Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research Historical
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MIXED METHODS
IN ETHNOGRAPHIC
RESEARCH
Historical Perspectives
Pertti J. Pelto
First published 2017
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CONTENTS
Prefacexiii
Acknowledgementsxix
1 Mixed Methods Research in Ethnography, Qualitative and
Quantitative1
Ethnography in Earlier Centuries 2
Al-Biruni: A Remarkable Ethnographer 1000 Years Ago 3
Bernardino de Sahagun (1499–1590) 5
Applied Ethnographic Field Work, Cultural Patterns, and Research
Methods 7
Applied Field Research: Many Disciplines, Many Players 8
The Histories of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Designs Are
Different in Applied Field Research as Compared to Patterns of Study in
Academic Disciplines 10
Disillusionment with Quantitative Surveys 11
The New Interest in “Mixed Methods” in the Social Sciences 12
Conclusions 14
References 16
2 Mixed Methods in Nineteenth-Century Ethnography 18
A. J. Sjögren:The First Notable Finnish Linguist–Ethnographer 20
Mathias A. Castren 20
Other Nineteenth-Century Finnish Ethnographer–Linguists 24
Vladimir Bogoraz (Waldemar Bogoras): Russian Ethnographer/Linguist/
Revolutionary 27
vi Contents
Franz Boas: Promoter of Mixed Methods in North America 29
Concluding Comments 35
References 35
3 The Developing Discourse of Mixed Methods Research 37
The QUAL versus QUAN Paradigm Debates 38
Many Problems in the Current Mixed Methods “Paradigm
Concepts” 42
How Did Qualitative Data Gathering Gain Acceptance in
Quantitative-Dominated Research Areas? 44
A New Wave of Mixed Methods 45
QUAN + qual, QUAL → quan: Let’s Get on with the Fun 46
More Complex, Multiple Methods Mixtures (MMM) 47
QUAL + quan and QUAL → quan Designs Are Very Common 48
The Traditions of Publishing Make a Big Difference for Mixing of
Methods 50
Summary and Conclusions 51
References 51
4 Culture and Personality Studies: Plenty of Mixed Methods 53
Life in a Mexican Village: A Study by Oscar Lewis and Associates 55
Personality Formation among the Navajo People 59
Acculturation and Culture/Personality Studies 60
Use of Projective Tests in Ethnographic Research 61
The “Newer” Culture and Personality Studies 63
The Instrumental Activities Inventory (Spindler and Spindler) 64
Acculturation, Self-Identification and Personality Adjustment in an
Inuit Village 66
Analysis of the Data 67
Farmers and Herdsmen in East Africa: Effects of Ecological Factors on Values,
Attitudes, and Psychological Characteristics 68
Quantitative Scale from “Full-Scale Farming to Full-Scale
Herding” 70
Discussion and Conclusions 70
References 72
5 Large Multi-Year, Multi-Site, Multi-Disciplinary Research
Projects74
The Hawthorne Study: Mixed Methods in an Early Applied Project 74
Yankee City Series:Volume IV. “The Strike: A Social Analysis” 77
The Big Strike 79
Contents vii
The Great Mix of Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative 82
The Ethnic Groups in Yankee City 83
“Yankee City” in Historical Perspective: Criticisms and Credits 84
“Public Health as a Career in Medicine”: Another Large-Scale Study 86
Summary and Conclusions 89
References 91
6 Ecosystems Theory, Adaptation, and New Directions in Research 92
An Early Applied Study of Upgrading Navajo Economy and Health 93
Massive Environmental Change: Ecosystem Effects of a Dam Project 96
Commentary 100
Pigs for the Ancestors: A Focus on Ritual as Ecological Regulator 101
Quantitative Data 102
Qualitative Data: Ethnography of Ritual 102
Discussion and Criticism Sparked by Pigs for the Ancestors 104
Structural Change in Northern Thai Rice Villages 106
Sarmela’s English Language Summary 107
Focus on Agricultural Adaptations in Rural Mexico 109
Discussion and Conclusions 111
References 114
7 Medical Anthropology and Mixed Methods Research 115
Another Epidemic: Diphtheria Immunization in Thailand 117
Sorcery and Medicine in the Philippines 119
The Sociology of an Indian Hospital Ward 121
The Complex Varieties of Academic and Applied Medical Anthropology 123
Biological and Cultural Adaptations:The Ecological Framework 125
Anthropology and Mental Health: Psychosis in East Africa 126
Long-Term Multidisciplinary Research in Selected Study Populations 128
Multiple Research Methods in Complex Ethnography:West Africa 129
An Unusual Category: Combining Ethnography and Quantitative
Experiment 131
Intervention: Development and Testing of a Model MCE Program 132
Conclusion 134
References 135
8 QUAL + qual and QUAL → qual Studies: Common Practices in
Ethnography137
Coming of Age in Samoa 1928: Margaret Mead’s Seminal Study 139
