Anthropology is the study of the origins and diversity of human biology and culture. Anthropologists study the evolution and adaptations of the human species through the four major subdivisions of the discipline: archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology.
This guide will help direct you to some of the research materials you will find in the library (and online). Because there are such a variety of topics you students pursue (in my years here everything from seeing how much a pig deteriorated when left in a lake over the winter to folktales from Somali elders), I strongly urge you to get in touch with me as you need help. Kellian.Clink@mnsu.edu .
AAA Code of Ethics link: https://www.bialabate.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/American_Anthropological_Association_Code_Ethics.pdf
Code of Ethics
of the American Anthropological Association
Approved June 1998
I. Preamble
Anthropological researchers, teachers and practitioners are members of many different communities,
each with its own moral rules or codes of ethics. Anthropologists have moral obligations as members of
other groups, such as the family, religion, and community, as well as the profession. They also have
obligations to the scholarly discipline, to the wider society and culture, and to the human species, other
species, and the environment. Furthermore, fieldworkers may develop close relationships with persons
or animals with whom they work, generating an additional level of ethical considerations
In a field of such complex involvements and obligations, it is inevitable that misunderstandings,
conflicts, and the need to make choices among apparently incompatible values will arise.
Anthropologists are responsible for grappling with such difficulties and struggling to resolve them in
ways compatible with the principles stated here. The purpose of this Code is to foster discussion and
education. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) does not adjudicate claims for unethical
behavior.
The principles and guidelines in this Code provide the anthropologist with tools to engage in developing
and maintaining an ethical framework for all anthropological work.
