John Van Maanen’s book Tales of the Field explores different forms of writing in interpretive research ~ he describes realist, confessional and impressionist ‘tales.’ Realist tales are descriptive and sometimes explanatory accounts of culture and meaning narrated in the third person. Such tales are crafted through the use of carefully chosen quotes from research participants to illustrate the tales’ authenticity. Confessional tales are first person accounts that reveal the researcher’s feelings and engagement with a cultural context. Such tales follow the conventions of autobiographical writing. Impressionist tales have the character of novels, writing that is characterized by dramatic recall, character and plot development. There are lots of examples of all three types of writing, many of them classics in the social sciences. This book is a definite read.

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