1st Edition

Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research Historical Perspectives

By Pertti J. Pelto Copyright 2017
    356 Pages 24 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    356 Pages 24 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research: Historical Perspectives captures the dynamic history and development of mixed methods research in a narrative of personal discovery, growth, and experience. Distinguished ethnographer and methodologist Pertti Pelto, who first called for the integration of qualitative and quantitative research methods nearly half a century ago, establishes a direct line between the earliest examples of ethnographic research and the ongoing mixed method discussions in academic institutions throughout the world. By bringing together such distinct historical perspectives with his own reflections on mixed methods research, Pelto offers a rare and endlessly enriching account that will satisfy the ever-growing need for a better quality of practical data gathering and give researchers a foundation for promoting mixed methods in the future.

    CONTENTS

     

    Preface

    Chapter 1. Mixed Methods Research in Ethnography, Qualitative and Quantitative

    Ethnography in Earlier Times

    Al Biruni

    Bernadino de Sahagun (1499-1590)

    Applied Ethnographic Field Work, Cultural Patterns, and Research Methods

    Applied Field Research: Many Disciplines, Many Players

    The Different Histories of Quantitative and Qualitative Research in Applied Field Research and Academic Research

    Disillusionment with Quantitative Surveys

    The New Interest in "Mixed Methods" in the Social Sciences

    Chapter 2. Mixed Methods in 19th Century Ethnography

    J. Sjogren, Finnish Linguist-Ethnographer

    Mathias A. Castren

    Other 19th Century Finnish Ethnographer-Linguists

    Vladimir Bogoraz, Russian Ethnographer/Linguist/Revolutionary

    Franz Boas: Promoter of Mixed Methods in North America

    Chapter 3. The Developing Discourse of Mixed Method Research

    The QUAL versus QUAN Paradigm Debates

    Many Problems in the Current Mixed Methods "Paradigm Concepts"

    How Did Qualitative Data-Gathering Gain Acceptance in Quantitative-Dominated Research Areas?

    A New Wave of Mixed Methods

    QUAN+qual, QUAL à quan; Let’s Get on with the Fun

    More Complex, Multiple Methods Mixtures (MMM)

    QUAL+quan and QUAL à quan designs are very common

    The Traditions of Publishing Make a Big Difference for Mixing of Methods

    Summary and Conclusions

    Chapter 4. Culture and Personality Studies: Plenty of Mixed Methods

    Life in a Mexican Village; A Study by Oscar Lewis and Associates

    Personality Formation among the Navaho People

    Acculturation and Culture/Personality Studies

    The "Newer" Culture and Personality Studies

    Acculturation, Self-Identification and Personality Adjustment in an Inuit Village

    Analysis of the Data

    Farmers and Herdsmen in East Africa: Effects of Ecological Factors on Values, Attitudes, and Psychological Characteristics

    Quantitative Scale from "Full-Scale Farming to Full-Scale Herding"

    Discussion and Conclusions

    Chapter 5. Large Multi-Year, Multi-Site, Multi-Disciplinary Research Projects

    The Hawthorne Study: Mixed Methods in an Early Applied Project

    Yankee City Series: Volume IV. "The Strike: A Social Analysis"

    The Big Strike

    The Great Mix of Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative

    The Ethnic Groups in Yankee City

    "Yankee City" in Historical Perspective: Criticisms and Credits

    "Public Health as a Career in Medicine:" Another Large-Scale Study

    Phase Two

    Summary and Conclusions

    Chapter 6. Ecosystems Theory, Adaptation, and New Directions in Research

    An Early Applied Study of Up-grading Navaho Economy and Health

    Massive Environmental Change: Ecosystem Effects of a Dam Project

    Commentary

    Pigs for the Ancestors: A Focus on Ritual as Ecological Regulator

    Quantitative Data

    Qualitative Data: Ethnography of Ritual

    Discussion and Criticism Sparked by Pigs for the Ancestors

    Structural Change in Northern Thai Rice Villages

    Sarmela’s English Language Summary

    Focus on Agricultural Adaptations in Rural Mexico

    Discussion and Conclusions

    Chapter 7. Medical Anthropology and Mixed Methods Research

    Another Epidemic: Diphtheria Immunization in Thailand

    Sorcery and Medicine in the Philippines

    The Sociology of an Indian Hospital Ward

    The Complex Varieties of Academic and Applied Medical Anthropology

    Biological and Cultural Adaptations: The Ecological Framework

    Anthropology and Mental Health: Psychosis in East Africa

    Long-Term Multidisciplinary Research in Selected Study Populations

    Multiple Research Methods in Complex Ethnography: West Africa

    An Unusual Category: Combining Ethnography and Quantitative Experiment

    Intervention: Development and Testing of a Model MCE Program

    Conclusion

    Chapter 8. QUAL+qual and QUAL à qual Studies: Common Practices in Ethnography

    Coming of Age in Samoa 1928: Margaret Mead’s Seminal Study

    A Famous QUAL+QUALà qual Study: Street Corner Society

    Getting Started, Learning Field Research

    Components of the Research Methods

    "Doc," the Most Famous "Key Informant" in Field Research Literature

    Sub-Project: Mapping the Social Interactions at the Club

    Other Examples of Mixed Methods in QUAL Research. Mixed Methods in Linguistic Research

