Anthropology

Research Ethics
(Answers)
Classroom Engagement Activity
What does an Anthropologist look like?
Directions to follow:
1. Work in groups of two.
2. With your group, first discuss this question: What is the first thought that pops into
your head when I say “Anthropologist?”
i. What does this person look like? What are they wearing?
ii. Where are they? What is the physical environment like?
iii. What are they doing?
iv. What kind of skills or tools are they using?
3. Now, with your group, draw this person. (Art skills are not necessary, but care and
craftsmanship is.) Include the above criteria in your drawing.
4. Attach your drawing to the ppt slide assigned to you.
5. Get ready to listen and discuss. Your visual should be an example of an anthropologist.

General Considerations:
● Be as specific and detailed as possible.
● Be prepared to show your drawing and discuss its contents with the class.
● Listen to other groups as they present and look for similarities and differences in the
drawings.
 1. What must an anthropologist protect with respect to
the research participant?
- The research participant’s physical, social, and psychological well being
- Ensure involvement with a community doesn’t harm/embarrass their informants
- Consider potential harm associated with research
- legal, emotional, political, economic, social, cultural dimensions
- Must respect their rights, interests, sensitivities, privacy
- duty of confidentiality
- eg. when conducting an interview, informing the participant of their legal rights
- Should anticipate harmful consequences and protect subjects from potential negative
short and long-term effects effects of research
- monitor work to ensure research design and methods minimize risk
- prevent feelings of intrusion into private and personal domains
2. Which persons are unable to give informed consent?
- Can only give informed consent if competent to do so
- in the maturity of our faculties
- Those who cannot give it include:
- very young people
- generally a minor requires parents to provide informed consent
- very ill people
- mentally impaired/intellectual disabilities
- people who have dementia
- the unconscious/in a coma
- the frail/confused
- those with psychiatric disorders
- Controversy over studying those who are deceased
- may violate the deceased person’s individualism and right of integrity
2. Which persons are unable to give informed consent?
- Can only give informed consent if competent to do so
- in the maturity of our faculties
- Those who cannot give it include:
- very young people
- generally a minor requires parents to provide informed consent
- very ill people
- mentally impaired/intellectual disabilities
- people who have dementia
- the unconscious/in a coma
- the frail/confused
- those with psychiatric disorders
- Controversy over studying those who are deceased
- may violate the deceased person’s individualism and right of integrity
3. How might an anthropologist respect a person’s
right to privacy?

An anthropologist may respect someone’s right to privacy by giving them

personal space as well as asking consent/permission.

- They need to get informed consent from the participants (if

participants can give consent)
- Be clear about their project ideas and keep a transparency for the
participants
- Always update the participants on recent changes to ensure they are
comfortable with it
- Keep the participants’ information confidential
- Cultural sensitivity is very important since every culture is different,
so it is best that anthropologists understand the culture prior to the
study.
4. What does it mean for an anthropologist to
conduct open research?
For an anthropologist to conduct open research could mean that they
share data.
- Research
- Giving talks
- Presenting in conferences
Being as transparent and open as possible

There could be some ways of public engagement and for the audience to
provide feedbac
 Anthropologist Visual Depiction

- Character from Jumanji (professor Shelly Oberon)

- biological anthropologist = environment of rainforest
- bird, trees, nature, in this environment to study the
nature and the environment of humans
- hat + pen + backpack = anthropologists wear big suits
and things to take notes with, go through different
environments
- explaining his research
- anthropologist looking at tribes
5. Where do anthropologists study people? Think of a
modern and traditional example of where they might do
research.
Anthropologists could study people in mission organizations if they want
to find a lot of culture present. A traditional place that an anthropologist
would study people could be in a certain place like traveling to Thailand
and living with the people there for a while in order to study them. With
the modern example you could still get similar information but it would
be easier because you could just interview people in that organization
and not have to physically go to Thailand.
6. Give an example of how an anthropologist might
protect the physical and psychological well being of
participants being studied.

