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Edward Tylor had envisioned anthropology to be comprised of ethnology and ethnography in equal parts, but today ethnography dominates the field. In this paper, we examine two reasons for the refugee status of ethnology. First, we look at the notorious "Galton effect." Second, we examine the problem of defining and using cultural units, particularly when positivistic and static theories and methods of culture have been largely discredited by anthropology. We argue against any formulaic solutions to these problems and show that for each research question one needs to reconsider the criteria for how to construct cultural units and how to ensure that the cultures under study are not merely replicas of one another. We show that previous solutions to these issues are limited because they fail to appreciate the contingent and multidimensional nature of culture. We also argue that, instead of a "Galton problem," there is actually a "Galton asset," which can be used to study historical and emergent communicative networks. [Keywords: cross–cultural research, Galton problem, cultural units, methods and theory]

This article presents the results of two semantic differential studies that focus on cultural values and modernization, which were carried out in Kelantan, Malaysia, first in 1969 and the second in 2001.The results of these quantitative psychological anthropology studies, complimented by more than 3 years of traditional fieldwork, provide a finely textured means to assess both the direction and the degree of sociocultural change in what has been a very traditional, conservative, Islamic, peasant community, but which now, with some notable exceptions, appears to be rapidly modernizing. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data resulting from our investigation, the authors discuss the continuing dominance of Islam in the conceptual and value system of virtually all Kelantanese Malays and some of its consequences for peace in the country and throughout the region.

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