| 1. Domain | 1.1 Scope of the Domain | Boundaries | The range of phenomena the science includes and excludes. | Focuses on the systematic study, documentation, and interpretation of lived human experience through participant observation, interviewing, immersion, and cross-cultural comparison. Includes fieldwork methods, cultural description, interpretive analysis, comparative datasets, intercultural patterning, and ethnographic theory. Excludes laboratory-based behavioral testing unless incorporated into field contexts; excludes statistical generalization unless linked to cross-cultural datasets. |
| | Scale | The spatial, temporal, or organizational level at which the science operates (e.g., quantum, cellular, social, cosmic). | Operates at individual, household, community, and regional scales, over timeframes ranging from momentary interactions to multi-year field immersion and across comparative samples spanning global cultural diversity. |
| 1.2 Ontological Commitments | Entities | The kinds of things assumed to exist within the domain (particles, organisms, agents, fields, etc.). | Persons, households, social groups, cultural practices, narratives, performances, institutions, knowledge systems, categories of meaning, embodied experience, field sites, cultural patterns, cross-cultural variables. |
| | Properties | The fundamental attributes these entities possess (mass, charge, genotype, preference, etc.). | Lived experience, perspective, meaning, normativity, variability, social structure, context dependence, communicative practice, behavioral regularity, cultural patterning, interpretive coherence, symbolic expression. |
| | Categories | The basic ontological types used to classify domain elements (substances, processes, relations, structures). | Fieldwork techniques (participant observation, interviews, mapping); ethnographic genres (life histories, thick description, narrative ethnography); comparative units (societies, cultural regions); coding types (behavioral, social, ritual, linguistic); analytic frameworks (structural, interpretive, cognitive, political-economic). |
| 1.3 State-Variables | Variables | The measurable or definable properties that describe system conditions. | Frequency of observed behaviors; interaction patterns; narrative themes; cultural classifications; spatial arrangements; time allocation; social network metrics; emic categories; cross-cultural trait presence/absence; variation and consensus levels; contextual factors affecting behavior. |
| | Parameterization | How variables encode and represent the system’s state. | Encoded via field notes, audio/video recordings, coded behavior logs, interview transcripts, genealogies, spatial maps, network diagrams, cross-cultural databases (HRAF, SCCS), thematic codes, lexicons, cultural domain analyses, structured observation schedules. |
| 1.4 Admissible Idealizations | Simplifications | Conceptual reductions used to make the domain tractable (point masses, rational agents, perfect gases). | Treating communities as internally homogeneous; assuming stable cultural norms; reducing complex behaviors into discrete coded units; overlooking individual agency; assuming researcher neutrality; simplifying multilingual contexts; assuming direct comparability across societies; ignoring historical contingency. |
| | Validity Conditions | The limits and contexts in which idealizations hold or break down. | Break down in highly heterogeneous communities; in contexts of rapid social change; when insider categories diverge from analytic ones; when power dynamics distort observation; when translation obscures meaning; when behaviors resist discrete coding; when cross-cultural categories lack equivalence. |
| 1.5 Domain Assumptions | Structural Assumptions | Background ontological stances such as determinism, continuity, randomness, discreteness. | Human behavior and meaning can be systematically observed, interpreted, and recorded; cultural patterns exist and can be compared; participant observation yields valid insight; ethnographer–informant interaction produces data; cross-cultural comparison can reveal universal tendencies or structural variation. |
| | Implicit Commitments | Unstated but necessary assumptions that shape the field’s conceptual structure. | Assumes cultures have interpretable internal logic; assumes meanings can be accessed through language and interaction; assumes prolonged presence reduces misunderstanding; assumes cultural categories can be mapped onto analytic frameworks; assumes societies can be compared using shared trait definitions. |
| 1.6 Internal Coherence Requirements | Consistency | The demand that domain concepts do not contradict one another. | Ethnographic interpretations must align with observed data; field notes must correspond to coded categories; comparative variables must maintain cross-cultural equivalence; claims must match emic accounts and contextual observations; analytic frameworks must not contradict field findings. |
| | Compatibility | The requirement that entities, variables, and assumptions fit together into a unified descriptive framework. | Requires harmony among experiential field data, coded patterns, narrative accounts, cross-cultural datasets, linguistic evidence, and theoretical frameworks. Comparative conclusions must align with ethnographic nuance and empirical variation across cases. |
