ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a framework for discussion of the pertinent methodological issues and themes that arise in the course of designing and conducting research on fathers. It is reasonable to suppose that many of the methods used for studying mothers and mothering can be adapted to study fathers and fathering, but it is equally reasonable to expect new issues, problems, and concerns to arise that are unique to the study of fathers. A key difficulty that researchers face when trying to study fathers is that much of the literature on parenting is framed by a conception of caregiving built around maternal parenting, or what is called the “maternal template” (Marsiglio, Amato, & Day, 2000). Using a methodological “mother template” may be useful initially to explore similarities and differences between parents that may contribute to our understanding of family systems or child outcomes. Nevertheless, in some ways, using the mother template may create as many problems as it solves with respect to systematic research on fathers.
