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Explores metaphors in ethnography. Five moments through which qualitative research has passed; Role of researcher as bricoleur; Problems with bricolage as a model for ethnographic work.

The question of the relationship between concepts and data is central to sociological methodology. It is also an issue that divides quantitative and ethnographic approaches. The most influential ethnographic treatment of this problem is that provided by Herbert Blumer. This article offers a detailed account and a critical assessment of Blumer's position. Its conclusion is that while his discussion of the problem is instructive he fails to provide a convincing solution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]