    QUALà qual Triangulation

    James P. Spradley: "Grand Tour Interviews" and Other Special Methods

    Extensive Participation: Sometimes It Is A "Supplemental Method"

    Concluding Comments

    Chapter 9. The Development of Quantitative Methods in Ethnographic Research

    British Ethnographers Started Doing Surveys Early in the 20th Century

    An "Experiment" with Survey Research Methods in Africa

    More Specialized Survey Research "Experiments"

    Small-Scale Surveys: Other Variations on the Survey Model(s)

    A Different Kind of Mixed Method Research: Cultural Analysis of P-3 Pilot Error

    The Study of High Concordance Domains

    High versus Low Concordance Domains, and Sampling

    "Tight" and "Loose" Societies

    Cultural Consensus and Sample Sizes

    Cultural Data, Key Informants, and Concordance

    Summary and Conclusions

    Chapter 10. Food, Diet and Nutrition Studies

    Studies of Food Distribution and Dietary Behaviors

    Diet and Hunger in Northern Rhodesia

    Hunger Months

    The Monograph as a Classic Mixed Methods Study of Food and Nutrition

    Diet in the Mexican Town of Tepoztlan

    A Diet and Nutrition Intervention in South Africa

    Nutritional Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Research

    New Achievements in Mixed Methods Diet and Nutrition Studies

    The Role of Fruits and Wild Greens in the Shambaa Diet in Tanzania

    A Study of Malnutrition in Mali

    Research on Vitamin A Deficiency: A Multi-Site, Interdisciplinary Study

    Hypothetical Scenarios for Getting Data on Night-Blindness and Other Symptoms

    Multi-Year, Multi-Disciplinary Mixed-Methods Study in Central Mexico

    Major Finding: "Small is Not Healthy and Happy"

    Summary and Conclusions

    Chapter 11. The Rise of Community Studies and Ecological Theory: Paradigm Transitions in Finland

    Hilma N. Granqvist: Ethnographic Study of a Palestinian Village, 1925-1931

    Research in Lapland: Kalle Nickul’s "Discover" of the Skolt Saami Community

    Mapping and Other Mixed Methods Research in Suenjel (Kola Peninsula)

    Kai Donner: Another "Early Modern" Contributor to Paradigm Change

    Community Studies and Ecological Frameworks: Later Trends in the 20th Century

    Adaptive Strategies in the Aland Islands

    Community Studies and Ecological Theory in More Recent Finnish Ethnographic Research

    Concluding Discussion

    Chapter 12. My Explorations in QUAL+quan Research Methodology

    Doctoral Dissertation Research in Finnish Lapland

    The Upper Mississippi Research Project

    Thinking about Research Methods

    Thinking about Different Kinds of Societies

    The Snowmobile Revolution: Technology and Social Change

    Technology and De-localization

    Notes on Methodology

    Varieties of Delocalization: Food and Diet

    Conclusions: More Recent Developments

    Chapter 13. Triangulation and Descriptive Expansion: The Uses of Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research

    Exploring "Descriptive Expansion" and Related Purposes of Mixed Methods Designs

    Understanding the Concept of Triangulation in Mixed-Methods Research

    Broader Definitions of "Triangulation"

    Triangulation Studies for Assessing Informant Accuracy

    Key Informant Reliability: Another Look at Interview Data

    Triangulation and Informant Precision

    Comparing Individual In-Depth Interviews and Group Discussion Methods

    Triangulation and Mixed-Methods Research in Action

    Triangulation with Multiple Quantified Data Gathering Methods: Alaska

    Triangulation at the Level of Theory and Data Analysis

    Informal Triangulation in Ethnographic Field Research

    A Loose Use of the Triangulation Concept in Ethnographic Research

    Triangulation in Qualitative Ethnographic Research: A Case of "Investigator Triangulation"

    Triangulation is Only One of Several Mixed-Methods Research Categories

    Criticisms and Critiques of Triangulation in the Social Sciences

    Summary and Conclusions

    The Basic Lesson

    Chapter 14. Two Decades of Mixed-Methods in South Asia

    The Technical Assistance Program: "Building Social Science Capacity for Research on Women’s Health in India"

    QUAL-QUAN Mixed-Method Research Tools

    Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Data Was Already Common in South Asia

    Developing a Manual for Field Training and Guidelines for Data-Gathering and Analysis

    Other Developments in the Mid-1990s

    Implementing a Reproductive Health Agenda in India: The Beginning

    Reproductive Health in India: New Evidence

    Ethnographic Field Research in South Asia

    Women’s Perceptions of White Vaginal Discharge: Ethnographic Data from Rural Maharashtra

