Bilmes1975
| Bilmes1975 | |
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| BibType | ARTICLE |
| Key | Bilmes1975 |
| Author(s) | Jack Bilmes |
| Title | Misinformation in verbal accounts: some fundamental considerations |
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| Tag(s) | EMCA |
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| Year | 1975 |
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| Journal | Man |
| Volume | 10 |
| Number | 1 |
| Pages | 60–71 |
| URL | Link |
| DOI | 10.2307/2801182 |
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Abstract
Ethnographers often rely heavily on the verbal reports offered by the people they study. A detailed consideration of the problems inherent in such reliance is presented. The 'truth' about the phenomena under investigation is said to be 'filtered' in passing through the informant, and an attempt is made to specify the nature of the filters involved. Four kinds of information are considered: 1) Information about external, objective events; 2) information about 'social facts' which have their bases in interpersonal understandings, such as the rules of a game; 3) information about an informant's own internal states; 4) paradoxiacal information. Certain relevant philosophical issues are also discussed. It is suggested that by increasing their awareness and understanding of the sources of misinformation in verbal accounts, ethnographers will be better able to assess the accuracy of their informants' accounts. Since the giving and receiving of verbal accounts are everyday activities, an appreciation of the processes described will also lead to a more thorough comprehension of the nature of social interaction.
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