| 2. Evidence Layer | 2.1 Observable Phenomena | Observables | The aspects of the domain that can produce detectable signals accessible to measurement. | Interaction patterns; conversational exchanges; ritual or daily practices; spatial use of homes or public areas; gestures, postures, and embodied behavior; work routines; kinship interactions; social-network ties; participation in events; linguistic forms; moral evaluations; narrative structures; culturally salient categories; variations in behavior across contexts. |
| | Detection Limits | The boundaries of what can be resolved or sensed by current instruments or methods. | Hidden meanings; private or unobservable practices; informant self-censorship; translation gaps; observer effects altering behavior; inability to capture tacit knowledge; ephemeral or rapidly shifting contexts; restricted or sacred domains; cultural scripts that are never verbalized; incomplete access to all social subgroups. |
| 2.2 Measurement Systems | Units | Standardized quantifications (meters, seconds, volts, decibels, dollars, etc.) necessary for consistent comparison. | Frequencies of behaviors; coded thematic categories; duration of observed interactions; counts of social ties; spatial coordinates; narrative units; consensus indices; lexical frequency; time-allocation hours; comparative trait presence/absence; cultural domain salience scores. |
| | Instruments | Devices and tools (microscopes, spectrometers, sensors, surveys, detectors) used to produce measurements. | Field notebooks; audio/video recorders; GIS mapping tools; coding sheets; interview protocols; structured and semi-structured surveys; transcription software; social-network analysis tools; cross-cultural databases (HRAF, SCCS); linguistic-elicitation tools; participatory mapping tools. |
| 2.3 Operational Definitions | Definitions | Terms defined by specific measurement procedures, ensuring empirical clarity. | Cultural practice defined by repeated, socially meaningful behavior; emic category defined by insider-recognized classification; coded behavior defined by discrete observed action; social tie defined via repeated or significant interaction; domain defined as structured semantic field; trait defined as comparable cultural element across cases. |
| | Procedures | The explicit steps required to perform a measurement in a reproducible way. | Conducting participant observation; recording field notes daily; transcribing interviews; coding behaviors using predefined categories; mapping households or spaces; documenting ritual sequences; performing free listing and pile sorting; building cultural consensus matrices; extracting variables for cross-cultural comparison; archiving audiovisual data systematically. |
| 2.4 Data Acquisition | Protocols | Formal processes for gathering data under controlled or standardized conditions. | Long-term immersion; iterative interviewing; rotating observation across settings (home, work, ritual, public); sampling individuals across age, gender, status; triangulating sources (observation, interviews, documents); revisiting prior interpretations with participants; regular transcription review; cross-checking emic meanings; archiving raw data and coding decisions. |
| | Sampling | Rules determining which subset of the domain is measured and how representative it is. | Purposive sampling of key informants; snowball sampling for network reconstruction; random sampling of households for surveys; stratified sampling across social groups; sampling events across time (seasonal or ritual cycle); selecting comparative cases based on controlled variables (geography, subsistence, political organization); sampling across linguistic or cultural regions. |
| 2.5 Data Character & Format | Data Types | The form raw evidence takes (time series, spectra, images, counts, qualitative records). | Field notes; interview transcripts; coded behavioral datasets; audiovisual recordings; network adjacency matrices; GIS spatial layers; cultural-domain taxonomies; cross-cultural trait tables; narrative corpora; time-allocation logs; structured observation tallies; comparative-coded variables. |
| | Resolution | The granularity or precision with which data is captured. | Determined by frequency of observation, detail of transcription, quality of audiovisual capture, granularity of coding categories, access to multiple social contexts, cross-generational continuity, and consistency in comparative trait definitions. |
| 2.6 Reliability & Calibration | Calibration | Adjustment procedures ensuring instruments produce accurate results. | Intercoder reliability checks; transcript accuracy verification; triangulation across observation, interview, and material evidence; rechecking coded categories with informants (member checking); recalibrating trait definitions for cross-cultural equivalence; repeated measures across contexts; confirming translation fidelity; testing cultural-consensus models with independent samples. |
| | Error Characterization | Identification and quantification of noise, uncertainty, bias, and measurement error. | Observer bias; recall bias in interviews; misclassification of behaviors; translation distortion; sampling bias in informants; incomplete field immersion; overgeneralization; trait non-equivalence in comparative datasets; coding drift over time; context loss in narrative transcription; selective attention during observation. |
