BDY 4073

Lecture 3: part 1

Ethnobotanical Research
Methodology
Dr. Jarina Mohd Jani
25
October 2021
 Choosing Study Approach

 Decide on the study goals

 Choose suitable approach according to interest,
resource allocation & work-time.
 Tips:
 Divide working-time for fieldwork sampling &
analyzing data and writing-up at home/office.
 First time, all-out activities; 2nd time onwards,
cross-reference specimens on readily available
database and referring to secondary data
about the specimens.
 Do repeated activities over a span of time
based on seasons on yearly basis.
Multidisciplinary Ethnobotany

4 basic activities in ethnobotanical study:

 Documentation of TBK (by Botanists)

 Quantitative valuation on use & management of plant resources
(by Biostatistician)
 Experimented valuation on profitability of plant as self-
consumption & commercialization (by Resource Economists)
 Applied studies on maximizing the plant values for local people
based on ecological knowledge (by Ecological Anthropologists)
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Short-term Approach
 E.g. of fast-track studies:
 Collecting data on forest products due to
certain environmental impacts.
 Preliminary listing of biological resources in
specified areas for conservation, production,
education & recreation.
 Preliminary inventory on community-based
ethnobotany for special cases/interests.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Short-term Approach
 Disadvantages:
 Lack of human-interaction between
researcher & locals.
Cannot produce comprehensive
documentation on cultural & traditional
botanical knowledge.
 No transfer of knowledge between
researcher & locals
Not enough time to learn correct
ethnobotanical practices for the locals to
manage their plant resources.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

 To resolve Short-term Approach’s disadvantages:

 Multidisciplinary approach; collective data from
different sources (secondary data)
 Locals as participants, not as research subjects
 Involve in research design, data collection,
results’ analysis & discussion on how the data
benefited the locals in return.
 Researchers from different disciplines at ‘co-
worker’ organization, not as ‘superior-inferior’
organization.
 Qualitative measurement, not quantitative; with
basic statistics to interpret results.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

 Visual data preferred; e.g.:

Mapping showing local ecological zones
Pie charts showing time-consumed by locals
to produce plant-based products
Calendar sketches on seasonal fluctuation
of local climate.
 Data analyzed in situ
Allow necessary ad-hoc modification on
method used
Recover missing data after first fieldwork
Analysis done over and over again to allow
replenishing of data & increasing level of
data reliability
Allow quick preparation of reports and
recommendation.
Participatory Rural Appraisal

 Criteria needed to plant for PRA projects:

 Pre-fieldwork Preparation
Gather secondary information – map,
flora, fauna, vegetation analysis, census
statistics, reports on land-use (land area,
inhabitants, conservation issues)
Refer to maps to choose several sites and
villages
Use locals, local authority & nearby
universities to gather these secondary
information
Participatory Rural Appraisal

 Formation of multidisciplinary research group

Linguist professed in local languages
Botanist professed in local flora
Anthropologist having had experiences in
studying social classes of the locals
Other relevant experts once worked in the
study area selected
Accommodate all parties in the activities
throughout; compromise on data
collection if cannot participate in
fieldwork, ensuring that data gathered
can be analyzed ex situ
Participatory Rural Appraisal

 Community involvement
Get permission & cooperation from local
authority
Ask for potential locals as workers based
on the needs and types of data to be
collected
Briefing sessions on the goal of research
and allocation of tasks if involving large
group of people; i.e. the whole village
Participatory Rural Appraisal

 Selection of suitable technique

Focus on techniques that can gather
reliable data
Gather minimal data but just enough to
see the polarity of resource usage or local
ecological knowledge
Use simple-to-understand data analysis
method without using computer if possible
Participatory Rural Appraisal

 Systematize the activities

 Allowing reliable preliminary data for future
reference & topping-up additional data
On study-area mapping, contact details
of locals working in the study
On complete species listing
On notes and audio-visual recordings on
interviews made
Final report should be presented in lay-
man terms understood by both researcher
& locals with graphical presentation of
results (graphs & photographs)
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Advantages:
 More time to mingle around – to gather more
data at different social perspectives (during
annual celebrations, seasonal rituals &
agricultural activities)
 “Win the hearts & minds, rewarded by the
knowledge wealth” – indigenous people
stigma on modern people?
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
 Planning a Long-Term Project
 Standard principles:
 Plant specimens
 Collected, identified and deposited in
herbarium, museum of natural history, seed
bank, etc.
 Comprehensively documented by labels
with botanical names, locality,
descriptions, collector’s name & no.
 Cultural data
 On distribution, usage & management of
species.
 Endorsed by locals at all levels.
 Demographic details of locals involved in
project.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
 Linguistics of specimen nomenclature
 All vernacular names recorded in writing precisely using
common phonetics and transcriptions of the locals.
 For verbal natives, use tape-recorder to gather linguistic
data.
 Gather both types of data to counter-check the
precision of transcriptions.
 Voucher specimens
 Samples on specimen’s parts for further observation in
laboratory.
 Vouchers documented according to the purpose and
testing of the project.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
 Local perception and classification of natural
environment
 On vegetation community, soil type,
geographical landmarks, climate and seasonal
zones.
 By sampling soils, measuring species diversity in
different ecological zones, analyzing ecological
succession phases, etc.
 Economic values of species
 Estimated from profitability-landuse economic
comparison, selling price & availability in local
markets, valuing time consumed by farmers to
plant, grow & harvest products, valuing
exporting cost from farms to markets, etc.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Testing Hypothesis & Theorizing

