Researching Amongst Elites—Challenges and Opportunities in Studying Up

The two editors (both affiliated with the U. of British Columbia, Canada) are also contributors to this volume, which comprises 13 essays on something of a touchy topic for social scientists: how to study the rich and powerful. Aguilar leads off with discussion of why such study is important and why it involves some special obstacles such as difficulties in gaining access to individuals who might not be interested in being studied and in fact feel they have something to lose and nothing to gain by such investigation. Subsequent contributions discuss theory and methodology for studying Wall Street, strategies to get beyond the sound bite when interviewing celebrities, the transnational capitalist class, feminist reflections on interviewing elite men, and methodological challenges of research in hostile environments, among other topics. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Luis L.M. Aguiar is Associate Professor of Sociology at University of the British Columbia, Kelowna, Canada and Christopher J. Schneider is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia, Kelowna, Canada.