This document describes approaches in conducting naturalistic studies in two different countries with contrasting educational settings. Naturalistic research methodology is described by one of the writers as "an explicit undertaking to lay aside our ideas and concern ourselves with finding the subjects' perspectives in their non-theoretical lives." The paper seeks to illustrate the possibility of uncovering common elements in the conduct of naturalistic research. It uses examples from two naturalistic studies, the first located in a small, isolated school in North Queensland, Australia; the other set in a large inner-city school in Vancouver, Canada. The conduct of naturalistic research is influenced by the physical environment, by the community relationships the researcher establishes and by the expectations held for the outcome of the research. Relationships with students, school staff, parents and administrators are detailed. Paper closes with discussion of social characteristics of class structure, their economic parallels, and their possible ties to educational attainment. (Author/TES)