork but to give students a sense of the range of possibilities of what fieldwork is and how it can happen — to get some ethnography of fieldwork into them.

I don’t know where I would come down on the ‘science/humanities’ divide on debates about methods. I guess I know too many epigraphers to think that the humanities aren’t rigorous and lack methods. But yes, the goal is to give students something to hang on to in the field. If they jettison that and do deeply auto/reflexive/post-something fieldwork then that is ok — at least they will have a choice.

Our department has separate class on research design, so I am not worrying too much about that here. The idea is that students come with a research question and we show them how to ‘operationalize’ it.

And thanks for the TAMS link — I’d seen it around but didn’t know if people had had good experiences with it or not.

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]]> By: Eugene R http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591759 Eugene R Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:06:38 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591759 Yes, the Briggs book is definitely on so many syllabi for a book reason... Rex, are you framing the entire course around methods in the sense of concrete things you do in the field and how to produce ethnographic data? I'm assuming, given your post of a week ago or so, that you're also including more essayistic "reflections on fieldwork" readings as well. I ask because (and I think you may have reflected on issue here in the past) anthropological courses placed under the rubric of "methods" tend to fall into one of two very distinct categories: 1) a focus on concrete research practices, OR 2) a focus on reflections on fieldwork--often linked to more conceptual discussions about the nature of the "field" and so on. While I think that its way too simplistic to map this onto a positivist social science vs. humanistic interpretive anthropology distinction -- unfortunately that's how it often turns out, in terms of which kinds of anthro departments teach which kind of methods course. What is unfortunately much rarer is a real attempt to integrate the two in a single class -- so kudos to you for trying to do that. Yes, the Briggs book is definitely on so many syllabi for a book reason…

Rex, are you framing the entire course around methods in the sense of concrete things you do in the field and how to produce ethnographic data? I’m assuming, given your post of a week ago or so, that you’re also including more essayistic “reflections on fieldwork” readings as well.

I ask because (and I think you may have reflected on issue here in the past) anthropological courses placed under the rubric of “methods” tend to fall into one of two very distinct categories: 1) a focus on concrete research practices, OR 2) a focus on reflections on fieldwork–often linked to more conceptual discussions about the nature of the “field” and so on. While I think that its way too simplistic to map this onto a positivist social science vs. humanistic interpretive anthropology distinction — unfortunately that’s how it often turns out, in terms of which kinds of anthro departments teach which kind of methods course. What is unfortunately much rarer is a real attempt to integrate the two in a single class — so kudos to you for trying to do that.

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]]> By: Jeremy http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591738 Jeremy Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:11:56 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591738 On the issue of coding - I've found a very easy to use, open source, and FREE piece of software called TAMS Analyzer which I've been using for my senior thesis. (website: http://tamsys.sourceforge.net/). It's not as fully featured as something like Atlas.ti, but it works and it's native Mac/Unix, unlike Atlas.ti and other big names which require Windows. I think it's a great little tool for doing basic coding and analysis - perfect for students (especially the price), and offers a great way to get some experience with coding software. On the issue of coding – I’ve found a very easy to use, open source, and FREE piece of software called TAMS Analyzer which I’ve been using for my senior thesis. (website: http://tamsys.sourceforge.net/).
It’s not as fully featured as something like Atlas.ti, but it works and it’s native Mac/Unix, unlike Atlas.ti and other big names which require Windows. I think it’s a great little tool for doing basic coding and analysis – perfect for students (especially the price), and offers a great way to get some experience with coding software.

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]]> By: Sara http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591698 Sara Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:37:47 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591698 Rex, I am not sure if you are going to focus only on the methods. Yet, from my experience students usually need to learn how to write a proposal,theoretical framework, and literature review to give them the overall tools to conducting and writing a full research paper. Rex, I am not sure if you are going to focus only on the methods. Yet, from my experience students usually need to learn how to write a proposal,theoretical framework, and literature review to give them the overall tools to conducting and writing a full research paper.

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]]> By: ckelty http://savageminds.org/2009/04/01/books-for-methods/comment-page-1/#comment-591598 ckelty Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:03:37 +0000 http://savageminds.org/?p=1759#comment-591598 If you are touching the IRB issue, I found this worked well, though it's a bit specfic to problems with doctors and a bit dated now. Stefan Timmermans (1995) “Cui Bono? Institutional Review Board Ethics and Ethnographic Research” Studies in Symbolic Interaction 19:153-173. Also, students liked this one for its introductoryness: Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn (2003) Ethics and the Profession of Anthropology, 2nd Edition. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press. I also think the Fabian book I reviewed here is a really good exemplar to work with simply because he reflects on so many different aspects of doing fieldwork. oh, and the Briggs book rocks. If you are touching the IRB issue, I found this worked well, though it’s a bit specfic to problems with doctors and a bit dated now.

Stefan Timmermans (1995) “Cui Bono? Institutional Review Board Ethics and Ethnographic Research” Studies in Symbolic Interaction 19:153-173.

Also, students liked this one for its introductoryness:

Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn (2003) Ethics and the Profession of Anthropology, 2nd Edition. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press.

I also think the Fabian book I reviewed here is a really good exemplar to work with simply because he reflects on so many different aspects of doing fieldwork.

oh, and the Briggs book rocks.

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