ABSTRACT
Existing formulations of naturalism as a distinct approach to empirical inquiry in the social sciences suffer from several overriding flaws. As a field strategy, nationalism implies a profound respect for the character of the empirical world. It demands that the investigator take his theories and methods to that world. Naturalism places severe strain on the observer - emotional, physical, and ethical. It obligates him or her to take seriously his or her own introspections and reflections on the social process, as that process is recorded, perceived, and acted toward. In implementing naturalistic studies, it is necessary for the observer to have some consistent, if only loosely sensitizing image of the interaction process. Participant observation, however loosely defined, has traditionally been the major method of naturalistic studies. The naturalist must be sensitive to the fact that many of the behaviors he wishes to study occur at a low frequency because they are rigidly timed.
