Fieldwork Locations: Where Sociocultural Anthropologists Conduct Research.

This article examines the geographical distribution of fieldwork sites where sociocultural anthropologists publishing in prominent U.S. and British journals have conducted research, comparing contemporary locations with those from the early to mid-20th century. It finds that while the proportion of research in North America decreased significantly after 1960, the relative distribution of field sites across major world regions has remained largely stable since then, with Europe and the Middle East seeing notable increases. The study highlights persistent overrepresentation of regions like North America and Oceania relative to their populations, alongside underrepresentation of Asia and Africa, which poses challenges for cross-cultural generalizations. Additionally, the article discusses how authors’ institutional affiliations and gender influence field site choices, with scholars often conducting research near their home institutions and women somewhat more likely than men to do so. The findings are based on analyses of articles from selected well-known anthropology journals and reflect patterns primarily among Western-based anthropologists publishing in English-language outlets.