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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ABLE TO TELL PEOPLE HOW YOU ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING: METHODS IN APPLIED MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Once a decision is made to conduct an applied medical anthropology project, it becomes necessary to clearly describe the basic “who, what, when, where why and how” of applied anthropological research. These elements are the core methodological components of applied medical anthropology. Theory frames the research and provides the overall direction that focuses the process. Methods become the active connection between theory and analysis. The “who” element is the sampling process (Trotter 2012). It is the systematic process for selecting the individuals and groups that are going to tell their important cultural stories and provide the basic findings that can result in some type of problem-solving applied action. The “what” dimension is the cultural domain (area of everyday life) that people are describing. The “where and when” elements of anthropological methods are the physical and temporal contexts that surround the individuals and their actions. The anthropological “how” of applied anthropology methods is a complex mix of interviewing, observations, participation, explanation, validation, and cultural learning that allows the anthropologist to match what people say and do, when they say and do it, and where these activities occur with the theory that will explain it. And finally, the “why” dimension of ethnographic methods is the opportunity for all of the participants (researchers and researched) to explain, interpret, and clarify what is happening from each stakeholders’ point of view.