by Joan Huston

Created on: January 21, 2007   Last Updated: December 13, 2010

Kenneth Good’s study of the Yanomami shows that there are many advantages and disadvantages for anthropologists to have lengthy stays in the fields they are working in. There is the advantage of being able to thoroughly get to know the group being studied and the disadvantage of having the researchers turning native and wanting to become part of the society they are studying.

There are many advantages and disadvantages for an anthropologist to stay in the field for extended periods of time as Kenneth Good did. First, I am going to talk about many of the points that I find are advantageous for a researcher, such as Kenneth Good, to stay in the field for very long periods of time. I am going to talk in general terms and also cite some examples from the experiences Good talks about in his book about the Yanomami, Into the Heart. In addition to discussing the advantages of extended stays in the field, I am also going to look into the disadvantages of that same practice.

There are numerous advantages for an anthropologist to remain in the field for a very long amount of time. I feel that this practice makes it a lot easier for the researcher to collect data and ensures that the data that has been collected is accurate. This is achieved in many different ways. The researcher is able to gain the trust of the natives, form bonds with them, and is also able to become accepted into the world of the subjects he is studying. The anthropologist in the field for prolonged periods of time is able to understand the culture and language of the people clearly and also gets a truly insider's look at the culture he or she is studying. The researcher also gets to collect long-term data that provides more accurate information about the group being studied. When an anthropologist is in the field with a group of people for a prolonged amount of time, that person is able to become very familiar with those natives and is able to gain their trust and cooperation. As in any situation, a newcomer is like a lost individual who sticks out like a sore thumb. Someone like that, no matter how many Ph.D.s that person has, is hard to take seriously, and especially to natives who have no concept of a culture contrary to their own existing in the world. An anthropologist comes into a very different culture and can tend to make quite a presence of himself. One of the main objectives of the researcher is to find out the intimate details of the native's life. How can this be accomplished if

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