ABSTRACT
Whatever kind of research is being undertaken, certain strategic and practical issues will need to be faced at some point. This phase often comes before fieldwork, so the discussion here is expressed in these terms, and in relation to studies of oral tradition and verbal arts (more general treatments of pre-field preparation can be found in standard guides like Burgess 1982, Ellen 1984, B.Jackson 1987). A separated field trip abroad is nowadays not the only possibility, however, and the points here are also worth considering whatever the research conditions, and for archive-based as well as field study.
