Evaluating indices of traditional ecological knowledge : a methodological contribution
Reyes-García, Victoria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Vadez, Vincent (Brandeis University (Waltham, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Tanner, Susan (Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology (Evanston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
McDade, Thomas (Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology (Evanston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Huanca, Tomás (Brandeis University (Waltham, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Leonard, William R. (Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology (Evanston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))

Date:	2006
Abstract:	Background: New quantitative methods to collect and analyze data have produced novel findings in ethnobiology. A common application of quantitative methods in ethnobiology is to assess the traditional ecological knowledge of individuals. Few studies have addressed reliability of indices of traditional ecological knowledge constructed with different quantitative methods. Methods: We assessed the associations among eight indices of traditional ecological knowledge from data collected from 650 native Amazonians. We computed Spearman correlations, Chronbach's alpha, and principal components factor analysis for the eight indices. Results: We found that indices derived from different raw data were weakly correlated (rho<0. 5), whereas indices derived from the same raw data were highly correlated (rho>0. 5; p < 0. 001). We also found a relatively high internal consistency across data from the eight indices (Chronbach's alpha = 0. 78). Last, results from a principal components factor analysis of the eight indices suggest that the eight indices were positively related, although the association was low when considering only the first factor. Conclusion: A possible explanation for the relatively low correlation between indices derived from different raw data, but relatively high internal consistency of the eight indices is that the methods capture different aspects of an individual's traditional ecological knowledge. To develop a reliable measure of traditional ecological knowledge, researchers should collect raw data using a variety of methods and then generate an aggregated measure that contains data from the various components of traditional ecological knowledge. Failure to do this will hinder cross-cultural comparisons.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, Vol. 2, N. 21 (April 2006) , p. 1-9, ISSN 1746-4269

DOI: 10.1186/1746-4269-2-21
PMID: 16638119

9 p, 265.9 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
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