field-research-preparation
The narrator is tasked with making initial contact and gathering information on a local group as part of a pilot study, illustrating the practical steps of social research.
1 chapter across 1 book
Imaginary Friends (1967)Alison Lurie
The chapter details the narrator's complex relationship with the sociologist Thomas B. McMann, whose professional decline is linked to his troubled research on a rural religious group called the Truth Seekers. Despite warnings about McMann's reputation and the risks involved, the narrator decides to join McMann's Sophis Project to study the group firsthand, reflecting on the challenges of academic politics, mental health stigma, and the social dynamics of small-town alienation. The narrative explores the tension between scientific inquiry and belief systems, as well as the personal and professional conflicts inherent in field research.