Values and Anthropology

Anthropology has the highest regard for rigorous and honest research. Most anthropologists respect the internal, culturally defined explanations of truth of the people they study (emic) while doing scientific research (edic). Both types of research are part of cultural anthropology. In both cases, social facts are determined by observation; this requires actual field research. Both types of anthropology follow similar types of observation: by carefully recording the native worldview, attempts to understand another culture are undertaken. The anthropologist's carefully constructed analysis of any aspect of a culture studied is taken from an objective point of view, and must be pursued with equal qualified fairness and honesty. Anthropologists have a professional commitment to record what has, in fact, been observed, and those conclusions must honestly reflect what they claim to be studying through their observations. It is also important that other anthropologists could, if not replicate those studies, at least use the studies as valuable background for further research.

As in all social sciences, there is a code of conduct in Anthropology on how to do research. Anthropologists generate hypotheses that are to be internally consistent so that they do not create incongruous conclusions. The social scientist has an obligation to others in the profession as to their talent to make available truthful, however tentatively, calculations of what was observed in the field. These truthful observations are always helpful to other anthropologists, and making sure of the availability of these observations is seen as being a true professional. Even research in areas carried out in studies that are not only geographically distant, but that also have a certain theoretical distance as well from the original hypothesis, is appreciated by other anthropologists. In cultural anthropology, as a branch of learning in which use of the scientific methods are sometimes less than clear-cut, a good hypothesis can be even more important. As in the early days of anthropological explorations, the hypothesis should be able to combine contrasting observations recorded in the field notes of the anthropologists. This rigorous recording is still seen as a virtue within the profession. Also sympathetically appreciated among anthropologists is the use of simplicity of research design and sophistication of theory. The truly learned among this field show a strong appreciation for elegance in the study; like any science, honesty within the research and its resultant findings is first and foremost.

Today most anthropologists believe they have an obligation to the people they study. A social scientist with conflicting allegiances cannot always be relied upon to act in the public interest of those people being studied. In the field of anthropology today, it is acknowledged that enticements often exist that may tempt the field researchers to betray the trust of the people they are studying. To do this, it is important to remove as many conflicting interests as possible, including the often conflicting interests between the loyalties to those who pay the anthropologist, the loyalty to the discipline of anthropology, and the loyalty to the people anthropologists study.

This must be the first concern of professional anthropologists: to respect the integrity, anonymity, and the culture of the people they study. These concerns take priority over all other considerations. A close secondary issue is the need to be concerned with the contribution to the overall body of knowledge of culture, and the development of anthropological theory.

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