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year had elapsed before they discovered that one of their most trustworthyparticipants had been using a nom de plume all along.The advantage of a solid interpersonal relationship between researcher andparticipant is that it acts to neutralize initial distrust. It is also clear that it canact as a control for role selection effects. If the respondent trusts theinterviewer, the need no longer exists to play a role of some sort. Theestablishment of good rapport can also serve as a control for context effects.Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.zaCOVERT RESEARCHA more drastic strategy is to make use of some form of covert research. Covertobservation may assume a variety of guises. Basically, it amounts to therespondent being deceived about the actual purpose of the research, or aboutthe identity of the researcher. In cases of this nature all possible measures aretaken to ensure that the participant does not become aware of the fact that he orshe is part of a research project. A good example of this type of research isSimon Holdoway’s study of police activities. Holdoway (1982) went so far asto join the police, undergo the necessary training, and spend several monthsserving as a policeman doing patrol duties. With a single exception, nobodyknew that his eventual aim was to conduct a sociological study of policeactivities.Covert research is particularly applicable in studies in which use is made ofparticipant observation or interviewing. These are studies in which it isessential for the researcher to establish close ties with the group beinginvestigated, but where he or she wishes to prevent them from discovering hisor her actual identity. Other types of covert research are encountered whereresearchers disguise the fact that research is being conducted. An example ofthis is to be found in the study conducted by Schwartz and Skolnick (1962) inwhich letters of application for employment were manipulated to investigatethe effect of a criminal record on suitability for employment.For a more detailed discussion of experimental designs in the natural context(field experiments) where some form of disguise is used, the reader may referto Campbell (1969). One of the most common examples of deception inlaboratory experiments is to be found in so-called blind and double blinddesigns. In blind experimental designs the participants do not know whetherthey are part of the experimental or control groups, whereas in double blindexperimental designs there is the additional requirement that the experimentersdo not know whether they are dealing with the experimental or control group.It is obvious that effective covert research is a useful strategy for counteringthe general guinea-pig effect: if the participants are not aware of the fact thatthey are being studied it is unlikely that they will be able to react to theinvestigation. Covert research also controls for expectancy effects. In the93