As a term and a subject area, applied anthropology refers to that broad array of research,

methods, and outcomes developed and used for the explicit purpose of recognizing,
understanding, and addressing human problems. It has been described both as the fifth field of
anthropology and as the bridging discipline since the application of research and knowledge to
social problems cross-cuts all fields of anthropology. Some view applied anthropology narrowly,
in terms of work conducted outside of university settings that is typically defined and produced
under some form of contractual relationship, with services and resulting products used in some
sort of problem-solving way.
In this usage, applied anthropologists work to resolve problems, often in technocratic
contexts, with theoretically informed praxis that generates and refines methodologies though
rarely contributes toward the production of theory. For others, applied anthropology has broader
meaning and refers to the varied uses of anthropology in public and private settings, including
academia, where the primary objective involves problem-focused concerns. In this usage all
forms of anthropological endeavor have social meaning and an applied dimension. Both the
varied meanings of term and the varied outcomes of endeavor reflect the political economic
conditions, social contexts, and identity politics within the discipline as it has been practiced over
the past century, especially in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
Classification and restricted access agreements imposed by research sponsors
(governments, other international institutions, and corporations), limited peer review, publication
and distribution of grey literature reports, and the membership-restricted publication of flagship
journals historically reinforced the boundaries between university-based anthropologists and
applied practitioners. With the advent of the web, library scanning projects, changes in
information disclosure laws, the ease of uploading the collected works of various journals,
newsletters, and magazines to the web, and the increased sophistication and use of web-based
translation, access to the collective works in applied anthropology has never been greater.
Increasingly, the distinction between applied and four-field anthropology has relatively less
meaning as anthropologists are engaged as disciplinary and public actors in a wide array of
scholarly, practical, and advocacy endeavors. Globally, anthropological work involves and is
celebrated for its combined theoretical, applied, and practical contributions to society.
Professional meetings, small and large, are the most common arena for reporting applied
anthropology findings. Such gatherings shape a community of praxis, strengthen the linkages
between academic and practicing anthropology, and foster development and dynamic growth in
the literature. Thus, conference papers are posted on individual and institutional web pages, and
abstracts and proceedings are accessible online from sponsoring organizations and host
institutions. Presentations in organized sessions are frequently revised and published as specialthemed issues of a journal, or form the core of an anthology. Some gatherings overtly organized
as a means to further the field.
SOURCE:
http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766567/obo9780199766567-0002.xml