Human Relations Area Files (HRAF)

for additional assistance, please contact

Valery King

phone 737-7318 | email Valery.King[at]oregonstate.edu | AIM ValeryKing

Quicklinks
 Off-Campus Access| ILL Forms

NOTE: The interface for electronic HRAF has changed. Link here to access it. Some techniques described in this document may have changed. (1/24/2008)

What is HRAF?

The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) Collection of Ethnography are a collection of primary and secondary source materials (mainly published books and articles, but including some unpublished manuscripts) on selected cultures or societies representing all major areas of the world. It can be used to study a particular culture or a region of the world, or to study a particular set of cultural attributes cross-culturally.

HRAF information is found in two formats, microfiche and electronic. HRAF began in paper and moved into microfiche and then to electronic access (eHRAF). Currently, the electronic version is the only one being updated. It does not contain all of the world's cultures nor all the cultures included in the microfiche collection. Most of the cultures in eHRAF are updated versions of the microfiche collections; the rest are mostly immigrant cultures. More are added each spring.

Not every culture included in the microfiche has been added to the electronic (online) version yet. To find out which culture is available in which format, go to http://www.yale.edu/hraf/CCL/HRAFCollectionList2005.htm

 

How HRAF Works

Codes are assigned to paragraphs within indexed sources in two ways:

  • Cultures have a letter-number code (listed and described in Outline of World Cultures (OCW) (either in print or online))
  • Aspects of a culture have a 3- to 4-digit numerical code (listed and described in Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM) , again either print or online). OCMs are what makes HRAF unique, an ID number to describe a topic.

In effect, HRAF is a detailed index of the source materials. You can access just the paragraphs covering the information you want, or you can access the entirety of most of the works indexed.

Using HRAF online (eHRAF)

eHRAF is a licensed database available to OSU students, faculty and staff. One can either search or browse eHRAF; browsing is suggested first to get OCW and OCM codes and get better idea of what HRAF is all about

Browsing

Browse Cultures: A-Z or by Region

  • Browse by region
    • gives countries (Note that cultures often cross country boundaries)
    • gives OWC code (ex. Maasi, FL12)
    • click to see details and coverage (microfiche and electronic); date issued, number of documents, number of pages, coverage dates, description and ALL the files with links

Browsing by Subject

  • Either A-Z (default) or by Categories.
  • A-Z searching: Subject words in CAPS indicate actual OCM categories (broader search); lower-case are words, phrases or concepts (narrower search)
    • Click on OCM to get description; you also get "see also" subject codes
    • Make note of the codes you want to use in your SEARCH
  • Browsing Categories give you the entire OCM (over 700 subject categories describing all aspects of social and cultural life) and is a good way to see the structure of HRAF.
    • Click on a subheading to get a description
    • Click on a major heading and get a list of descriptions of the subheadings

Searching

Searching can be done in three ways (these can be combined):

  1. independently or in combination by broad OCM Subjects
  2. by exact word/phrase
  3. by culture/OWC

REMEMBER: When inputting your search, the eHRAF searches the work's paragraphs, not the entire source.

  1. Click on Search tab on top of screen
  2. In the OCM subject codes section click on add
  3. Choose an OCM from A-Z index or click on OCM Hierarchy tab and search through the code ranges.
  4. Click on note to see description of the OCM code and click on and to transfer the OCM to the box (or just type it in)

For more information on using the eHRAF, the informative "Search Methodology for eHRAF Ethnography on the Web" is available at http://www.yale.edu/hraf/methods_example.htm. An eHRAF "Workbook for Introductory Anthropology Courses" is also available from HRAF at http://www.yale.edu/hraf/workbook.htm.


If the culture you seek is not available in the electronic version, it may instead be in microfiche.



Using HRAF in microfiche

Where is the microfiche kept?

Installments 1-42 are on microfiche, located on the third floor of The Valley Library in the Archives, Government Information and Maps area. Installment 43 to the present are available via the Web to the OSU community at the eHRAF link on the library database page.

Look for two important books on top of the microfiche cabinets or in Reference: Outline of World Cultures (Ref GN34 .M82 1983) and Outline of Cultural Materials (Ref GN345.3 .O95 2000). Ask for assistance if you do not find these.


How do I find a specific culture or region within the microfiche copies of the HRAF files?

First you must find out if the culture or region you are interested in is included in the HRAF Collection and more specifically, if there is a microfiche copy of it.

Locate the Outline of World Cultures and using the alphabetical index in the back, look up the culture you are interested in. You will see a code following the name; write this down. Look up the code in the book, it will tell you the region of the world in which that culture is located and also give you an idea of whether the group you are interested in is being treated as a separate group or as a part of a larger collection of culture or language groups.

Not all the cultures have complete entries, even though they may have a code number assigned. To discover if your culture is covered, you can:

1. Look up the code in the microfiche collection itself, or

2. Visit the HRAF Collections page at http://www.yale.edu/hraf/collections.htm, click on "microfiche" on the menu, then in the text click on entire microfiche collection. The various cultural groups are arranged alphabetically by their codes.

If you find your code in the collection, you are ready for the next step.

How do I locate specific cultural information about this group?

Once you have found a particular group in the HRAF files to study, you will notice that each fiche has the name of the culture, its code and a card number on the right-hand side and a Category Number on the left-hand side. A list of these category numbers can be found in the Outline of Cultural Materials. You will want to look up any topics in which you may be interested in this book because in addition to the appropriate category numbers, it will give you scope notes about that category and remind you of other possible category numbers to use for related information. Don't get the card number and category number confused. Two digit categories represent broad topics; you will want to consider each of the sub topics (e.g. 59=Family but the categories you will look up are 591=residence through 597=adoption).

Only the paragraphs containing information on the topics within your category are located in that category; do not expect to find entire books or articles. Every page is identified by a "source number" (we call each book or article a "source") followed by the author's name, both located in the upper left-hand corner of each page.

If you want to see entire books or articles from which the pages in your category have been taken, many will be found arranged by source number in Category 116 of the file for your culture.

In the same file, you will find Category 111 the full bibliographic references for all sources, and these are also arranged by source number.

If you have chosen which category numbers you wish to look up for a particular culture of interest to you, go to that section of the fiche and remove the cards you need. However, please observe the following rules at any time you use microfiche:

  • Take out not only the fiche but the "jacket" it is in.
  • For each fiche you remove, put an "outcard" in its place.
  • Do not refile the fiche you have used, just put them in the refile box. This lets us know how much is used and avoids problems caused by misfiling.

Return to the Alphabetical or Subject index of the Subject Research Guides.