Cross-Cultural Research

This paper reports on the growth of hologeistic, cross-cultural studies since 1889. The rapid rate of recent hologeistic research is demonstrated graphically. The productivity of hologeistic work is quantitatively re viewed, and the development of an invisible college or network of re searchers is outlined. Factors such as data banking, methodology theory, and money are examined as stimuli for the recent growth in this field. Speculations about theory testing and the future are made.

Melvin Ember (1973) suggests that the living floor area of the average house in a society is a good archeological indicator of patrilocal versus matrilocal residence. This study successfully replicates his findings and suggests the sociological factors that may favor larger households and hence larger living floor areas in matrilocal societies.

Reflecting anthropology's deep idiographic disposition, approximately 80 percent of anthropological research falls on the idiographic node of the idiographic-nomothetic continuum. Increasing numbers of anthropolo gists, however, are beginning to recognize the importance of cross-cultural, comparative, nomothetic research. Comparativists use five principal meth odologies in their research. These research designs vary in their relative power, i.e. in their ability to eliminate false hypotheses about worldwide relationships. The power as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each methodology are discussed.