 Purpose of ethnobotanical data collection?
Contribution to human health & wealth
based on common principles on botanical
knowledge & benefits
By testing hypothesis on how humans
interact with the natural environment, can
increase the thirst for the TRUTH.
Research can only be done based on its
hypothesis which is tested to give about
the theory.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
 Theory = common notion of a set of principles in
explaining the social & environmental
phenomena.
 From theory, hypotheses are deduced
 Hypothesis = selective assumptions that can be
studied using empirical measurement and
testing.
 Hypothesis is supported by data analysis, the
theory is accepted.
 Hypothesis is rejected by data analysis, the theory
is rejected & must be modified accordingly, if
possible.
 E.g. “a theory said that members in a community
usually use the same name for the same plant so
that they can communicate on important plants in
their daily life”
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
 Hypothesis?
The same speaker of the same language
will give the same name for the plants
collected from the community.
 Data analysis?
Important species in the community are
named the same
Rare species in the community are named
differently
Different names called for the same plants
is due to different cultures that use them.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 New theory?
 People in a community prone to give the same
names to biological species, and this consistency
increases with the degree of cultural importance of
some biological species.
 Statistical Testing
 Hypothesis Null = there is no statistical difference
between two or more measurements
 E.g. there is no significant difference between
what is known by women and men on primary
forest’s trees.
 Hypothesis Alternative = contrast to hypothesis null.
 E.g. there is a gender-knowledge polarity.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Analyzing the data statistically:

Using Inferential Statistics
Statistical result = Probability values (p-
value) = 0.00 – 1.00
Hypothesis null rejected if p-value <
0.05 (below 95% confidence) & vice
versa
Hypothesis null strongly accepted if p-
value > 0.01 (above 99% confidence)
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 What is Ethnobotanical Data?

 Data Set = a collective data collected in a
systematic way.
 E.g. list of local fire woods used by several local
groups, tree census in 1 ha area, etc.
 Data Domain = subject/object to be studied.
 E.g. study on all plant species used to treat
stomach-ache
 Importance of data set:
 To assist in analysis towards conclusion.
 To allow re-analysis and verification of results.
 To allow possibility of generalization of
conclusion in other ethnobotanical settings.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Gathering a Set Data

 Be specific on domain.
E.g. to study local fire woods used by locals,
gather data only on woody species; ignore
herbs, ferns, mosses, etc.
 Categorizing botanical knowledge &
management of locals.
Categorizing based on what the locals see
and classify objects in local languages.
Categorizing based on what the global see
and classify objects in global languages.
Compromising between the two ways of
categorizing without jeopardizing local
perception and classification.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
 Measuring botanical knowledge and
management of locals
Global vs. Local Measurement
E.g. kilogram vs. kati, cupak
decibel vs. sepelaung
ringgit vs. kupang, riyal, duit
Best to use local measurement during
study and convert into global
measurement during data analysis.
Be aware on the precision of
measurement and reading errors
Qualitative vs. Quantitative measurement
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Choosing & Describing Project Site

 Referring to secondary resources on
ethnography, maps, geographical data on
soils, local inhabitants & conservation status.
 Elements required to describe a project site
as in Table A.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
Table A. Proposed criteria for a project site

Soil
Geographical location & map
Surface area in km²
Longitude & latitude
Altitudinal range
Major landmarks
Soil types
Climate & seasonal zones
Vegetation types & succession phases
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
Table A. Proposed criteria for a project site
Local Inhabitants
Population size & distribution
Language used
Ethnic affiliation (cultures, religions)
Settlement history
Major social classes
Productive activities
Backyard & commercial crops
Land ownership system
Migration rate
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
Table A. Proposed criteria for a project site

Conservation Status
Size & protected status
Transportation infrastructure
Natural & man-made disasters
Colonization (resettlement)
Agriculture (activity rate)
Logging (area & target species affected)
Alternative land-use scheme (cattle-grazing, aquaculture ponds)
Ecotourism
Extraction (of local species)
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 In ethnobotanical studies, we cannot

runaway from ‘depreciating benefits’
syndrome – reduction of information
gathered from each plant collection or
interviews.
E.g. the 1st interviewee will tell us so much
information, the 2nd interviewee will tell
50% of the information told by the 1st
interviewee plus 50% new information, the
3rd interviewee will tell 75% of the
information told by the 1st & 2nd
interviewees plus 25% new information, so
on & so forth…
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Arranging the Set Data

 Collected data: collection note books,
transcriptions, interview records, identification
list by botanists, laboratory analysis by
ethnopharmacologists, etc.
 Need to be arranged
To verify the data (representative, valid)
To compare in different perspectives
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 “Card Filing System”

 A box filled with note cards
 For proper arrangement & easy to cross-
referring
 E.g. Card Filing System based on domain
botanical species (Coded Sp.1)
 note card for each plant species arranged in
alphabetical order (with botanical & vernacular
names, collection numbers, usages, etc.)
 Additional domains;
 Card Filing System based on vernacular names
(Coded 001)
 Card Filing System based on medicinal use
(Coded 002)
 Accession via filing coding, e.g.
Kenyir/Herbs/Sp.1/001/002
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Structuring Database
 For a quick and precise data arrangement & statistical
analysis using computers
 Decide on fields
 E.g. age, gender, marriage status, collection no., vernacular
names, etc.

