During a nationwide survey, various perplexing methodological problems were confronted; breakthroughs were made by synthesizing ethnographic and survey methods. Youthful minority men and women were recruited, trained, and given collegial responsibility for survey conceptualization, instrument development, coding and data interpretation. This…

The article examines: (1) the relationship between group membership and the production of knowledge; (2) comparative versus non-comparative research; and (3) the structure of data interpretation for Afro-Americans versus Euro-Americans. At issue is the lack of blacks involved in the National Research Council's study of blacks. (PS)

The National Research Council's study on the status of black Americans risks enhancing negative policy attitudes towards the black community for the following reasons: (1) its perspective, choice of explanatory variables, and analysis will reflect a majority perspective and conservative viewpoint; (2) it lacks focus; and (3) it is concerned with…