Le travail de terrain, l'observation des actions et des interactions, et la sociologie

Abstract

JEAN-MICHEL CHAPOULIE Field Work, Observation of Actions and Interactions, and Sociology This article presents and justifies the scientific interest of one type of research method, the subject matter of this issue of Sociétés Contemporaines: fieldwork including analytical observation of behavior and leading to accounts grounded on quotations of fieldnotes. The first uses of fieldwork with observation in USA are described in its contexts, and also the debates of the fifties about the " scientific" value of this method. The rarity of uses of this research method in French sociology until the nineties is also discussed. We discuss also the scientific aims and particular potentialities of this method.