ABSTRACT
Doing research in the social sciences implies participating in a range of relationships. The nature of these relationships and their role in the successful conduct of the research vary considerably. The least personal are the formal relations with funding or auspicing institutions. Relations within the wider discipline community often include some more personal communication, but are for the most part conducted through some form of written communication, in which the social element is more or less absent. In all of these relationships, the researcher is the central, common element and has rights and obligations with regard to the other parties (Erickson, 1986).
