ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the methodological conflicts and constraints in conducting anti-discriminatory research. It focuses on the experiences of empirical research conducted in 1987 in one Local Authority Social Services Department. Issues stemming from the formulation of the research design and problems inherent in negotiating research access to bureaucratic organisations are examined within an anti-discriminatory framework. Issues of race and ethnicity formed the locus of the research design. With the central hypothesis being around the significance of race and ethnicity, the study concerned itself with an exploration of the contradictions and the possibilities of progressive anti-racist policies and practices. The Wenford study attempted to consolidate not only issues of class and socio-economic disadvantage but specifically integrate race, ethnicity, culture and religion into the research framework. A review of the literature led to a model of research which focused not only upon the recipients of the service but also upon the policies and practices of the service providing organisation.
