This is the second paperback edition of a book which in 1979 broke new ground in social investigation. Other research in the field has since been published, but the essays in this volume remain seminal texts. This new edition is distinguished by a prefatory review by Shah and Ramaswamy of recent literature on sociological fieldwork, and the training of social anthropologists.

The eighteen essays in the volume describe a variety of field research programmes within rural and urban India, in complex organisations and in contrasting societies from other parts of the world, including Japan, Sri Lanka and New Mexico. This is an informative and helpful guide to those about to embark on their own field research.