Instrumental Resources for Anthropological Research
Code: 101261 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology | OB | 3 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Miranda Jessica Lubbers
- Email:
- MirandaJessica.Lubbers@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- spanish (spa)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- Yes
External teachers
- A determinar
Prerequisites
Prerequisites for the course are:
- General knowledge of anthropology.
- Computer skills at the basic user level.
- It is recommended to have participated in the course "Research Techniques in Social and Cultural Anthropology" previous to this course.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objectives of the course are the following:
- To acquire knowledge about the general models of collection, management, treatment and analysis of qualitative and quantitative information needed to carry out anthropological research.
- To obtain experience in the use of the main software related to research in anthropology: bibliographic references management, transcription, qualitative data analysis, cultural consensus analysis, social network analysis, basic statistics, etc., as well as the more common office tools.
- To design processes of collection, cleaning, management and analysis of large amounts of data from various sources for anthropological research.
Competences
- Producing cultural diversity materials that could have a critical impact on the common sense conceptions.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Using the procedures, techniques and instrumental resources to the fulfilment of ethnographic fieldwork.
Learning Outcomes
- Ability to maintain an appropriate conversation.
- Adopting a holistic perspective to the research problem's statement and analysing human institutions within wider cultural configurations.
- Analysing a contemporary fact from an anthropological perspective.
- Analysing data critically from anthropological investigations and reports.
- Applying the current ethical codes to the ethnographic fieldwork.
- Applying the knowledge of cultural variability and its genesis to avoid ethnocentric projections.
- Carrying out an individual work that specifies the work plan and timing of activities.
- Engaging in debates about historical and contemporary facts and respecting the other participants' opinions.
- Establishing reliable ethnological relationships with subjects that encourage the production and trustworthiness of data.
- Explaining the work's results narratively in accordance with the critical standards of discipline and bearing in mind the different target audiences.
- Obtaining and recording ethnographic data by applying the different collection and analysis techniques, specially by using qualitative procedures and the practice of the participant observation.
- Operationalizing theoretical concepts and testing explanations of the sociocultural phenomena.
- Relating elements and factors involved in the development of scientific processes.
- Selecting the appropriate techniques for each research design.
- Solving problems autonomously.
- Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.
Content
1. Introduction to information management
2. Research ethics and the code of good practices of scientific research at the UAB
3. Tools for the search of literature and statistical data
4. Management of bibliographical references
5. Tools for fieldwork: Audiovisual tools, web surveys
6. Tools for data processing and analysis: Transcription of interviews, introduction to the coding and analysis of qualitative information, introduction to the analysis of quantitative information
7. Special tools in anthropology: Analysis of cultural consensus, analysis of social networks, genealogies
8. Tools for the presentation of results: Preparation of texts (Templates, construction of indexes and tables), and the use of images
9. Other resources
Methodology
In this course, we distinguish between theoretical classes and laboratory practices.
Theoretical classes.
In the theoretical classes there will be an introduction by the teacher, with examples and discussions with the participants. In these classes, readings will be recommended according to the interests of the participants, and slides and internet connections will be used when appropriate. In the Campus Virtual, summaries of the themes will be posted according to the dynamics of the classes. During some of the theoretical classes, classroom exercises may be developed according to the dynamics of the classes. In these exercises, an activity will be proposed in pairs or in small groups related to the syllabus. This activity will be collected, on paper, at the end of the class and will be part of the continuous evaluation (participation).
Laboratory practice.
During these sessions, the students will perform an exercise with the software related to the theme of the class (individually, in pairs or small groups, as indicated by the instructor), guided by the instructor. and by an instruction sheet that allows students to perform the exercise on their own and at their own pace; the professor will explain the instructions to the group and answer individual and group questions. The participants will narratively present the results of these activities in reports (in Catalan, Spanish or English) that need to be uploaded on the Campus Virtual in maximally one week after the laboratory session.
The dates and topics of the theoretical classes and the laboratory practices will be presented in the course calendar, established from the first day. The professors will try to respect, as far as possible, the established dates, but the students must take into account that the calendar can undergo minor modifications (due to strikes, illness ...). Any change will be notified through the Campus Virtual. It is the student's responsibility to stay informed of possiblechanges.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Laboratory practices | 33 | 1.32 | 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 8, 14 |
| Theoretical classes | 17 | 0.68 | 3, 6, 5, 2, 16, 1, 8, 13 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Programmed exercises | 38 | 1.52 | 7, 11, 14 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Readings and internet research | 50 | 2 | 2, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 14 |
Assessment
The evaluation of the subject is understood as a continuous process evolving during the semester and will be developed through the following activities:
1. Participation (20%)
Attendance to class and active participation in the theoretical classes, discussions and classroom practices (qualified with 0 or 1 for each class, the average of all classes is reconverted to a 0-2 scale to obtain 20% of the final grade). This partial evaluative activity is not recoverable at a date or a time after the established one.
