Glossary Terms

The study of cultural groups through historical records, oral histories, and ethnographic sources, often combining methods from history and anthropology.

A qualitative research method used in anthropology that involves immersive observation and detailed description of a culture or social group for longer periods of time (also known as “longitudinal”).

The insider’s view of a culture—how people within a cultural group understand and interpret their own behaviors, beliefs, and practices.

The process by which knowledge, beliefs, customs, and behaviors are passed from one generation to the next within a culture.

The principle of understanding a culture on its own terms and suspending judgment based on the standards of one’s own culture. The concept was created so that those in power were not defining what is “normal” or “right” for diverse…

The ability of researchers, providers, and institutions to understand, respect, and respond effectively to cultural differences in health and behavior.

The study of health, illness, health systems that includes cultural, social, and biological factors (is a subfield of anthropology).

The study of human cultural groups, behaviors, and societies across time and space.