    Evaluation of a Rural Community Health Program

    Women’s Work and Child Health

    Ethnographic Study of Sex Workers in a Red Light District in Kolkata

    Examples of Mixed Methods Research in Bangladesh

    The HIV/AIDs Pandemic and Mixed Methods Research

    HIV/AIDs and the 21st Century in South Asia: Our Book of Research Results

    Examples of Research on Sexual Behavior during the Technical Assistance Program

    Other Noteworthy Studies in this Collection

    Men’s Sexual Health Concerns in Mumbai

    Women’s Reproductive Health in the Time of AIDs

    Continued Research in Issues around Pregnancy, Childbirth, Abortion, and other Reproductive Health Matters

    Summary: Mixed Methods Research in South Asia

    Chapter 15. Two "Histories" of Mixed Methods Research

    Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research: Early Times

    New Pathways to Mixed Methods in the 20th Century

    Multi-Disciplinary and Large-Scale Projects Often Led to Mixed Methods

    Inter-Disciplinary Research Teams: A Different Pathway to MM

    Mixed Methods in Health Research

    Ethnographic Publications are often in Books or Large Printed Reports

    Quantitative Research Approaches Have Often Been Inductive

    The "Other History" of Mixed Methods and the Recent Spread of Interest in Qualitative Ethnographic Research

    New Explorations in Qualitative Research Methods, Especially in Developing Country Programs

    Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RR)

    Focused Ethnographic Studies (FES)

    Other Influences Favoring Qualitative Data Approaches and Mixed Methods

    Influences from the Computer Revolution

    The Big Picture: Mixed Methods Approaches Are Essential Because Each Individual Method Has Weaknesses. But There Is More: There Are Multiple Sectors of Data in the Real World

    Biography

    Pertti J. (Bert) Pelto, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, where he played a major role in developing the program in applied medical anthropology. He has also served as a consultant for many international health organizations, providing training in mixed methods ethnographic research for community-based applied projects. Best known for his groundbreaking book on research methods (Anthropological Research: The Structure of Inquiry, 1970), Professor Pelto was recently (2016) honored by the Society for Applied Anthropology with the establishment of the biennial "Pertti Pelto International Travel Award," in recognition of his contributions to training in applied field research methods in international contexts.

    Prime architect of the methodology of employing mixed methods in ethnographic research, Pertti J Pelto, traces it's historical evolution globally. His personal narrative provides practical, experiential learnings for obtaining nuanced answers to complex research questions. Through decades of work with research networks and communities in India and other developing countries, Pelto succeeded in legitimizing the once suspect qualitative techniques. It is because of his untiring efforts that integrating qualitative with quantitative methods has become the norm today.

    Saroj Pachauri, MD, PhD, DPH, Distinguished Scholar, Population Council

     

    Only Pertti Pelto could have written this history –a tour de force of erudition. The book makes clear that anthropology is and has always been about mixed methods, but social scientists of all stripes will find wonderful material here for teaching mixed methods.

    H. Russell Bernard, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Florida; Director of the Institute for Social Science Research, Arizona State University

     

    In his latest book, Pertti Pelto takes us on a captivating, personal and historical tour of the use of mixed methods in social science research. His narrative style and stories from the from the field make this both a fun read and an important reference for students and researchers who want to gain a broader understanding of past and present developments in ethnographic research methods.

     

    Patricia Hudelson, PhD, Anthropologue médicale, Consultation transculturelle et interprétariat, Département de médecine communautaire, de premier recours et des urgences, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève

     

    In this immensely insightful, rich and readable ‘story’ of ethnographic research in the use of mixed methods, Professor Pelto reminds us how important is the historical perspective concerning research methods and strategies. In the absence of this clarity, social scientists and public health researchers are likely to polarize the discourse of qualitative versus quantitative methods and fail to take cognizance of various nuanced ways in which multi-method approaches enhance our knowledge creation. I can hardly overemphasize the timeliness of this book

    Ravi Verma, PhD, Regional Director, Asia, International Center for Research on Women

     

    Mixed Methods Research captures a wide and throughout picture of ethnographical research methods. It brings interestingly together the historical development and Pelto’s personal reflections on interaction of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Pelto’s wide experience of ethnographical research makes this book is an enjoyable reading and important guide for students as well as professional scholars all over the world. This book answers to a growing need for a practical guide in data-gathering.

    Inker-Anni Linkola, Senior Officer, Sámi Archives, Sajos

     

    Even in constructing his comprehensive and complex work on the application of mixed metholodologies, Pertti J. Pelto is a lively and engaging academic narrator, who succeeds to interpret deep issues and problems which have occupied generations of anthropologists. He weaves into the discussion his intensive long-term personal knowledge and experiences in multiple disciplines in various cultural settings, from the Skolt Sami in northernmost Europe to rural communities in South Asia. Pelto provides researchers and other actors, such as non-governmental organizations, with insights, strategies, and tools to apply mixed methodologies to health and social issues or economic and ecological understanding in an easily accessible manner."

    Veli-Pekka Lehtola, Professor for Sámi cultural studies, Giellagas Institute, University of Oulu