On qualitative methodology in sociological research

Abstract

The notes and thoughts given in this text are the result of field research, in which the comprehensive interview (J. C. Kaufmann) was used as a means of data collection, i.e. the collection of discourses from people who talk about themselves, relate part of their life history. They are, first and foremost, impressions of the fieldwork confronted with the experience of certain ethnosociological theorists (D. Bertaux, J. Peneff, J. C. Kaufmann, M. Maffesoli), who advocate the use of biography and the life narrative in the collection of data. The text examines the «outline in the field»: the contact, the approach to the «other», the conversation, the orientation of the discourse, the sharing and the obtained result. By telling about herself as a field researcher, the author's aim is at the same time to reflect on the utilisation of this methodology.