For this the fourth volume in the successful Contemporary Social Research series, Robert Burgess has provided a new resource text which will prove invaluable to those engaged in field research. The material he has chosen is drawn both from sociology and social anthropology; and the readings come from experienced researchers both in the USA and Europe. In addition, Burgess draws upon the work of historians for a special section on the use of historical materials in field research. The focus is upon the strategies, processes and problems of work in the field. Chapters by distinguished social scientists cover gaining entry, note-taking, interviewing and observing. Material on data collection is complemented by discussion of data analysis and theorising. The readings themselves are subdivided into nine sections. The first essay in each section is written by Burgess himself in order to locate the articles in a broader context and to highlight the key issues and the important questions. Burgess has also provided a review of some of the major traditions in field research and a series of brief guides to further reading on the major topics covered in each of the sections. Particular attention has been paid to the use of annotated reading lists and the preparation of a very full bibliography. Field Research: A Sourcebook and Field Manual will be an essential textbook for students of social research or field research at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. In addition, it will provide valuable guidance for workers in the social sciences engaged in research in the field.

Eleven papers, some of which have appeared previously as contributions to the journal Organizational Science , emphasize a range of methodological issues involved in longitudinal field research, including ethnographic methods, longitudinal and comparative case studies, event history analysis, and real-time tracking of events, as well as procedural.

In this introduction to understanding, researching and doing case studies in the social sciences, Hamel outlines several differing traditions of case study research including the Chicago School of Sociology, the anthropological case studies of Malinowski, and the French La Play school tradition. He shows how each developed, changed and has been practiced over time. Suggestions for the practice of case studies are made for the novice reader and an additional feature is the extensive bibliography on case study methods in social science to allow for further exploration of the topic.

These engaging accounts by masters of field research illustrate the synthesis of passionate involvement and objective analysis. An informative and inspiring collection for students and professional social scientists. (Cynthia Fuchs Epstein Distinguished Professor of Sociology City University of New York). This revised, edited volume brings together personal accounts by a group of noted ethnographic researchers to examine the natural history of participant observation. An ideal supplemental text for methods courses, In The Field is designed to give students a sense of what it is actually like to conduct ethnographic research. As the selections show, field researchers must struggle to gain acceptance by the group under study but then often become deeply involved in the lives of the people and at times are forced into a reexamination of their own values. By learning how social scientists conduct research under field conditions and how they feel while they are doing it, students will be better prepared to carry out successful field research projects of their own.