 Structure of the fields

 Measurement of fields gives the structure of the database,
e.g. numbers, name list, status, age-range etc.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Record of the fields

Collected data from each item of the field
= Record
Measurement for each fields according to
records = Values
 Fields & values can be represented by coded
names, e.g. Age = A, Gender = S, Marital
Status = MS, etc.
 Beware of confusion of same data collected
by different collectors & analyzer.
Use mnemonic coding (short-forms of
sequential alphabets in a full word), e.g.
Poaceae = POA
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach
 Protecting the Data
 Vulnerability of data loss;
 Decay of specimens, computer ‘crush’, etc.
 How to protect the data?
 Use common sense
 Acknowledge and reduce impacts on sensitive data,
e.g. keep specimens away in a suitable & monitored
environment (curation techniques).
 Plagiarism of data; publish data in a peer-reviewed
journals, in books published by institutions or NGOs.
 To be extra safe, use IP procedures and MoAs among
parties involved in the project.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Analyzing the Data

 Allow rooms for preliminary survey before real
data collection
To counter any problems arising due to
execution of the project
To ask new questions & modify collection
methods & re-select data analysis
 Best analysis =
Analysis that helps in understanding the use
and classification of botanical resources
over collected data sets.
 E.g. to study if women know better than men
about medicinal plants used in the village;
Results: women knows 15 out of 20 medicinal
plants than men. Analysis: Why women don’t
know about the other 5 medicinal plants?
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Statistical analysis = mathematical calculation to

simplify and interpret quantitative data.
 Two type of statistical analysis used:
 Descriptive Statistics
 Famous among ethnobotanists
 To show trend across the data set
 E.g. 93% of the villagers uses rubber tree wood as fire-wood;
Average age of the interviewed individuals is 42.3 years old.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Inferential Statistics
 To make good assumption for the whole
population even data collected only from
apart of the population (representative data).
 E.g. data collected from 50 out of 500 villagers
will explain, more or less, about the villagers as
a whole.
 Common statistics used in ethnobotanical
studies:
 Chi-Squared Test, ANOVA, correlation,
regression, etc.
 Before using any statistical tests, understand the
limitation and the type of data needed.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Presenting the Data

 Botanists > use botanical terms and understandings
understood only by botanists
 Anthropologists > use social & economic terms and
understandings understood only by social scientists
 E.g. Human population (by Anthropologist) not the same
as Species Population (by Botanists)
 Ethnobotanists explains their studies to people from
different disciplines; so must be ‘Glokal’.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Presentation of data should be:

 Simple wordings & jargon-free texts
 Introduce new terms used with brief lay-man explanation
 Presentation style as if you are telling a friend or co-
worker
 Scientific endeavor with social touch
 To prepare a popular explanation to the public plus a
basic data and analysis for co-researchers
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Allow times and rooms for review and edition by

peers
 Ensure that the second draft is more clear and
complete than the firsts.
 Visual Presentation of Data
 Photography (full/parts images, contrast
backgroud, scale)
 Photographer’s details, date, time and venue.
 Drawings & Sketchings
 To point out important features of a specimen
with labels
 To transform a photograph of a hill slope into
an ecological profile of land-use at ascending
altitudes.
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Data Tables to compare related values of

different items (column) across the records
(lines)
 Graphs to relate two dimensions like quantity
and time in a single visual presentation
 Bar Graph; to compare between quantity of a
dimension and various categories, e.g.
quantity of plant used by different age
categories of villagers.
 Linear Graph / XY Graph; to understand how
Variable X reacted once the other Variable Y
changed, e.g. quantity of plants
acknowledged (X) by individuals with different
educational backgrounds.
 Pie Charts to present the relative ratios or
percentages among categories compared
Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Good things about this approach:

Verifying accuracy of data
Detecting contrasting data
Evaluating cultural variation in the
community studied
 We want more, more…and more…until
when?
Decide when to stop collecting data as
long as the objectives of the project can
be achieved successfully.
 Ethnobotanical Valuation:
Long-term Approach

 Economic & Statistical Efficiency of a Project

 How valuable is our project?
Once we collected 100 or 1000 or 10000
plant specimens?
Once we live in a village for 1 week or 1
month or 1 year?
Once we interviewed 5 or 10 or 100
respondents?
Once we construct a 0.05 or 0.5 or 1 ha
plot?