Ashford 6: - Week 5 - Final Research Paper Final Research Paper In the Final Research Paper, you will examine your own culture from an etic (outsider's) perspective and another culture from an emic (insider's) perspective to demonstrate your understanding of cultural relativism and examine misconceptions and ethnocentric beliefs concerning each of these cultures. In doing so, you will demonstrate a culturally relativistic perspective, in order to understand why different groups of people do what they do, without expressing a positive or negative opinion of their cultural practices. Keep the distinction between cultural relativism and moral relativism in mind as you write your final paper. Even if you do not personally agree with a cultural practice, demonstrate your understanding of the practice in its cultural context. Avoid opinionated or judgmental language in your paper. Your Final Research Paper will consist of two main parts, framed by an Introduction and a Conclusion. See the flow chart for a quick overview of the assignment. Introduction Begin with an introductory paragraph that has a thesis statement at the end. The introduction should set up your topic, giving a preview and summary of the analysis you will present in the body of the paper. The thesis statement is the last sentence or two of the introduction and states what the main point structuring your paper will be. Here is an example of an Introduction. Part I Using the Miner (1956) article and the feedback you received from your instructor on your “Summarize Your Sources for the Final Research Paper” assignment in Week Three as a guide, describe one aspect of your own culture from an etic perspective. See the appropriate sections in the textbook, based on your chosen topic from Week Three, for information on how to approach your paper from an anthropological perspective. You can describe American culture in general, as Miner does, or you can describe an American subculture, such as a specific geographical group (e.g., New Yorkers), a particular ethnicity (e.g., African Americans), or an age-related category of Americans (e.g., millennials). Use reputable statistics and/or scholarly research to support any factual statements. Do not rely solely on personal experience or opinion. Here is an example of how to properly support your statements. Potential sources you can use to support your analysis are listed below. You can also conduct your own research to find other sources. · United States Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/) · Gallup (http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx) · Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/) Important: see additional instructions in Part I under Final Paper Requirements. Here is an example of Part I. Part II Refer to the article you chose for Part II of the “Summarize Your Sources for the Final Research Paper” assignment in Week Three and describe an aspect of another culture from an emic (insider’s) perspective. You do not have to do researc ...

1. Ashford 6: - Week 5 - Final Research Paper
Final Research Paper
In the Final Research Paper, you will examine your own culture
from an etic (outsider's) perspective and another culture from an
emic (insider's) perspective to demonstrate your understanding
of cultural relativism and examine misconceptions and
ethnocentric beliefs concerning each of these cultures. In doing
so, you will demonstrate a culturally relativistic perspective, in
order to understand why different groups of people do what they
do, without expressing a positive or negative opinion of their
cultural practices. Keep the distinction between cultural
relativism and moral relativism in mind as you write your final
paper. Even if you do not personally agree with a cultural
practice, demonstrate your understanding of the practice in its
cultural context. Avoid opinionated or judgmental language in
your paper.
Your Final Research Paper will consist of two main parts,
framed by an Introduction and a Conclusion. See the flow
chart for a quick overview of the assignment.
Introduction
Begin with an introductory paragraph that has a thesis statement
at the end. The introduction should set up your topic, giving a
preview and summary of the analysis you will present in the
body of the paper. The thesis statement is the last sentence or
two of the introduction and states what the main point
structuring your paper will be.
Here is an example of an Introduction.
Part I
Using the Miner (1956) article and the feedback you received
from your instructor on your “Summarize Your Sources for the
Final Research Paper” assignment in Week Three as a guide,
describe one aspect of your own culture from an etic

2. perspective. See the appropriate sections in the textbook, based
on your chosen topic from Week Three, for information on how
to approach your paper from an anthropological perspective.
You can describe American culture in general, as Miner does, or
you can describe an American subculture, such as a specific
geographical group (e.g., New Yorkers), a particular ethnicity
(e.g., African Americans), or an age-related category of
Americans (e.g., millennials).
Use reputable statistics and/or scholarly research to support any
factual statements. Do not rely solely on personal experience or
opinion. Here is an example of how to properly support your
statements.
Potential sources you can use to support your analysis are listed
below. You can also conduct your own research to find other
sources.
· United States Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/)
· Gallup (http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx)
· Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/)
Important: see additional instructions in Part I under Final
Paper Requirements.
Here is an example of Part I.
Part II
Refer to the article you chose for Part II of the “Summarize
Your Sources for the Final Research Paper” assignment in Week
Three and describe an aspect of another culture from an emic
(insider’s) perspective. You do not have to do research beyond
reading your chosen article; however, if you do choose to
conduct additional research make sure to use reputable statistics
and/or scholarly sources to support any factual statements. Do
not rely solely upon personal experience or opinion.
Important: see additional instructions in Part II under Final
Paper Requirements.
Here is an example of Part II.
Conclusion
End with a concluding paragraph that reinforces your thesis.

