The Use of Quantitative Observational Techniques in Anthropology [and Comments and Replies

Abstract

The measurement of human activity is discussed in relation to anthropological methods and to observational techniques borrowed from the field of animal behavior. When observational techniques are used, a number of sources of bias emerge: choice of subjects, time of day, seasonal, demographic, and spatial effects, and the presence of the observer. Such biases can be circumvented. Use of a system of recording that describes both physical and purposeful aspects of activity preserves objective information about behavior; it can also be used to reveal cross-cultural and intracultural variation in the way tasks are performed, in work density, and in job responsibility and delegation. The ability of the observer to communicate verbally with subjects does not set observational studies on humans apart from animal studies but only adds another tier to anthropological investigation.