ABSTRACT
The emphasis in field research conducted by sociologists and social anthropologists is upon the observed present. Certainly, if we turn to basic texts in field research (Lofland, 1971; Wax, 1971; Schatzman and Strauss, 1973), we find no space devoted to a discussion of historical materials. Similarly, if we turn to ethnographic studies, we find that historical data is neglected. Warner’s studies of Newburyport in the Yankee City series (for example, Warner and Lunt, 1941; Warner and Low, 1947) have ignored the history of the community as available in documentary sources, with the result that he misrepresents a number of patterns of social life (Thernstrom, 1965). A similar point has been made about Whyte’s classic study of Street Corner Society (Whyte, 1955). Thernstrom (1968) questions the extent to which Whyte’s evidence reflects the historical period in which the data was collected. As Pitt (1972) has argued, the field researcher is in danger of misinterpreting the present if historical sources are ignored.
