Exchange and Access in Field Work

Personal experiences in obtaining access to information in fieldwork are recounted & examined from an exchange theory perspective. The fieldwork described, which took place in Ghana over a period of 14 months, dealt with labor unions. Modes of data collection utilized were documentary & seco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inUrban Life Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 309 - 331
Main Author Gray, Paul S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Newbury Park, Calif Sage Publications 01.10.1980
Subjects
Access
Exchange/Exchanges
Field work/Field workers
Ghana/Ghanaian/Ghanaians
Labor/Labors
Union/Unions/Unionism
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Summary:Personal experiences in obtaining access to information in fieldwork are recounted & examined from an exchange theory perspective. The fieldwork described, which took place in Ghana over a period of 14 months, dealt with labor unions. Modes of data collection utilized were documentary & secondary source analysis, interviewing, & participant observation. Four stages of access are identified: being an outsider, observing front work, becoming a disinterested insider, & becoming an interested insider. These took place through an exchange process in which the attainment of equilibrium in an exchange created an imbalance that produced further exchanges. Expanded bargaining led over time to routinization of access. It gradually became possible to take up an active role in assisting projects of the Ghanaian Trades Union Congress, & thus to gain still further information as an interested insider. Throughout this exchange process, it was crucially important that Rs remain in control of the exchanges. 1 Figure. W. H. Stoddard.
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ISSN:0098-3039
0891-2416
DOI:10.1177/089124168000900303