The main research method for an anthropologist is fieldwork (Eriksen, 43). Fieldwork gives the anthropologist a higher knowledge that they need. Moreover, it is better if the anthropologist has already thought of issues that may be a concern with their field of study (Eriksen, 43). Usually, anthropologists must write a project proposal so that they may be funded in order to conduct their chosen field and their research. The anthropologist writes a hypothesis as well as what issues they may think will arise during their field study. The project proposal also contains a basic outline of what the anthropologist is going to do while conducting their field study (Eriksen, 43). The anthropologist inserts themselves into a culture in order to observe the behavior of the people that live in that particular culture. The anthropology gathers their data by interacting with the people in the culture they are studying as well as participating in their way of life (Eriksen 46). By interacting with their informants, an anthropologist gains desired knowledge in order to accomplish the goal they had set out to do (Eriksen 46). Many anthropologists use other resources in order to gain the information they need (Eriksen 46). By interacting with people that were born into that culture and become the anthropologist’s informants. Translators are also helpful as they make communications run more smoothly …show more content…
An anthropologist does not need to be a master in sociology in order to think like a sociologist, they only have to be familiar with the concepts. Another discipline that anthropologists may use is psychology in the sense of trying to understand how a particular group of people feel and why they may behave and act that way. Again, the anthropologist may not be a master of psychology, but they can use the key concepts of psychology to help them while conducting their research as psychology helps them when it comes to interacting with other people that have a completely different mindset about life than the anthropologist