Unusual Applications of Research: Studies of Fertility in Underdeveloped Areas

Abstract

A few years ago I described the problems involved in an opinion survey of Arab Nomads. I feel that this study reached the limits of the unusual, and that anything I say now will be somewhat anti-climactic. With this limitation in mind I think it can be said that the research under consideration in this article is unusual both in terms of its content and in terms of the population under study. (1) The content of the studies is delicate, concerning sexual patterns and birth control; (2) the studies involve the application of interviewing methods developed largely in literate English-speaking cultures, to semi-literate peoples of entirely different cultures. Since, in a discussion of “unusual” research, it would be difficult to consider survey content without considering the special characteristics of the population under study, both these aspects will be treated in this article. Let me give a brief description of the two projects I will discuss.