ABSTRACT
In my research, the local community was made to serve as a microcosmic whole representing the total American community. When selected by exacting criteria, including a suitable location in economic, geographical and social regions, it meets most if not all the necessary research specifications. Some twenty-two criteria were used to select the community we are presently studying. Questions of size, industrial life, agricultural background marketing facilities and services, ethnic and racial composition, as well as the presence or absence of certain kinds of schools, churches, associations, civic enterprises and governmental institutions were embodied in the criteria which served as a testing screen to eliminate hundreds of towns and cities in five large, middle-western states and to retain a very small number for further investigation. The few remaining communities could then be inspected by preliminary field investigations to validate the screening process and to select one of them for intensive study.
