Preliminary negotiations as an indicator of the context and the utilization of research: A case study

According to Komter, the consultations necessary to get permission to investigate a certain group can provide information as to the research subject and the prospects that the people to be examined believe to have in their circumstances. In this paper it will be made clear that these ‘preliminary investigations’ can provide more than these two kinds of information. On the basis of a case study it will be demonstrated that: (1) the reasons provided by the people involved for not being able to participate in the research as such, or in its proposed form, at least provide some information about the context in which the empirical research will have to take place; (2) this context may suggest in what way the results of the research will possibly be utilized by the people examined. I am grateful to Pieter Bak for presenting me with the necessary information for this article and to Sara Delamont and Paul Atkinson for their helpful comments and suggestions.