| 3. Structural Layer | 3.1 Patterns & Regularities | Laws / Relations | Stable, repeatable patterns governing how observables behave across conditions. | Cultural practices exhibit patterned variation across contexts; interaction routines follow stable turn-taking structures; social roles and statuses generate predictable behavioral sequences; emic categories cluster into coherent semantic domains; cross-cultural traits correlate with subsistence, political systems, or kinship structures; norms create regular behavioral constraints; cultural models guide interpretation and expectation; diffusion produces identifiable regional patterning. |
| | Invariants | Quantities or properties that remain constant under transformations (symmetries, conservation laws). | Fundamental social distinctions (kin/non-kin, elder/youth); conversational structures (greeting → exchange → closure); cross-cultural domains (food, kinship, ritual) with stable internal logic; minimal narrative structures (problem → action → resolution); enduring categories of personhood; stable semantic prototypes within cultural domains; persistent ethnographic regularities across societies (reciprocity, hierarchy, cooperation). |
| 3.2 Causal Architecture | Mechanisms | Underlying processes or structures that produce the observed regularities. | Cultural learning → internalized models → patterned behavior; Socialization → norm adherence → predictable interaction; Symbolic framing → interpretive coherence; Power relations → structured behavior and speech; Environmental or economic constraints → regular social practices; Linguistic structures → patterned discourse; Institutional routines → stable behavior sequences; Cross-cultural diffusion → shared traits. |
| | Pathways | Organized sequences of interactions forming a causal chain or network. | Observation → interpretation → internalization → reproduction of practice; Social role → behavioral expectations → action patterns; Ecological or economic variable → cultural adaptation → observable behavior; Contact → transmission → transformation → integration of cultural traits; Narrative → moral framing → behavioral guideline; Group membership → identity → social-network position → interaction frequency. |
| 3.3 Theoretical Vocabulary | Concepts | Core terms that encode the domain’s structure (force, gene, equilibrium, field). | Emic/etic distinction, cultural model, habitus, norm, social role, performance, meaning, thick description, cultural domain, diffusion, pattern, variation, structure, functional relationship, symbolic system, ethnographic validity, comparative trait, cultural universals, variability, contextualization. |
| | Classifications | Taxonomies, categories, or typologies that organize entities and relations. | Ethnographic genres; coding schemes for behavior; cultural-domain taxonomies; cross-cultural trait lists (e.g., SCCS variables); narrative and discourse categories; social-role classifications; interaction types; variation models (intra-cultural, inter-cultural); typologies of ritual, economic, kinship, political practices used in comparative analysis. |
| 3.4 Formal Representations | Equations | Mathematical constructs expressing laws, relations, or mechanisms. | Cultural consensus equations; similarity/distance metrics for coded traits; network centrality calculations; diffusion rate equations; regression models linking cultural variables; Bayesian inference models for cultural transmission; entropy or diversity measures for cultural domains; Markov models of interaction sequences. |
| | Models | Structured representations—mathematical, computational, or conceptual—used to predict and explain phenomena. | Cultural-consensus models; semantic network maps; social-network diagrams; diffusion/spread models; coding-structure matrices; ethnographic process models; multi-level comparative models; agent-based simulations of cultural transmission; typological grids. |
| 3.5 Idealized Structures | Simplified Models | Purposeful abstractions that capture essential dynamics while omitting irrelevant detail. | Homogeneous communities; stable and consistent norms; complete translation equivalence; direct mapping of behavior to cultural rules; absence of power asymmetry; culture as internally coherent system; discrete and comparable units across societies; unambiguous trait coding; unaffected observer presence. |
| | Limit Conditions | Regimes where specific models or approximations hold (classical vs. quantum, linear vs. nonlinear). | Fail when communities are heterogeneous or contested; when behavior contradicts stated norms; when translation is incomplete; when contact, migration, or globalization alter cultural logics; when informants strategically misrepresent; when rapid social change disrupts patterned behavior; when categories lack cross-cultural equivalence. |
| 3.6 Integrative Frameworks | Unifying Theories | Higher-order structures that connect disparate laws or mechanisms under a coherent whole. | Interpretive anthropology unifying meaning and practice; structuralism linking cultural codes and symbolic patterns; cultural evolution and diffusion linking micro-interaction to macro-patterns; cultural consensus theory unifying shared knowledge structures; ecological and materialist approaches linking environment and cultural behavior; multi-sited ethnography integrating diverse contexts. |
| | Interdisciplinary Links | Points where the theory connects to adjacent sciences or larger explanatory systems. | Linguistics (discourse, semantics); psychology (cognition, learning, emotion); sociology (roles, institutions, networks); political science (power, governance); history (continuity and change); ecology/economics (resource patterns); data science (coding, pattern recognition). |
