Russel-Research-Method-in-Anthropology

444 Chapter 15
Ixmiquilpan (Mexico) to cover 10 meters of sidewalk at various times of the
day. I have stood in crowded outdoor bazaars in Mexico, watching and recording
differences between Indians and non-Indians in the amount and kinds of
produce purchased.
I have never felt the slightest ethical qualm about having made these observations.
In my opinion, passive deception is ethically aseptic. Ultimately,
however, the responsibility for the choice of method, and for the practical,
human consequences of using a particular method, rests with you, the individual
researcher. You can’t foist off that responsibility on ‘‘the profession,’’ or
on some ‘‘code of ethics.’’
Are you disturbed by the fact that Humphreys did his research at all, or only
by the fact that he came close to compromising his informants? As you answer
that question for yourself, you’ll have a better idea of where you stand on the
issue of disguised field observation.
Behavior Trace Studies
Think of trace studies as behavioral archeology. Do people in different cultures
really have a different sense of time? Levine and Bartlett (1984) went to
12 cities in six countries and noted the time on 15 randomly chosen bank
clocks in each city. Then they measured the difference between the time
shown on the clocks and the time reported by the local telephone company in
each city. The most accurate public clocks were Japanese—off by an average
of just 34 seconds. U.S. clocks were next (off by an average of 54 seconds),
followed by the clocks in Taiwan, England, and Italy (71 seconds, 72 seconds,
and 90 seconds, respectively). Indonesia came in last, at 189 seconds.
Here you have hard, archeological evidence of clock-setting behavior across
six countries. Real people had set those 15 clocks in each city, and real people
were responsible for making sure that the clocks were adjusted from time to
time. Levine and Bartlett looked at whether differences in the average deviation
of the clocks from the real time predicted differences in the rate of heart
disease.
They don’t. The country with the lowest rate of heart disease, Japan, has
the most accurate clocks and the fastest overall pace of life (as measured by
several other indicators). Apparently, according to Levine and Bartlett, it’s
possible in some cultures to be hard working without being hard driving.
Sechrest and Flores (1969) recorded and analyzed bathroom graffiti in a
sample of men’s public toilets in Manilla and Chicago. They wanted to examine
attitudes toward sexuality in the two cultures. The results were striking.
There was no difference in the percentage of graffiti in the two cities that dealt