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Emic vs. Etic Research

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1. What is the difference between emic and etic research? Provide examples that illustrate the misapplication of both approaches to research populations in urban settings.

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Discusses the difference between emic and etic research, with examples that illustrate the misapplication of both approaches to research populations in urban settings. 1358 words with sources linked.

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1. What is the difference between emic and etic research? Provide examples that illustrate the misapplication of both approaches to research populations in urban settings. 250 WORDS

Definitions of terms are difficult as discussed in the article attached. However, Encyclopedia.com describes the distinction between emic and etic analysis this ways:

"A distinction borrowed by anthropologists from linguistics. Emicists concentrate on describing the indigenous values of a particular society while eticists apply broader theoretical models across a number of societies." (http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-emicandeticanalysis.html)

Emic and etic also refer to two different types of data concerning human behavior, and refer to types of fieldwork done and people researched in cultural anthropology (Headline, Pike & Harris, 1990, http://www.sil.org/~headlandt/ee-intro.htm). Thomas R. Lindlof in Blackwell's, says: "The terms also refer to distinctive research strategies, particularly in the context of ethnographic fieldwork (→ Field Research). " (http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405131995_chunk_g978140513199510_ss18-1) According to Lindlof:

"Thus, the emic approach to research always starts from the "inside" of a culture. By studying the accounts, explanations, and social action that are meaningful to a group of people, researchers can better understand how symbolic communication varies from one situation to the next. A valid emic account is one that matches the consensus view of native informants...." (http://wapedia.mobi/en/Talk:Emic_and_etic). One misapplication would be to use this emic data to generalize to other cultures.

Said another way:

? An "emic" account is a description of behavior or a belief in terms meaningful (consciously or unconsciously) to the actor; that is, an emic account comes from a person within the culture, such as in urban settings. Almost anything from within a culture can provide an emic account. "To put it more simply, these emic accounts may be more abstract but they are culture bound i.e. abstractions meaningful in one speech community or culture but not another. Slrubenstein | Talk 22:32, 21 September 2007 (UTC), cited in http://wapedia.mobi/en/Talk:Emic_and_etic)

? An "etic" account is a description of a behavior or belief by an observer of the culture in the urban ...

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