A series of conversations about the past, present, and future of anthropological knowledge and practice.

This down-to-earth, hands-on collection offers an impressive range of insightful, focused vignettes about cultural research that will jumpstart students’ thinking about the practice of anthropology.

"An introductory and applied guide to ethnographic methods. It focuses on those methods - participant observation, interviewing, focus groups, and video/photographic work - that allow us to understand the lived, everyday world 'out there.'"

Wayne Fife teaches students and new researchers how to prepare for research, conduct a study, analyze the material (e.g. create new social and cultural theory), and write academic or policy oriented books, articles, or reports.

"This text describes ethnographic fieldwork as the gradual accumulation of knowledge about something you don't know much about to begin with, facilitated by theoretical and methodological instruments. "

"...provides readers with a good sense of the breadth, variation, and complexity of the fieldwork enterprise. "

"Offers readers a very practical, down-to-earth approach to the methods and key issues involved in dong ethnographic research. "

"Extends beyond the investigation of qualitative inquiry itself to explore the indigenous and non-indigenous voices that inform research, policy, politics, and social justice."

"Focusing on the pursuit of quality in social research, the authors: explore different ways of collecting and analyzing data; introduce the main analytical approaches for text, image and sound; cover computer-based analysis; and address problems in interpretation and quality criteria for qualitative research."

"...a well-conceived and organized series of articles on method in socio-cultural anthropology,"

"...establishes a benchmark for synthesizing anthropological research practices over the past 100 years. Avoiding the divisive debates over science and humanism, the authors contributing to this important volume draw upon both traditions to define and describe anthropological fieldwork in practice."

"...this work examines the theoretical and epistemological basis of Indigenous methodologies and offers practical guidance to those conducting research in Indigenous communities."

Explores participant observation in this guide to the systematic collection of data in naturalistic settings - communities in many different cultures - to achieve an understanding of the most fundamental processes and patterns of social life.

"...includes a wide range of detailed case examples on innovative qualitative approaches to attract researchers in the behavioral and social sciences."

The standard textbook for methods courses in anthropology contains all the useful methodological advice and more: additional material on text analysis, an expanded section on sampling in field settings, and dozens of new examples.