The Problem of Informant Accuracy: The Validity of Retrospective Data
Annual Review of AnthropologyPublished 1 October 1984
H. Russell Bernard, Peter D. Killworth, David Kronenfeld, Lee Sailer
Citations900
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score0.98
SNIP2.77
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Abstract
Lee Sailer Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 A measurement whose accuracy is completely unknown has no use whatever [Wilson ( 1 07. p. 232)]. A serious obstacle in the use of replications for increasing accuracy is the tendency to get closely agreeing repetitions for irrelevant reasons [Wilson (107. p. 253)1. My people don't lie to me (Anonymous Anthropologist).
Keywords
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