2. Quality of laboratory assignments and punctuality in the delivery of these (14 assignments, 80/14 = 5,71% for each assignment)
- Students are asked to submit the report of the assignments in Catalan, Spanish or English (individually, in pairs or groups, depending on the mode of work during the exercise). This report must be uploaded to Moodle within a week of its completion, through the "Submission" option of the Campus Virtual.
- The NIUs, surnames and names of the students must be included in the document and the report must have a Word or PDF format (or sometimes the format of the program used).
- The grading of each report will range from 0 to 3. The grades will be posted approximately within one week after the deadline of submission.
- For the set of practices, the average of the 14 grades will be taken and converted to a 0-8 scale to obtain 80% of the final grade.
- If it is not possible to submit reports within the established period, it can be done in the period of reevaluation.
Re-evaluation
- At the end ofthe course, a session of recovery of practices that have not been submitted will be reserved for justified reasons (with official justification), as well as of assignments that have been submitted but that were suspended. Non-submission is justifiable for the following reasons: work, family, illness. To participate in the reevaluation, the student must have been previously evaluated [this does not mean approved] in a set of activities of which the weight equals a minimum of 2/3 of the total score.
- The re-evaluation will consist of redoing the suspended practices (based on different materials).
- The final grade will be communicated through the Campus Virtual and a grade review session will be scheduled.
General criteria: Following the evaluation regulations of studies at the UAB, the final qualification will be graded at a 0-10 scale with a single decimal. To pass the course, a minimum final grade of 5.0 is needed, as a result of the assessment procedure explained above. Students will receive the qualification "Not evaluable" if they have submitted less than 30% of the activities of evaluation.Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the students involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Students may not retake assessment activities in which they are found to have engaged in misconduct. Plagiarism is considered to mean presenting all or part of an author’s work, whether published in print or in digital format, as one’s own, i.e., without citing it. Copying is considered to mean reproducing all or a substantial part of another student’s work. In cases of copying in which it is impossible to determine which of two students has copied the work of the other, both will be penalised. Please see the documentation of the UAB about plagiarism on: http://wuster.uab.es/web_argumenta_obert/unit_20/sot_2_01.html.
Evaluation in case of face-to-face evaluation is not possible: In the event that testsor exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | 20% | 8 | 0.32 | 4, 6, 5, 9, 10, 1, 11, 12, 8, 13, 15, 14 |
| Personal work | 20% | 2 | 0.08 | 4, 2, 7, 10, 16, 12 |
| Programmed practices | 60% | 2 | 0.08 | 3, 15, 14 |
Bibliography
Recommended:
Paulus, Trena M, Lester, Jessica N., & Dempster, Paul G. (2014). Digital tools for qualitative research. London: Sage.
Complementary:
American Association of Anthropology (adopted in 1971, amended in 1986). Principles of Professional Responsability. http://www.americananthro.org/ParticipateAndAdvocate/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=1656
Bernard, Russell H. (2002). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Walnut Creek, CA:Altamira Press.
Boelstorff, Tom, Nardi, Bonnie, Pearce, Celia, & Taylor, T. L. (2012). Ethnography and virtual worlds: A handbook of methods. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Cea D'Ancona, Ma. Angeles (1996). Metodología cuantitativa: Estrategias y técnicas de investigación social. Madrid: Síntesis.
Elliott, Denielle, & Culhane, Dara (2017). A different kind of ethnography: Imaginative practices and creative methodologies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Kadushin, Charles (2013). Comprender las redes sociales: Teorías, conceptos y hallazgos. Madrid: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. [traducción]
Ruiz Olabuénaga, José Ignacio (2007). Metodología de la investigación cualitativa. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto.
Small, Mario Luis (2011). How to Conduct a Mixed Methods Study: Recent Trends in a Rapidly Growing Literature. Annual Review of Sociology, 37:57–86.
Strathern, M. (2020). Relations: An anthropological account. Durham and London: Duke University Press.
Weller, Susan C. (2007). Cultural consensus theory: Applications and frequently asked questions. Field Methods, 19(4), 339-368.
Zuberi, Tukufu, & Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo (2008). White logic, white methods: Racism and methodology. Plymouth, UK: Rowman and Littlefield.