H

UMAN RELATIONS AREA FILE (HRAF)

eHRAF, 1991-

HRAF Research Guide

Outline of Cultural Materials, 5th rev. ed., 1987; updated 1996

Outline of World Cultures, 6th rev. ed., 1983

HRAF Source Bibliography

The Human Relations Area File and its web-based counterpart, eHRAF, are a multicultural database for researchers with an interest in cultural diversity. eHRAF contains a quarter-million pages of information on all aspects of cultural and social life. The information in eHRAF is organized into cultures and ethnic groups, and the text is numerically subject-indexed at the paragraph-level. Each culture file contains a variety of source documents (monographs, periodicals, books in foreign languages, unpublished manuscripts and field notes) that have been indexed and organized according to HRAF's comprehensive culture and subject classification systems: the Outline of World Cultures (OWC), and the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM).

The file on each society consists of photographed pages from these sources which have been topically coded according to a scheme set up by the anthropologist George P. Murdock. In this scheme the cultural world is broken down into eight major geographical areas, and each ethnic group within these areas is given a specific code number. Following a standardized system of universal categories, cultural and background materials are classified under approximately 788 divisions. Thus, all sources dealing with a particular category are brought together within a single location within each area or ethnic group.

The researcher is able to collate, in a remarkably short time, any attribute or variable which would appear in a variety of cultures. The File can also be used to get information about a single culture. It should be kept in mind that these materials are basically descriptive. Theoretical generalizations and hypotheses are not coded for in the topical categories. The complete text from which the material has been excerpted is also available so that the researcher does not have to accept the information out of context.

The file is, therefore, only a tool, and should be used only to assist the researcher in bringing together as much data on as many cultures as she desires. It is the researcher's responsibility to ascertain the quality and/or validity of the material which is gathered.

The File is incomplete, and users will find some cultures are listed in the Outline of World Cultures, but are not found in the File. New material is being added to the File every year, and users should be assured that Carleton's File receives everything which has been issued to date.

Electronic installments began in 1991 and now cover over 120 of the 350 culture and ethnic groups (including North American immigrant groups). New and recent documents are added to each culture to provide the researcher with a broader, more current selection of source materials. The other cultural groups are covered in the microfiche collection. HRAF guides, indexes and microfiche, 1949-1991, are located on 3rd level of the library.

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