Informants

Audrey C. Shalinsky

Native individuals who provide information to an ethnographer during fieldwork are referred to as informants . The term implies a procedure during ethnographic interviewing in which semistructured or informal in-depth questions are asked in a naturalistic setting, and informants answer. Recently, other terms such as consultants or collaborators have been preferred, indicating the greater participatory and equal role of these key individuals in the modern period. Since 1971, the American Anthropological Association has published guidelines that set out the ethical responsibilities anthropologists have to informants. These include avoiding harm or wrong, respecting informants' well-being, safety, dignity, and privacy, actively consulting in order to establish beneficial relationships, and protecting anonymity if that A ...

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