Russel-Research-Method-in-Anthropology

Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis 457
what you have and helps you communicate your ideas to others (Miles and
Huberman 1994). Learning to build and use qualitative data matrices and flow
charts requires practice, but you can get started by studying examples published
in research journals.
Van Maanen et al. (1982), for example, compared a traditional commercial
fishing operation in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with a modern operation in
Bristol Bay, Alaska. Table 16.3 shows what they found in the analysis of their
TABLE 16.3
Contemporary Forms of Commercial Fishing
Traditional fishing
(e.g., Gloucester, MA)
Modern fishing
(e.g., Bristol Bay, AK)
Social Organization
backgrounds of fishermen homogeneous heterogeneous
ties among fishermen multiple single
boundaries to entry social economic
number of participants stable variable
social uncertainty low high
relations with competitors collegial and individualistic antagonistic and categorical
relations with port permanent, with ties to temporary, with no local ties
community
mobility low high
relations to fishing expressive (fishing as lifestyle) instrumental (fishing as job)
orientation to work long-term, optimizing (survival) short-term, maximizing
(seasonal)
tolerance for diversity low high
nature of disputes intra-occupational trans-occupational
Economic Organization
relations of boats to personalized (long-term, contractual (short-term,
buyers informal) formal)
information exchange restrictive and private open and public
economic uncertainty low (long-term) high (long-term)
capital investment range small large
profit margins low high
rate of innovation low high
specialization low high
regulatory mechanisms informal and few formal and many
stance toward authority combative compliant
SOURCE: J. Van Maanen et al., ‘‘An Occupation in Transition: Traditional and Modern Forms of Commercial
Fishing,’’ Work and Occupations, Vol. 9, pp. 193–216. 1982, Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications.
qualitative field notes. Simple inspection of table 16.3 gives you an immediate
feel for the results of Van Maanen et al.’s descriptive analysis.