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Journal of Consumer Research 1988

A Naturalistic Inquiry into Buyer and Seller Behavior at a Swap Meet

Russell W Belk1; John F. Sherry; Melanie Wallendorf

1 University of Utah

Abstract

Naturalistic inquiry as an ethnographic approach is explained and utilized for exploring emergent themes in buyer and seller behavior at a swap meet. Components of the method used include purposive sampling, triangulation across researchers, emergent theme analysis, autodriving, memoing, member checks, and auditing. Four emergent dialectical substantive themes are discussed: freedom versus rules, boundaries versus transitions, competition versus cooperation, and sacred versus profane.

DOI
10.1086/209128
Sources
openalex

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