| 4. Method Layer | 4.1 Inquiry Design | Experimental Design | Structured plans for manipulating variables to test causal claims. | Manipulating framing of interview questions to test cultural-model salience; structured elicitation tasks (free listing, pile sorting, ranking) to probe domain organization; controlled variation of context to test behavior–setting relationships; staged interaction scenarios to observe norm activation; experimental gaming tasks embedded in field settings to test cooperation or fairness norms. |
| | Observational Design | Systematic approaches for gathering non-manipulated data (surveys, field studies, natural experiments). | Participant observation in multiple contexts; systematic behavior sampling; shadowing informants across daily routines; long-term immersion to capture variation; natural experiments from social or ecological changes; mapping social interactions; documenting narrative performance; triangulating multiple observation sites; repeated interviews for longitudinal data. |
| 4.2 Testing & Validation | Hypothesis Testing | Procedures for evaluating whether evidence supports or contradicts specific claims. | Testing cultural consensus through agreement matrices; evaluating correlation between stated norms and observed behavior; testing cross-cultural predictions about kinship, ritual, or subsistence; validating semantic domains with cognitive-salience tests; testing diffusion hypotheses with network data; assessing ecological or political predictors of cultural traits in comparative datasets. |
| | Replication | The requirement that results be independently reproducible under similar conditions. | Re-coding field notes and transcripts by independent analysts; replicating free-list and pile-sort tasks with additional samples; repeating observation cycles across seasons or events; reanalyzing cross-cultural datasets with alternative coding schemes; verifying translations with multiple speakers; replicating cultural-consensus results in subgroups. |
| 4.3 Inference & Evaluation | Statistical Inference | Rules for drawing conclusions from noisy or incomplete data. | Consensus analysis; factor and cluster analysis of coded cultural domains; regression models linking cultural traits to ecological or social variables; multilevel models combining individual and group data; network analysis of interactions or diffusion; Bayesian cultural-inference models; narrative-structure coding; cross-cultural trait frequency analysis. |
| | Model Comparison | Criteria (fit, simplicity, predictive accuracy, robustness) used to evaluate competing models. | Comparing interpretive vs structuralist vs cognitive models; contrasting ecological and symbolic explanations; testing competing predictions about cultural universals; evaluating equivalence of trait definitions across societies; comparing network- vs diffusion-based explanations; assessing robustness of coding schemes under alternative taxonomies. |
| 4.4 Error Management | Error Analysis | Identification and quantification of random and systematic errors. | Identifying observer bias and reactivity; correcting mistranslations; resolving conflicting emic accounts; distinguishing situational behavior from cultural pattern; addressing missing or inconsistent field notes; quantifying intercoder disagreement; testing for non-equivalence of coded traits; separating normative statements from actual practice. |
| | Bias Control | Methods for minimizing subjective, instrumental, or procedural biases. | Blinding coders to hypotheses; triangulating interviews, observation, and documents; conducting member checks with informants; sampling across demographic subgroups; maintaining reflexive journals; controlling for power dynamics in interviews; repeated cross-checking of translations; standardizing coding manuals for comparative work. |
| 4.5 Adjudication & Revision | Peer Scrutiny | Collective evaluation of claims through critique, review, and debate. | Debriefing findings with cultural experts; collaborative interpretation sessions; reviewing coding schemes; reanalyzing controversial claims with alternative frameworks; validating comparative results with additional societies; convening interdisciplinary review teams; integrating challenges raised by community members. |
| | Theory Revision | Procedures for modifying, replacing, or discarding models based on new evidence. | Updating cultural models based on new field evidence; revising comparative trait definitions; incorporating emergent practices into coding schemes; modifying explanations to align with observed variation; integrating new insights on power, gender, or identity into interpretive frameworks; revising universality claims in light of counterexamples. |
| 4.6 Integrity Conditions | Transparency | Requirements to disclose methods, data, assumptions, and limitations. | Full disclosure of fieldwork context, positionality, sampling decisions, transcription choices, coding procedures, analytic assumptions, and limitations; sharing anonymized primary data where ethical; documenting uncertainties in interpretation; clarifying translation challenges. |
| | Ethical Standards | Norms ensuring responsible conduct in experimentation, data handling, and publication. | Securing informed consent; protecting anonymity; respecting cultural protocols; returning findings to communities; avoiding exploitation or misrepresentation; ensuring reciprocity in field relationships; avoiding harm due to publication; honoring restrictions on sacred or sensitive knowledge. |