- doing no harm to dignity

- doing no harm to bodily and material well-being
- eg. consider carefully the potential consequences and inadvertent
impacts of their work
- If too dangerous and might cause a big change over time =
abandonment
- goal = conservation, protection and stewardship of that record
- eg. vulnerable populations = possible exploitation
 Anthropologist Visual Depiction

- Speaks different languages

- Shows all sides of anthropology
- Biology and archaeology
- Books, skull, plants
- Values comfort
- Environment reflects what she likes to study
- Less of a stereotypical anthropologist
-
7. Give an example of how an anthropologist could
minimize harm to the participant(s) being researched.

An anthropologist could minimize harm to the participant by

protecting the privacy of the participant. Another way they can do so
is by weighing carefully the potential consequences and inadvertent
impacts of their work before doing anything. They should but their
obligation to do no harm in front of their ethical concerns.
8. Why is it important to share the research material
you’ve conducted?

- To increase the knowledge of others

- Better education for those studying in that field
- Allow for new discoveries
- Could lead to collaboration between new ideas
- Other researchers might want to collaborate and create new
conclusions
- Prevent duplication of work
- Provides visibility for the subject and researcher
Our anthropologist

Indiana Jones/Hans Solo

Small body - curiosity of a child
Strong arm - biological anthropology
Books - a tool of stepping stones in anthropology
Ancient civilisation - archaeology and research
Colourful eyes - different worldviews and
perspectives
No skin colour - they can be any race
Magnifying glass - discovery through human history
9. If you were an anthropologist conducting cultural
research which ethical principle would you find most
difficult to follow? Explain.
In my opinion, I find being ethically “good” might be one of the hardest ethical principle. A lot
of people would say being ethically good is easy. However, if you go more in depth. While one
can furnish extensive kindness, their mind and body might not be synced. What I mean is, a
person can have a reputation of giving very encouraging complimenting. Except some of the
compliments might not be the truth or are half truths. We live in a world where we need to
pretend we like everyone even though deep in our hearts, we never liked them.
10. Using your computer find a real life example of
where ethics were compromised in anthropological
research.
A real life example of an unethical anthropologist is Napoleon Chagnon. He attempted to conduct
research on the Yanomamö people in Venezuela and Brazil, but reported them in a negative light to
frame them as “the fierce people”. He reported violence among the people which was really disputes over
weaponry, though it was later revealed he had personally distributed the weapons in exchange for their
cooperation. Chagnon defends his actions by saying that the machetes were meant to ease their daily
tasks and create rapport with the tribe. He theorised that violence broke out in the tribe due to a
biological factor which compelled them to fight over women – this faced backlash from the
anthropological community.
He died in 2019.
10. Using your computer find a real life example of
where ethics were compromised in
anthropological research.
Earlier this year, it was discovered that the bones of black children who died in
1985 after their home was bombed were being used in a forensic anthropology
course and that the physical remains of one or two of the children have been
kept in the anthropological collections of the University of Pennsylvania and
Princeton. They have been using the fragments for studying and teaching
purposes without the permission of the deceased’s living parents, violating the
ethical guideline of informed consent. The collection also contains the remains
of black Philadelphians and the crania of enslaved people from Cuba and the
US. They are compromising ethics to study the deceased.
 Our anthropologist

- A girl who likes reading books

- Four arms to represent the different branches
of anthropology
- Literature on the top and books on the
bottom
- Holding a tray of foods,; demonstrates
cultural diversity
- Holding the skull to represent archaeology
- Wearing a hat because of fashion/style
- Female because recently more people in the
field of anthropology are female
Case Studies

● Identify and critically assess ethical issues that arise in the practice of
anthropological research, including issues of informed consent.

Review reading!!!!

Check Schoology
 Anthropology Case Studies ● Understand patterns of human physical
variability and the evidence for arguing that
humans cannot be sorted into distinct
biological races.

● Use anthropological concepts and practice to

reflect on representations of “otherness” and
Unit 1 Mini-Assessment consider critically students’ own cultural
assumptions.
Preparation: ● Understand the reasons for and development
of human and societal endeavors, such as
● Review case studies small-scale societies and civilizations, across
time and place.
● Review introductory
● Identify and critically assess ethical issues that
terms arise in the practice of anthropological
research, includ- ing issues of informed
● Review ethics questions consent.

● *Making connections to
yourself & anthropology