ABSTRACT
A straightforward account of my ways of working is complicated because I essentially did four separate pieces of research—spending time at three settings for unwed mothers and doing an exploratory study of contraceptive use among college girls. While my methods in each case were fluid ones, open-ended interviewing and participant-observation, the particular blend of methods was determined to some extent by the conditions set for my activities in each place. It is perhaps best to begin my account, therefore, with the question of access to maternity homes, for this was importantly related to method.
