A study of National Technical Institute for the Deaf students who are cross registered into the other colleges of the Rochester Institute of Technology was part of an ongoing research project on mainstreaming. The initial study addressed three issues: the best methodology to employ, the research hypotheses which might be generated from the data collected, and the possibility for researchers and instructors to cooperate for mutual benefit. Observations were conducted during the regular summer quarter in Social Work classes. Classroom observation was supplemented by formal and informal interviewing for data collection. Findings of the study yielded the following conclusions: it is advantageous to use a number of information sources for naturalistic research; a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques, of observation and interviewing, and incorporating both the view of the insider and the outsider, are all important for a valid picture of the classroom; instructors are chiefly responsible for the active participation of hearing impaired students in the activities of the class; and it is possible for researchers and instructors to cooperate for classroom research to the benefit of both. (Author/SB)