References
  1. 1. ^ Murdock, G. P. & White, D. R. (1969) Standard cross-cultural sample. Ethnology, 8(4), 329-369.
  2. 2. ^ Murdock, G. P. & Wilson, S. F. (1972) Settlement patterns and community organization: cross-cultural codes 3. Ethnology, 11(3), 254-295.
  1. 3. Use the comment box wisely...
  2. (a) For each question, select the option that best approximates the practice observed in the focal community; use the comment box to qualify your selection.
  3. E.g., if the pattern of kinship terminology used in the focal community is a particular variant of the Iroquois system, which is not listed among the available options, code kinship terminology as “Iroquois”, and use the comment box to qualify how the observed pattern differs from it.
 
  1. (b) Describe the normal rather than exceptional practice observed in the focal community in the focal year; use the comment box to describe significant exceptional practices.
  2. E.g., if members of the focal community do not ordinarily obtain food by hunting, but occasionally resort to it under exceptional circumstances (e.g., in times of famine), code hunting as “absent”, and use the comment box to specify that hunting is only observed in times of famine.
 
  1. (c) Describe the practice prevalent in the focal community in the focal year; use the comment box to discuss significant alternative practices.
  2. E.g., if members of the focal community usually reside with the husband’s family after marriage, but matrilocal residence is practiced in particular cases (e.g., if the wife’s family has no male offspring), code residence as “patrilocal”, and use the comment box to specify that matrilocal residence is only practised if the wife has no male siblings.
  1. 2. Identify the focal year
Select the earliest year of your fieldwork by which you had collected satisfactory information for the focal community.
  1. E.g., if you conducted field research in the society between 1970 and 1975, and had accumulated full descriptive materials for the focal community by 1972, select 1972 as the focal year. All the information you provide should refer specifically to the situation in the focal community in 1972.
  1. 1. Identify the focal community
  2. (a) The definition of “community” is based on the assumption that for each society there exists a unit of significant social interaction beyond the family. Use the following criteria to identify such a unit for your society [2]:
  3.  the community represents the maximum number of people who normally reside together in face-to-face association;
  4.  the members of the community interact regularly;
  5.  the community represents a significant focus of social identification for its members.
 
  1. (b) Select the community in which you conducted the most intensive field research, and/or for which you have the most complete descriptive materials.
  2. E.g., if you conducted field research in more than one village for a settled society (or in more than one camp for a nomadic society), select as the focal community the village (or camp) for which you have collected the most accurate body of information.
 
  1. (c) Select the community which you think conforms best to the society’s traditional pattern.
  2. E.g., if you conducted field research in a nomadic society, which is composed of both settled villages and migratory camps, select a specific migratory camp as the focal community (assuming that the migratory lifestyle best represents the traditional pattern for the society, and that you have equally good descriptive materials for both types of community).
How to complete the EDP
The following instructions were developed to ensure comparability across contributions to the EDP: please read them carefully before starting your entry. They will also help you to familiarise yourself with some terms and definitions used throughout the questionnaire.
 
It is crucial for the accuracy of cross-cultural studies that the items being compared actually coexisted in the same subgroup of a society at the same point in time [1]. To control as much as possible for variation within societies, the information provided should refer to a specific local group (the “focal community”) at a particular date (the “focal year”) for each society.
 
Before you start, please identify a specific year and locality of your fieldwork to use as “focal community” and “focal year” for your society. All the information you provide should describe the situation in the focal community in the focal year, even if it is not representative of the situation in the larger society as a whole.
 
The codes used in the EDP were developed for cross-cultural application, so they may not always be accurate descriptions of the situation in your focal community. Where this is the case, please use the comment box provided after each question in the EDP to add brief qualifying notes to your answer, or to specify additional information about the item.
Instructions for contributors
Last updated 15 March 2007
© Laura Fortunato