What is anthropology?

Anthropology is the study of people and society. There is a huge variety of what anthropologists study within the discipline, from why denim jeans have become so popular around the world, to adolescence in Samoa, to how we need to “think like a climate” in order to care for our planet in urban areas. Anthropology can help us understand the human experience and how we relate to the world around us. My favourite way to describe anthropology, and a common adage in the discipline, is: making the unfamiliar familiar and the familiar unfamiliar.

What do anthropologists do?

The methods that anthropologists used vary widely, but many anthropologists employ ethnographic methods, including a technique called participant observation which involves spending a long time with the people or organisation you are researching, speaking to people, observing how they act and the ways that people interact with the world around them. Conducting interviews, taking photographs and doing close language analysis can help anthropologists collect data too.

My methods

My research takes place online and in person and I use a combination of interviews, focus groups, participant observation online and in person, and qualitative analysis of texts and other data to collect my data. I collect this information in a number of different ways, sometimes using a recording device or photography, writing shorthand notes, collecting information from public sources such as social media or archives. I use a system of qualitative coding to analyse my data which helps me to keep my ideas neatly organised and to spot trends in the practices and people I engage with.

Non-extractive and ethical anthropology

These methods described above are carried out with the consent of the people I am observing and are conducted ethically and non-extractively, meaning that I do not take or expect to be given access, trust and data without supporting the goals of the people I’m working with. I am committed to working in a way that is transparent and works with people so that the anthropological work that I produce comes out of an exchange between my informants and me. Ultimately this produces better, more authentic work, as well as allowing for trusting and rewarding partnerships to be built during my field work.