A Famous QUAL + QUAL → qual Study: Street Corner Society 142
Getting Started, Learning Field Research 142
viii Contents
Components of the Research Methods 143
“Doc,” the Most Famous “Key Informant” in Field Research
Literature 144
Sub-Project: Mapping the Social Interactions at the Club 145
Other Examples of Mixed Methods in QUAL Research: Mixed Methods
in Linguistic Research 146
QUAL → qual Triangulation 147
James P. Spradley: “Grand Tour Interviews” and Other Special
Methods 148
Extensive Participation: Sometimes It Is a “Supplemental Method” 150
Concluding Comments 151
References 152
9 The Development of Quantitative Methods in Ethnographic
Research153
British Ethnographers Started Doing Surveys Early in the Twentieth
Century 154
An “Experiment” with Survey Research Methods in Africa 157
More Specialized Survey Research “Experiments” 159
Small-Scale Surveys: Other Variations on the Survey Model(s) 161
A Different Kind of Mixed Methods Research: Cultural Analysis of
P-3 Pilot Error 161
The Study of High Concordance Domains 164
High versus Low Concordance Domains, and Sampling 165
“Tight” and “Loose” Societies 167
Cultural Consensus and Sample Sizes 168
Cultural Data, Key Informants, and Concordance 169
Summary and Conclusions 170
References 172
10 Food, Diet, and Nutrition Studies 174
Studies of Food Distribution and Dietary Behaviors 174
Pilaga Food Distribution 176
Diet and Hunger in Northern Rhodesia 178
Hunger Months 180
The Monograph as a Classic Mixed Methods Study of Food and
Nutrition 181
Diet in the Mexican Town of Tepoztlan 181
A Diet and Nutrition Intervention in South Africa 183
Nutritional Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Research 186
Contents ix
New Achievements in Mixed Methods Diet and Nutrition Studies 187
Research on Vitamin A Deficiency: A Multi-Site, Interdisciplinary
Study 192
Hypothetical Scenarios for Getting Data on Night-Blindness and Other
Symptoms 193
Multi-Year, Multi-Disciplinary Mixed Methods Study in Central
Mexico 194
Major Finding: “Small Is Not Healthy and Happy” 196
Summary and Conclusions 197
References 198
11 The Rise of Community Studies and Ecological Theory: Paradigm
Transitions in Finland 200
Hilma N. Granqvist: Ethnographic Study of a Palestinian Village,
1925–1931 201
Research in Lapland: Kalle Nickul’s “Discovery” of the Skolt Saami
Community 204
Mapping and Other Mixed Methods Research in Suenjel (Kola
Peninsula) 205
Kai Donner: Another “Early Modern” Contributor to Paradigm
Change 210
Community Studies and Ecological Frameworks: Later Trends in the
Twentieth Century 211
Adaptive Strategies in the Åland Islands 213
Community Studies and Ecological Theory in More Recent Finnish
Ethnographic Research 214
Concluding Discussion 215
References 215
12 My Explorations in QUAL + quan Research Methodology 218
Doctoral Dissertation Research in Finnish Lapland 218
The Upper Mississippi Research Project 222
Thinking about Research Methods 224
Thinking about Different Kinds of Societies 225
The Snowmobile Revolution:Technology and Social Change 226
Technology and Delocalization 228
Notes on Methodology 230
Varieties of Delocalization: Food and Diet 233
Conclusions: More Recent Developments 235
References 236
x Contents
13 Triangulation and Descriptive Expansion: The Uses of Mixed
Methods in Ethnographic Research 238
Exploring “Descriptive Expansion” and Related Purposes of Mixed
Methods Designs 239
Understanding the Concept of Triangulation in Mixed Methods Research 241
Broader Definitions of “Triangulation” 244
Triangulation Studies for Assessing Informant Accuracy 245
Key Informant Reliability: Another Look at Interview Data 248
Triangulation and Informant Precision 249
Comparing Individual In-Depth Interviews and Group Discussion
Methods 251
Triangulation and Mixed Methods Research in Action 252
Triangulation with Multiple Quantified Data-Gathering Methods:
Alaska 253
Triangulation at the Level of Theory and Data Analysis 255
Informal Triangulation in Ethnographic Field Research 257
A Loose Use of the Triangulation Concept in Ethnographic Research 259
Triangulation in Qualitative Ethnographic Research: A Case of “Investigator
Triangulation” 260
Triangulation Is Only One of Several Mixed Methods Research
Categories 262
Criticisms and Critiques of Triangulation in the Social Sciences 262
Summary and Conclusions 264
The Basic Lesson 265
References 265
14 Two Decades of Mixed Methods in South Asia 268
The Technical Assistance Program: “Building Social Science Capacity for
Research on Women’s Health in India” 270
QUAL-QUAN Mixed Methods Research Tools 272
Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Data Was Already Common in South
Asia 273
Developing a Manual for Field Training and Guidelines for Data Gathering
and Analysis 274
Other Developments in the Mid-1990s 274
Implementing a Reproductive Health Agenda in India:The Beginning 276
Reproductive Health in India: New Evidence 277
Ethnographic Field Research in South Asia 278
Women’s Perceptions of White Vaginal Discharge: Ethnographic Data from
Rural Maharashtra 279
Contents xi
Evaluation of a Rural Community Health Program 280
Women’s Work and Child Health 281
Ethnographic Study of Sex Workers in a Red Light District in
Kolkata 282
Examples of Mixed Methods Research in Bangladesh 283
The HIV/AIDS Pandemic and Mixed Methods Research 285
HIV/AIDS and the Twenty-First Century in South Asia: Our Book of
Research Results 286
Examples of Research on Sexual Behavior during the Technical Assistance
Program 287
Other Noteworthy Studies in This Collection 290
Men’s Sexual Health Concerns in Mumbai 291
Women’s Reproductive Health in the Time of AIDS 293
Continued Research in Issues around Pregnancy, Childbirth, Abortion, and
other Reproductive Health Matters 294
Summary: Mixed Methods Research in South Asia 295
References 298
15 Two “Histories” of Mixed Methods Research 301
Mixed Methods in Ethnographic Research: Early Times 302
New Pathways to Mixed Methods in the Twentieth Century 303
Multi-Disciplinary and Large-Scale Projects Often Led to Mixed
Methods 305
Interdisciplinary Research Teams: A Different Pathway to MM 306
Mixed Methods in Health Research 307
Ethnographic Publications Are Often in Books or Large Printed
Reports 308
Conclusions on the Long, Complex History of Mixed Methods in Applied
Ethnographic Studies and Related Fields 309
Quantitative Research Approaches Have Often Been Inductive 310
The “Other History” of Mixed Methods and the Recent Spread of Interest
in Qualitative Ethnographic Research 311
New Explorations in Qualitative Research Methods, Especially in
Developing Country Programs 313
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Rapid Rural
Appraisal (RRA) 315
Focused Ethnographic Studies (FES) 316
Other Influences Favoring Qualitative Data Approaches and Mixed
Methods 317
Influences from the Computer Revolution 318
xii Contents
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 320
Concluding Note 322
References 323
Index325
PREFACE
I returned to the United States in 2014, after living and working in South Asia
for nearly two decades. During that period, beginning in the early 1990s, I was
doing technical assistance, particularly with workshops and other training activi-
ties focused on qualitative methods for research on reproductive health issues and
programs. The research groups I worked with were relatively familiar with the
basics of quantitative (survey) data approaches, so the qualitative methods I pre-
sented were intended to strengthen their utilization of qualitative ethnographic
techniques. These training and related technical assistance activities were primar-
ily in India, in a program originally developed by the Ford Foundation. I also had
several sessions of training activities in Bangladesh and Nepal, particularly in con-
nection with the campaigns for combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. I describe
some of those South Asian research projects and training activities in Chapter 14.
When I returned to my home area in the United States, I found an impressive
growth of interest in “mixed methods research approaches,” manifested in a num-
ber of recently published books, as well as a relatively new Journal of Mixed Methods
Research (launched in 2007).The literature mainly defines “mixed methods” as the
combining of qualitative and quantitative research techniques and analysis, and
treats this strategy as a relatively new development in the social sciences. Indeed,
it does appear to be a “new thing” in some sectors of the social sciences. On the
other hand, I was amused in reflecting that I had strongly urged the combining
of qualitative and quantitative research methods in the book on methodology I
wrote nearly half a century ago (Pelto, 1970).
Another very interesting marker of this methodological discussion is the use of
abbreviations such as “QUAL,” “QUAN,” “qual,” and “quan”—combined in vari-
ous ways to represent different research designs. That practice, I thought, gave this
new topic of methodological discussion a special brand of visibility. I w ondered
xiv Preface
whether some commercial advertising people might have been involved in
developing this system of “codes.”
