Introduction
Cross-cultural findings derived from anthropological data are critical to many social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, economics, political science), particularly when testing the generalizability of important theories for policy. Anthropology departments differ in their ability to offer training in appropriate and modern quantitative methods for cross-cultural analysis, and these institutes fill a critical gap in training for a new generation of researchers. To expand the training to a wider circle of faculty, post-docs, and students, institute instructors have prepared these learning modules in an open-access format to continue to promote the methods and training offered at the Summer Institutes.
The instruction at the institute and in these online materials covers all phases of regional and worldwide comparisons from project conception through statistical analysis that are consistent with scientific principles. Topics include:
The logic and types of comparisons (including collaborative projects), and the types of research questions asked by cross-cultural researchers;
Reviews of available data and databases (including a concordance of cross-cultural samples), as well as data management and design of coding materials;
How to derive testable hypotheses and design appropriate measures from specified theoretical principles;
Approaches to minimize random and systematic error, sampling strategies and issues of independence;
Introduction to a wide range of statistical approaches.
HRAF Summer Institute Instructors
The three-week Summer Institutes were held annually in New Haven, Connecticut, USA (remote for the first year). The primary instructors were Carol R. Ember (Human Relations Area Files at Yale University, USA), Fiona Jordan (University of Bristol, UK) and Seán Roberts (Cardiff University, UK). Additional lectures were given by guest lecturers Damian Blasi, Alexandra Brewis Slade, Joshua Conrad Jackson, Jeremy Koster, Eleanor Power, Erik Ringen, and Amber Wutich.
