Analyzing Field Reality (Qualitative Research Methods)

Analyzing Field Reality provides a new way of thinking about the analysis of fieldwork that will aid researchers in many disciplines. It provides the researcher with a methodology for understanding meaning in the field. The author presents a typology of realities -- articulated and structural -- which shape not only the `folk′ understanding of interaction in a given setting but that of the ethnographer as well. Gubrium discusses structural, organisationally-embedded factors which shape social forms such as the family, role or personality. Examples from a variety of settings, including nursing homes, hospitals, support groups and residential treatment centres make this method of analysis applicable to qualitative researchers in applie