Notes on week 3 readings

I jotted down some notes while reading this weeks articles listed below. I have summarized some of the information here. 

Alexiades_1996Ch3_Collecting Ethnobotanical Data

Berlin and Berlin_2005_ Some field methods in MEdical ethnobiology

Etkin_1993_Anthro methods for ethnopharm

Interviews 

• Informal - notes during a casual conversation.
• Unstructured - an interview in casual format but asking questions. 
• Semistructured - a list of questions but still somewhat freeform. 
• Structured - a list of very specific questions. 

Important to keep a journal separate from field notes. 

Picking informants: 

• Strict random sample - everyone has equal chance of selection 
• Stratified random sample - dividing into specific groups such as men and women, then picking at random. 

Difficult to achieve random samples in field because members of the population are often unavailable for study. 

Plant information collection 

• Parts collected 
• Identification 
• Vernacular name 
• Context of collection (who collects, when?)
• Storage 
• Preparation
• Administration 
• Adjunct therapies 
• Symptoms described/ treated 
• Plants use
• Side effects 
• Plant resource use status (how is it affecting the community). 
• Management 
• Distribution 
• Propagation 
• Phenology 
• Plant-animal relation 

Informant Information 

• Background 
• Role in community 
• Profile (name, age, gender) 

Definitions: 

Ethnomedicine: determination of recognized health conditions and equivalents. 

Medical Ethnobotany: Identification and collection of plant species to treat health conditions. 

Ethnopharmacology: discovery and isolation of bioactive agents found in the most important ethnomedical formulas. 

P.I.C. : Prior Informed Consent 

Triad tests: informants group 2 out of 3 conditions as most similar. 

Emic view: insider view 

Etic view: outsider view

Key respondents/consultants: people with more extensive views about local cultural systems. 

To take into consideration: 

Training local research assistents gives back to the community because the training is useful for future jobs. 

Preparation method affects chemical condition of plant medicine. 

Develop ethnoformulary - what botanicals, how to use them. 

Compare the outcome expected by traditional users with the biomedically defined effects of a plant, and assess the circumstances of concordance or discordance.