Why Are Informal Interviews Central to Ethnographic Fieldwork

question 60

Multiple Choice

Why are informal interviews central to ethnographic fieldwork?

• A)They provide a fixed structure that allows the researcher to quantify the data collection.
• B)They are conversations between friends and allow the anthropologist access to information that is confidential.
• C)They are part-time ways of gathering data that allow the anthropologist time to do other work while working in the field.
• D)They are casual exchanges in which the anthropologists can gain insight into the things that matter most to the cultural group.
• E)They are pieces of a larger conversation and allow anthropologists to work in a team with each person contributing to the conversation.

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Definitions:

Past History

Past history is a record or account of events, actions, or conditions that happened in the past.

Overt Behavior

Observable actions or responses of an individual, which can be directly seen and measured by others.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment.

Freudian Psychoanalysis

A psychological theory and therapy method developed by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes unconscious motivations and conflicts as determinants of human behavior.