ABSTRACT
It is customary for methodologists to begin discussions of research by considering the relationships between different phases of a research project. Accordingly these discussions are presented in terms of research design which, it is argued, should precede all social research, research practice involving work in the field when data collection takes place and finally data analysis. While such presentations provide neat, tidy accounts of the conduct of research they are nothing short of misleading, for in this context, research is presented as a linear model with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Yet the reality is very different and infinitely more complex. Accounts by researchers have revealed that social research is not just a question of neat procedures but a social process whereby interaction between researcher and researched will directly influence the course which a research programme takes (see the accounts in Hammond (1964), Shipman (1976), Bell and Newby (1977), Bell and Encel (1978), Shaffir, Stebbins and Turowetz (1980), Roberts (1981) and Burgess (1984a). Accordingly the project, and the methodology, is continually defined and redefined by the researcher and in some cases by those researched. In these terms, researchers have constantly to monitor the activities in which they are engaged.
