Analyzing Field Reality

Analyzing Field Reality provides a new way of thinking about the analysis of fieldwork that will aid researchers in many disciplines. It provides the researcher with a methodology for understanding meaning in the field. The author presents a typology of realities -- articulated and structural -- which shape not only the `folk' understanding of interaction in a given setting but that of the ethnographer as well. Gubrium discusses structural, organisationally-embedded factors which shape social forms such as the family, role or personality. Examples from a variety of settings, including nursing homes, hospitals, support groups and residential treatment centres make this method of analysis applicable to qualitative researchers in applied settings as well as to more traditional ethnographers.