Methodology Analysis: Outsiders in the Clubhouse
Todd W. Crosset's (1995) Outsiders in the Clubhouse is a qualitative sociological research study of women's professional golf that is based on a data set consisting of 55 interviews, a survey, and observations recorded by the author between May 1998 and August 1999. A total of 60 individuals affiliated with the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) were interviewed for periods ranging from 40 minutes to two hours. Crosset (1995) identified his sample as consisting of 31 different active golfers for a total of 34 interviews (three of which were follow-up interviews conducted a year after the initial interviews), 11 individual interviews conducted specifically with caddies, 6 individual interviews of LPGA staff, 7 pro-am players, and 1 player's life partner, and one retired player.
Methodologically, Crosset (1995) used a subworld analysis but was not concerned with testing theories or definitions of social world. He employed a grounded-theory approach rooted in the Chicago School. Grounded theory is "the process of generating and constructing theory directly from the data" (Crosset, 1995, p. 238). Crosset (1995) attempted to gather both rich and complex data, which was collected, analyzed, and linked to theory building simultaneously. Crosset (1995) also employed a coding system to label, separate, compile, and organize his data, using a computer assisted keyword program to create units of analysis that would then shape his strategy for reporting the data he uncovered.
Crosset (1995) contends that his effort was limited in that his gender prohibited access to the golfers' locker room, which he regarded as an ideal locus for data collection in that it provides a safe haven for members of the LPGA. His second self-reported limitation was that his access was made available by means of a press pass that identified him as a journalist and may have led in some instances...