In my professional career in anthropology, I encountered a great deal of mixed
methods in ethnographic research, including studies carried out in the nineteenth
century and earlier.Throughout much of the twentieth century, in my experience,
there was a steady growth of “mixed methods” in ethnographic research. I also
had the feeling that in various sectors of ethnographic studies there were many
examples of combining several different qualitative methods. That was especially
notable among those ethnographers who combined detailed linguistic methods
with ethnographic procedures—interviewing, direct observation, mapping, and
other actions. Those mixed methods studies were already common in the nine-
teenth century, in some academic and non-academic realms.
After some further exploration, particularly in the areas of ethnographic proj-
ects I had studied and discussed with my colleagues and graduate students over
many years of academic work, I began to put these observations into chapters
for this book. My general impression was that the mixing of research methods in
ethnographic studies was particularly common in applied, practical projects. Also
certain sub-areas of academic disciplines seemed more prone to the combining of
qualitative with quantitative research methods.
Another strand in my thinking about this general topic of mixed methods
of research was that many ethnographic scholars and researchers in the English-
speaking world did not have very much knowledge or access to some non-English
scholarly works, such as those I was familiar with in northern Europe and (later)
in South Asia. I felt that it would be useful for me to include, in some detail, infor-
mation about ethnographic researchers in Finland, particularly those pioneering,
adventurous field researchers who carried out multi-year studies in Siberia in the
nineteenth century.
Chapters 1 and 2 give some pieces of the early history of ethnographic
research, beginning with the remarkable studies carried out by the Islamic scholar,
Al-Biruni, 1000 years ago. His ethnographic descriptions of Hindu Indian cul-
ture, so many centuries ago, give us a sense that the ethnographic study of “other
peoples and cultures” has very deep roots indeed.The nineteenth-century Finnish
scholars (Chapter 2), provide a further sense of the important early develop-
ments in ethnographic studies. Gradually, across several centuries, a wide range of
researchers have lighted up, step by step, the mapping of the varieties of human
communities in different parts of the globe.
In Chapter 2 I have also introduced a new perspective on Franz Boas, who
is commonly regarded as having established the North American variety of eth-
nographic (and general anthropological) scholarship in the American university
system. He fits well into this chapter, with the Finnish scholars, because his aca-
demic training and scholarly orientation was entirely European, not much differ-
ent from the academic backgrounds of the Finnish researchers. Those northern
ethnographic researchers published many of their works in German, as did Boas
Preface xv
in his earliest years. Most important, however, is the fact that in the course of my
recent reading, I discovered more details of the depth of mixed methods in Boas’s
extensive field research. Most of his ethnographic research was qualitative, but
with innovative mixing of different types of qualitative approaches.
Chapter 3 is devoted to examination of the “new language system” used for
discussing the varieties of mixed methods research designs. I feel that many peo-
ple, especially in developing countries, have not been exposed to the special labels
and terminology of the “mixed methods discussions,” so I include this little review
of these new usages.
Culture and personality studies (Chapter 4) is the topical area that strongly
influenced my early academic career. Also, this sub-area of ethnographic research
was one of the first sectors to develop strong tendencies for inclusion of quan-
titative methods connected to qualitative data gathering. In this chapter I point
out that it was mainly the social psychologists, collaborating with anthropologists,
who introduced the numerical methods that had become common research tools
in psychological studies. Thus, I point out in this chapter, and some others, that
multi-disciplinary studies have been especially likely to be the domains in which
mixing of the tools of data gathering and analysis takes place most readily. Culture
and personality studies, in the first half of the twentieth century, were to a consid-
erable extent built up from the inter-relating of qualitative ethnographic methods
with the quantitative techniques for assessing personality characteristics.
Chapter 5 is devoted to some famous old examples of very large, exploratory
projects, involving many researchers during several years of data gathering. Both
the Hawthorne Research and Yankee City studies are well known in the liter-
ature of the first half of the twentieth century, and they highlight the ways that
longer-term field research practically always results in mixing of different research
approaches.
Ethnographic studies in various health/illness issues and projects are another
area in which multi-disciplinary research teams have very often been the initi-
ators of mixed research designs. Chapter 6 presents a series of studies in which
medical professionals are often teamed with ethnographic researchers—situations
that, again, promote, or even require, multiple measurements of bodily conditions,
counts of numbers of “cases,” and other numerical data, along with qualitative
observations and verbal materials.
Economic and ecological studies are the subject of Chapter 7, in which the
issues examined often require quantitative methods, coupled with a wide range
of verbal descriptions. In many of the studies in this topical area, qualitative
descriptions of physical environments are essential parts of research design, but
concepts of “economic development,” and peoples’ adaptations to environmental
features, generally require measurements in terms of physical products, numbers
of people affected, and (quite often) measures of economic features in terms of
monetary units.
