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The Interrelationship of Process And Content in Field Work
Author(s) -
Allon Natalie
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.1979.2.2.63
Subject(s) - content (measure theory) , alienation , seriousness , psychology , process (computing) , social psychology , field (mathematics) , dieting , content analysis , work (physics) , sociology , social science , epistemology , political science , engineering , computer science , medicine , mathematical analysis , philosophy , mechanical engineering , mathematics , weight loss , pure mathematics , law , obesity , operating system
This paper discusses how the process and content of field work are deeply connected in the continual back and forth movements between concrete data, topical and generic conceptualizations, and disciplined abstractions. Consensus and conflict between researchers and those researched are at the heart of such movements. My experiences as researcher in‐process were similar to the experiences which others in the settings were having; those others' experiences formed the bases of the content of my studies. Important process and content dimensions included: 1) alienation and sociability in singles bars; 2) seriousness and playfulness alone and with others in health spas; and 3) rituals accentating and mitigating the stigma of overweight in group dieting.