Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

FIELD RESEARCH AND FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH

FIGURE 2 The Access Ladder

Level
of
Trust

Time in the Field Site

View Most Sensitive Events or

Information

Affect Events to Reveal

Information

Observe Sensitive Events,

Ask for Clarification

Be Passive Observer,

Nonthreatening

Look for Public Infor-

mation as Outsider

Gain Entry

into Setting

We can visualize entry and access as an access
ladder(see Figure 2). You begin at the bottom
rung. Here access is easy, and you are the naïve out-
sider looking for visible, public information. The
next rung requires increased access. It occurs after
serious on-site observation begins. You are a pas-
sive observer, not questioning what members say,
but you slowly penetrate into local social life. With
time in the field, you move up a rung. You observe
or hear things that are potentially sensitive, and you
begin to seek clarification of what you see or hear.
Reaching this access rung is difficult. Finally, you
may try to shape interaction so that it reveals spe-
cific information to you. You may request to see
highly sensitive material. Few attain this highest
rung of the access ladder, which requires deep
trust.^17

Assume a Social Role.You play many social roles
in daily life—daughter/ son, student, customer, sports
fan—and maintain social relations with others. You
choose some roles, and others are structured for
you. Few people have a choice but to play the role
of son or daughter. Some roles are formal (e.g., bank
teller, police chief); others are informal (flirt, elder
statesperson, buddy, etc.). You can switch roles, play
multiple roles, and play a role in a particular way.

You occupy two types of roles in the field:

a social role in the site (e.g., customer, patient,

employee) and your field researcher role (to be dis-

cussed in the next section). Harrington (2003) noted

that a field researcher’s success depends on how

skillfully he or she negotiates symbolic interaction

processes, such as presentation of self and per-

forming social roles. She observed (p. 609):

Researchers entering a field site encounter not only

participants but participants’preexisting categories

for understanding the world—categories which will

be applied to researchers as a way of getting a

definitional “handle” on their presence, and figur-

ing out how to interact with them... researchers

must be defined in terms that either enhance or do

not threaten participants’ group identity.

You must negotiate for preexisting social roles

that field site members assign you in early field site

interactions. The assigned role and your perfor-

mance in it influences the ease and degree of

access, as well as your success in developing social

trust and securing cooperation. Some existing roles

provide more access than other roles. The roles give

you an ability to observe and interact with all mem-

bers, the freedom to move around, and a way to

balance the requirements of researcher and mem-

ber. At times, you might be able to introduce a new

role or modify an existing one. For example, Fine

(1987) created a role of the “adult friend” and per-

formed it with little adult authority when studying

preadolescent boys. He was able to observe parts

of their culture and behavior that were otherwise

inaccessible to adults. You may adopt several dif-

ferent field roles over time in the field.

Your ascriptive features and physical appear-

ance can limit social roles. You can change some

aspects of appearance, such as dress or hairstyle,

but not ascriptive features such as age, race, gender,

and attractiveness. Nevertheless, such factors can

Access ladder Field researchers may be able to see

and learn about only public, noncontroversial events

in the beginning, but with time and effort, they can

gain entry to more hidden, intimate, and controversial

information.