5.0735 Computer Assisted Methods (1/106)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Mon, 2 Mar 1992 16:17:14 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 5, No. 0735. Monday, 2 Mar 1992.
Date: Sat, 29 Feb 92 20:32:29 EST
From: UFRUSS@NERVM
Subject: Computer Assisted Methods (Anthropology, etc.)
CAM is a newsletter devoted to pushing the frontiers on qualitative
research methods, as well as the quantitative/qualitative interface.
I thought that readers of the list might be interested in seeing this
information. CAM = Computer Assisted Methods, in part. Bob Trotter.
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
A MESSAGE FROM
CAM NEWSLETTER
This is to let you know about CAM, the cultural anthropology
methods newsletter. CAM has been funded by the National Science
Foundation for the past several years, as part of the annual SNF
Institute on Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology. NSF support
for CAM will this coming summer after we hold the 6th (and last)
summer institute.
There are now eight issues of CAM, chock full of information that
is useful not only to anthropologists, but to all scholars who use
modern anthropological methods - that is, a sensible mix of
qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis
procedures applied to the scientific study of human phenomena.
This means that CAM should be read by sociologists and by
colleagues in nursing research, social work research, management
and marketing research, education, and many other fields.
CAM has articles on how to manage field notes and other texts; how
to draw random samples under improbable conditions; how to
interpret the qualitative output of multidimensional scaling
programs; how to use the various routines in ANTHROPAC to analyze
cognitive data; how to choose key ethnographic informants using
consensus analysis.
CAM also has reviews of useful software and articles on how to use
popular programs like Word Perfect to handle tasks that you thought
required specialized software. The most recent issue of CAM has the
first in a series of articles by Fred Hay of Harvard's Tozzer
Library on how to use on-line library systems. In the same issue,
Stuart Plattner, program director for cultural anthropology at the
National Science Foundation, describes in detail how to write grant
proposals and where to look for funding for anthropological
research.
EARLIER ISSUES OF CAM FEATURED ARTICLES BY BARRY WELLMAN (SOCIOLOGY,
Totronto) on managing text; by Douglas White (Social Networks
Program, UC-Irvine) on using hypertext; by John Gatewood (Social
Relations, Lehigh) on field sampling.
The editors of CAM contribute articles regularly: Oswald Werner
(Anthropology, Northwestern) does a column for CAM on innovative
uses of the Mac in handling field notes, genealogies, dictionaries,
etc. Pertti Pelto and Russell Bernard contribute articles on doing
systematic data collection and on coding and managing qualitative
data. Steven Borgatti writes regularly about how to use ANTHROPAC
for consensus modeling, multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis,
and more.
CAM carries reviews of software that social researchers find
useful. Coming: reviews of BIB (a program that handles all your
bibliographies), and GOFER (an inexpensive text management program,
available for both the Mac and IBM-compatible machines).
There are over 1200 subscribers to CAM - people who have written in
and asked to be put on our mailing list for free copies. This is
evidence that there is substantial interest in a publication
devoted to clear, short articles on how to do things.
But now is the moment of truth. For CAM to survive, it must become
self-supporting. We need articles and paying subscribers. CAM costs
$15.00 for three issues per year (same price for individuals and
for libraries). There is a special rate of $35.00 for 10 copies of
CAM mailed to one address. This makes it easy for professors to
give CAM to students.
If you do not now subscribe to CAM, just let us know and we'll have
an issue sent to you at no charge, while supplies last. Also while
supplies last, new subscribers to CAM will get all the back issues
at no extra charge.
If you already subscribe, you know what we're trying to do. The
motto of CAM is "methods belong to all of us" ... to materialists
and ideationalists, positivists and humanists, anthropologists and
sociologists alike. Whatever our disagreements about how to explain
things, all research methods belong to all researchers. CAM is the
place to publish and to read about the real "how to" of research
methods.
To subscribe to CAM, send your check for $15.00 to ECS-CAM, 2815 NW
38th Drive, Gainesville, FL 32605. Or send $35.00 for 10 issues to
the same address.
For more information, or for enquiries about submitting an article,
contact the editors of CAM:
Russ Bernard, Dept of Anthropology, University of Florida
UFRUSS@NERVM.BITNET Fax:904-376-8617
Bert Pelto, Dept of Anthropology, University of Connecticut
PJPELTO@UCONNVM
Steven Borgatti, Dept of Sociology, University of South Carolina
N040016@UNIVSCVM.
Oswald Werner, Dept of Anthropology, Northwestern University.
Fax:708-467-1778