Anthropology

The way anthropologists study communities varies depending on the specific research focus and theoretical framework. There might be multiple different analytical lenses we could take on communities:

1. By Social Organization: studying how people are connected through kinship ties, marriage patterns, and all forms of social relationships. This analysis helps identify different social groups within the community, such as families or clans and their roles or hierarchies determine interactions

2. By Economics: how people obtain and distribute resources, the division of labor, and how economic activity is organized. This analysis can involve studying subsistence strategies and economic exchange systems like reciprocity, vs market exchange.

3. By Practices and Beliefs: examining religion, rituals, customs, language, art, and other cultural expressions. Cultural aspects tend to point out the community's shared meanings, identities, and worldview.

4. By Political Systems: analyzing power relations, decision-making, and governance. We might look at the role of leaders, conflict, and other ways communities interact with external forces

5. By Environmental Factors: this might include studying settlement patterns, land use, resource management, and the impact of environmental factors on social and cultural practices.

To investigate on any of these axes, we usually use participant observation, interviews, and look through documents.