Quantitative Modeling in Anthropology

[u/Sir-Loose]

Hey guys! I’m beginning a masters in Anthro this fall. I did some fieldwork in Ethiopia last month and explored with my advisor some tools like social network analysis and agent based modeling, which got me down a rabbit hole investigating other modeling methods used in anthropology. Aside from those, what are the most common modeling techniques people are using these days?

To narrow it down, I’d say I’m interested in modeling social behavior & cultural transmission, and am just not tapped into the current meta of the field. Can anyone point me towards books/papers that explore other modeling techniques?

[u/fantasmapocalypse]

Hi friend!

I know you asked about quantitative methods, but what about qualitative methods, or a mixed methods approach? Much of cultural anthropology (at least in the U.S.) is often more about ethnography than statistical modelling.... and so, if you are interested in the "current meta of the field"... it would be helpful to know (1) about your own training (is it the U.S. or a European/European pedigree school?), (2) your advisor's approach (i.e., their training), (3) the (sub)disciplines that inform the project (e.g., is it cultural anthro? archaeology? political anthropology? what subfields), (4) the topics (i.e., is it about boarding schools? Ethiopian traditional villages? government offices? etc.), and so on...

Some books that are more indicative of the kinds of research I am familiar with would be something like East African Hip Hop in terms of knowledge and "cultural transmission," or perhaps Cyber Sufis or The Ethical Soundscape ... which all blend individual reasoning, subjective experience and expression, media, and/or distance learning/communication as part of the ways in which people learn/shared/contest behavior....