ABSTRACT
Research reports frequently give the appearance of confident, wellorganized progress through the lengthy period of research. This probably is rarely the case, and certainly does not apply to our study, which we conducted between 1980-4 (Measor and Woods, 1984a). It was characterized more by stops and starts, false trails and blind alleys. There were long periods of routine data collection-and some flashes of excitement; alternating experiences of being promoted and obstructed, of being deeply involved and almost totally marginalized.