3. Summarize and tie together your main points for the reader.
Provide a brief self-reflexive analysis of what you learned while
writing this paper.
Important: see additional instructions in Conclusion under Final
Paper Requirements.
Here is an example of a Conclusion.
Cultural relativism
Cultural relativism is the idea that the beliefs and practices of a
culture should be understood within the context of that
particular culture’s background, history, and current events
surrounding it. We should not ethnocentrically impose our own
beliefs and opinions, which are products of our own
enculturation
Cultural relativism is not the same as moral relativism,
however. As Crapo (2013) notes:
"We need not, for instance, come to value infanticide in order to
understand the roles it may play in peoples’ lives in a society
where it is customary. What cultural relativism requires of us is
simply that we do not confuse our own feelings about such a
custom with understanding it. To do the latter, we must
investigate the meanings the custom has for those who practice
it and the functions it may fulfill in their society."(section 1.4,
“Cultural Differences: Cultural Relativism,” para. 3)
Final Paper Requirements
(Click links below)
Introduction
Part I
Part II
Conclusion
Writing the Final Research Paper
The Final Research Paper
· Must be five to six double-spaced pages in length (excluding
title page and references page, meaning it will be seven to eight

4. pages total), and formatted according to APA style as outlined
in the Ashford Writing Center (see the APA Essay Checklist for
Students).
· Must include a title page with the following:
· Title of paper
· Student’s name
· Course name and number
· Instructor’s name
· Date submitted
· Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct
thesis statement.
· Must have well-structured body paragraphs with clear
transitions from one topic to the next. Incorporate in-text
citations from your scholarly sources to support your analysis
throughout the paper.
· Must describe an aspect of your own culture from an etic
perspective for Part I.
· Must describe an aspect of another culture from an emic
perspective for Part II.
· Must demonstrate a perspective of cultural relativism
throughout, avoiding judgmental and opinionated language.
· Must end with a conclusion that that reinforces the thesis and
provides a self-reflexive analysis.
· Must use at least one scholarly resource in addition to the
textbook, the Miner article, and the article chosen from the list
in Part II of the Week Three assignment.
· Must document all sources in APA style in the body of the
paper and on the references page as outlined in the Ashford
Writing Center.
· Must include a separate references page that is formatted
according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing
Center.
1) Select one aspect of your own culture from the list provided
for Part I. Be sure to review the relevant sections of the
textbook for each topic. Once you've made your selection,

5. please delete all other options.
Race
Education
Communication
Gender
Childrearing
Courtship and Marriage
Rites of passage
Religion
Politics
Economics
Week Three Assignment Worksheet
Page 2 of 2
2) Select a source to use for Part I of the paper. You will be
using your textbook and the article by Miner for this section as
well, but for this assignment, include the source you found on
your own. Review the tutorial on Evaluating sources and enter
the reference in the space below.
Reference entry in APA format:
3) Select one article from the list for Part II. Once you've made
your selection, please delete all other options.
Atran, S. (2003). Genesis of suicide terrorism. Science,
299(5612), 1534-1539. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost
database.
Becker. A. E. (2004). Television, disordered eating, and young
women in Fiji: Negotiating body image and identity during
rapid social change. Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry, 28(4),
533-559. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.

6. Grey, S. (2008). Historical roots, contemporary relevance:
Explaining the persistence of polygyny in Sub- Saharan
Africa. Undercurrent Journal, 5(3), 6-19. Retrieved from the
EBSCOhost database.
Hoodfar, H. (1993). The veil in their minds and on our heads:
The persistence of colonial images
of Muslim women. Resources for Feminist Researchers, 22, 5-
18. Retrieved from
http://www.umass.edu/wost/syllabi/spring06/hoodfar.pdf
Murphy, F. (2011). Archives of sorrow: An exploration of
Australia's stolen generations and their journey into the past.
History and Anthropology, 22(4), 481-495. Retrieved from the
EBSCOhost database.
Tsuji, Y. (2011). Rites of passage to death and afterlife in
Japan. Generations, 35(3), 28-33. Retrieved from the
EBSCOhost database
4) Summarize each of your sources.
Summary of your source for Part I (include one to two
paragraphs). Enter the summary in the space below.
Summary of your source for Part II (include one to two
paragraphs). Enter the summary in the space below.

7. 5) Write a working thesis statement based on your sources. See
this example.
Working Thesis Statement: