Final answer:
Applied anthropology is the field that aims to enact social change and improve the lives of marginalized communities by applying anthropological methods and insights to real-world problems.
Step-by-step explanation:
Research that aims to bring about social change and improve the lives of marginalized people is known as applied anthropology. This discipline leverages anthropological knowledge and methods to tackle contemporary problems, often directly collaborating with and benefiting indigenous and marginalized communities. Applied anthropology responds to historical critiques that question the real-world benefits of anthropological studies by engaging cultural insiders in the research process and focusing on issues that are vital to the communities themselves.
Incorporating cultural relativism, applied anthropology requires researchers to understand cultures on their terms. By including members of the culture in research teams and prioritizing their perspectives, researchers work ethically and collaboratively, sharing findings with the subject community for their use and empowering them to control the narrative and application of the research outputs.