The connection between the OCM and the HRAF

The Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM) can be used to categorize materials while in the field work stage, but it was originally intended for use with published ethnographic materials. It is the basis for a large archive called the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), which is housed at Yale University.

The HRAF is made up of hundreds of thousands of pages of OCM-coded ethnographic material from books and articles on a selection of 350 societies from around the world. Other material is being added. This archive can be used by researchers interested in doing cross-cultural research and comparison. Access to the microfiche version of the HRAF archive is possible from over 300 libraries and other institutions.

Because of the close connection between the outline and the files, you will often hear the OCM referred to as the "H-RAF" or the "HRAF codes". However, the OCM has been used for many other projects besides the HRAF archive.

Since "Outline of Cultural Materials" is the official name of the outline itself, "OCM" will be used in LinguaLinks to refer to it.

Here are some additional resources:

• For more on the history and plan of the OCM, see the Introduction to the 5th edition Murdock et al 1987

• For a list of the libraries and institutions where you can access the HRAF archive, contact Human Relations Area Files: P.O. Box 2054, Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520; (203) 777-2334.

• For 60 HRAF societies on CD-ROM, contact SilverPlatter CD-ROM: 100 River Ridge Dr., Norwood, MA 02062-5206; (800) 343-0064.

• For a primarily electronic journal on cross-cultural research in which the OCM is the categorization basis, contact World Cultures: Journal of Comparative and Cross-Cultural Research, Analytic Technologies, 6616 Christie Rd., Columbia, SC 29209-2147. [hard copy available]

Bernard 1994, Bradley 1994

• Fact module: The connection between the OCM and the HRAF
• In modular book: Using the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM), by Elinor Abbot
• In bookshelf: Anthropology

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 17 September 1998

© 1999 SIL International