Question 1

Fieldwork is considered a scientific approach to understanding human societies but it is also considered:

Accepted Answer

A)   precise qualitative evaluation
B)   a form of exploitation
C)   an art
D)   intrusive C

Question 2

One way that anthropologists make an effort to protect informants' anonymity is by:

Accepted Answer

A)   anonymizing names in publications, but continuing to use subjects' real names in research notes.
B)   using the real names of communities, but not those of the people living there.
C)   altering details when writing about sensitive topics within a community.
D)   referring to individuals in both research notes and publications using secret codes. D

Question 3

What idea introduced by Malinowski is fundamental to all research conducted by contemporary cultural anthropologists?

Accepted Answer

A)   participant observation
B)   archival research
C)   engaged anthropology
D)   synchronic study A

Question 4

Ethnographers must work to establish trust and friendship with their research subjects, and often build rapport. This helps them develop a(n):

Accepted Answer

A)   reflexive perspective.
B)   clear sense of who holds power.
C)   understanding of local values.
D)   opportunity to become an insider.

Question 5

Attempts to document Native American cultures that were devastated by the westward expansion of settlers is called salvage ethnography. This method involves:

Accepted Answer

A)   rapid gathering of available material and key interviews.
B)   rapid assessment of local conditions and detailed interviews.
C)   observing many participants over a long period of time.
D)   collecting only material goods that were considered trash.

Question 6

What perspective do anthropologists use in their ethnographies when they want to take a zoomed-out approach to describing the culture they work with in order to make comparisons and larger analyses?

Accepted Answer

A)   etic
B)   polyvocal
C)   thick description
D)   emic

Question 7

How did early twentieth-century anthropology differ from the anthropology practiced in nineteenth-century Europe?

Accepted Answer

A)   Twentieth-century anthropologists' research focused on kinship and religion, whereas nineteenth-century anthropologists were more interested in economics and politics.
B)   Whereas twentieth-century anthropologists took a four-field approach to understanding culture, nineteenth-century anthropologists were mostly interested in material culture.
C)   Nineteenth-century anthropologists were mostly interested in present-day cultures and evolutionary processes that may have created them, but twentieth-century anthropologists were interested in the processes by which cultures changed.
D)   Nineteenth-century anthropologists conducted long-term fieldwork, but twentieth-century anthropologists tended to rely on explorers' accounts.

Question 8

How does the problem of organ trafficking from the poor in Brazil, as documented by Scheper-Hughes's work, mirror the plight of poor people in different countries where she has not worked?

Accepted Answer

A)   The poor are a vulnerable population and are often exploited.
B)   The poor are a reliable source of organs for wealthy patients.
C)   The poor have many children, and are thus a rich resource.
D)   The poor do not draw the attention of the local authorities.

Question 9

Explain how ethnographers can explore global phenomena by conducting fieldwork at the local level.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain how ethnographers can explore global phenomena...

Question 10

It is essential that ethnographers map communities because mapping:

Accepted Answer

A)   allows the anthropologist to identify key informants.
B)   documents the randomness of the built environment.
C)   provides a deep immersion in the rhythms of daily life.
D)   illuminates how use of space influences social interactions.

Question 11

Anthropologists are able to collect information, select which people to highlight, and choose which facts to publish in their results. What key aspect of writing ethnography does this clearly illustrate?

Accepted Answer

A)   the importance of accurate notes in the field
B)   the crucial need for different types of anthropologists today
C)   how the type of ethnographic writing affects the published results
D)   the reality that all anthropological inquiry is a form of interpretation

Question 12

Programs like Human Terrain Systems Program and the Minerva Initiative offer funding to anthropologists whose work can benefit defense planning. Many in anthropology see this as a problem for the discipline. What do they find problematic?

Accepted Answer

A)   an excess of funding sources for a narrow range of interests
B)   the "weaponizing of anthropology"
C)   the "militarization of anthropology"
D)   recruitment of anthropologists as fighting soldiers

Question 13

What is the necessary starting point for all anthropologists conducting fieldwork?

Accepted Answer

A)   Nancy Scheper-Hughes's notion of volunteerism and activism
B)   Margaret Mead's emphasis on dynamic writing
C)   Franz Boas's notion of cultural relativism
D)   E.E. Evans-Pritchard's synchronic approach

Question 14

What did Lewis Henry Morgan do that was an exception in the field of anthropology at that time?

Accepted Answer

A)   He conducted a restudy of the Trobriand Islands.
B)   Morgan researched social life among the Nuer of Africa.
C)   He and his team studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
D)   Morgan conducted fieldwork to become an expert on Native Americans.

Question 15

An anthropologist conducts ethnographic research on the lives of undocumented immigrant families. How might the anthropologist justify publishing intimate and potentially incriminating details about the subjects?

Accepted Answer

A)   All of the poor must be given an equal voice, and publishing ethnographic research is the most useful way to accomplish this.
B)   The researcher obtained informed consent and ensured the anonymity of the subjects.
C)   The anthropologist must publish the results to help stop undocumented immigration.
D)   The anthropologist will violate the "do no harm" mandate unless the research is published.

Question 16

Because Nancy Scheper-Hughes has been a community activist and an advocate for her research subjects, what kind of anthropology can we consider her work to be?

Accepted Answer

A)   experimental
B)   engaged
C)   reflexive
D)   medical

Question 17

What did Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) specifically encourage fellow anthropologists to do in his guidelines?

Accepted Answer

A)   Clearly document the kinship system of the people being studied.
B)   Take time to learn the local language of the people being studied.
C)   Carefully document the geographical setting of the people being studied.
D)   Conduct in-depth analysis of a culture from an armchair.

Question 18

The roots of cultural anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork lie in:

Accepted Answer

A)   early biological models.
B)   modern philosophical debates.
C)   turn-of-the-century demographic trends.
D)   late nineteenth-century globalization.

Question 19

How did the American Anthropological Association's "do no harm" mandate come into existence?

Accepted Answer

A)   Anti-colonialist ideas spurred a debate in the 1900s about the role of anthropology in protecting indigenous groups.
B)   The loss of life during the Human Terrain Systems Program was made public and provoked outrage among the anthropological community.
C)   An increasing awareness of loss of Amazonian rain forest populations evoked a worldwide outcry.
D)   Ethical and moral lapses toward the end of the twentieth century led to changes in attitude about the role of the anthropologist.

Question 20

E. E. Evans-Pritchard used a synchronic approach in establishing social anthropology through his work doing what?

Accepted Answer

A)   A careful reexamination of Malinowski's work in the Trobriand Islands.
B)   A methodical analysis of social life among the Nuer of Africa.
C)   An examination of effects of British colonialism in Puerto Rico.
D)   An analysis of how British colonialism altered the idea of exchange in the kula ring economy.

Exam 3: Fieldwork and Ethnography