An inventory for storing data on a sociocultural system was designed (a) to favor the emergence of a structural-functional model, and (b) to generate the descriptive knowledge most useful for a practical understanding of the life style. Thirty sections are grouped into four subsystems, adapted from those of the sociologist Talcott Parsons: the culture, the society, the ecology, and the individual personality. A fifth main heading is devoted to the culture bearer's perceptions of other cultures. The first three sections of Parson's cultural subsystem, namely the culture-wide values, habits of thought, and underlying assumptions, are equated with the "main themes" of the culture as defined by the anthropologist Morris Opler: if the definition of each main value is amplified to include the pertinent habits of thought and assumed realities, then the value can be perceived as it appears to those who live in the culture. The main themes serve as a manageable-sized handle which the student can grasp. These generalized themes give insight into the situation-specific norms which govern institutionalized roles; and the specific norms, in turn, serve to caution one against regarding the generalized themes as a self-dependent description of the life style. (Author/CLK)