Whyte, W. F. (1981). Appendix A: On the evolution of “Street corner society.” In Street corner society: The social structure of an Italian slum (3rd ed., pp. 279-360). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. （中譯本：1994，街角社會：一個意大利貧民區的社會結構。北京：商務。）
Whyte在這篇論文談到的有些經驗跟我這幾年來的經驗或感受很相似，尤其是他介紹的失敗例子讓我重新思考。
Sometimes I wondered whether just hanging on the street corner was an active enough process to be dignified by the term “research.” Perhaps I should be asking these men questions. However, one has to lean when to question and when not to question as well as what questions to ask. (303)
這幾個月來我幾乎躲在研究室或宿舍，也沒有很積極地參與校外活動，因此上學期感到焦慮。不過後來覺得，我暫時可以把校園當作田野進行參與觀察，從此之後我每次跟同學、學長姊一起吃飯、聊天時，儘量傾聽，努力了解他們之間的相處模式、每一個人的思考方式。我正在學習什麼時候該問（插嘴）、什麼時候不該問。我很贊成Doc跟Bill說的，當地人接受Bill，只要他逛一逛，不需要刻意問問題，自然而然蒐集到他想知道的訊息。
At first I concentrated upon fitting into Cornerville, but a little later I had to face the question of how far I was to immerse myself in the life of the district. I bumped into that problem one evening as I was walking down the street with the Nortons. Trying to enter into the sprit of the small talk, I cut loose with a string of obscenities and profanity. The walk came to a momentary halt as they all stopped to look at me in surprise. Doc shock his head and said: “Bill, you’re not supposed to talk like that. That doesn’t sound like you.”
I tried to explain that I was only using terms that were common on the street corner. Doc insisted, however, that I was different and that they wanted me to be that way.
This lesson went far beyond the use of obscenity and profanity. I learned that people did not expect me to be just like them; in fact, they ware interested and pleased to find me different, just so long as I took a friendly interest in them. (304)
我在台灣不太想講日語，除非真的找不到恰當的辭彙。我不希望我的賣點只有「日本人」或「會說日語」，這都不是靠自己努力爭取的，希望我朋友並不只是因為我是日本人的關係而做朋友，而是欣賞我某種特色（如喜歡看同一個作家的書）而做朋友，當然我不管多麼努力做「去日本化」，不可能完全去除我的日本性（最近才覺得也不需要刻意去除），但還是我不想把「日本」當作我唯一的賣點。而且，我幾乎不看日劇或日本漫畫，也不會玩電動玩具．．．台灣朋友都比我了解日本次文化或日本工業產品，他們問我跟那些東西有關的問題，我常常完全沒辦法回答。所以，最近我會先向台灣朋友宣布，我比較喜歡台灣，我對日本社會了解得不多，也沒有辦法代表日本人說話。但不管怎麼樣，願意跟我聊天的台灣朋友還是期待我跟他們擁有不同的觀點或經驗，我應該要表現出我努力地、謙虛地學習台灣的習慣，但我跟他們沒有明顯的差異時，我還是沒有辦法吸引他們。比如說，前年年底，透過朋友的介紹，我認識一個跟我同年的男生，他跟我聊天時，強調我不應該太模仿台灣人的口音，我應該保留日本人的口音，口音重一點才會像他們在台灣電視節目上看到的日本女藝人，他重覆強調我應該表現出像日本女生的樣子才會受台灣男生的歡迎。另外，我在新聞台寫了不想講日語的理由，後來有一個網友寫一封email給我說「大概你也感覺到你現在大部分的朋友跟你認識 都是因為你是日本人的關係」。我應該要謙虛地向周遭人學習，但刻意模仿他們也不好，自己應該清楚地知道彼此的差異在哪裡。我還不懂得如何做自己，正在摸索當中。
I had to learn that, in order to be accepted by the people in a district, you do not have to do everything just as they do it. In fact, in a district where there are different groupings with different standards of behavior, it may be a matter of very serious consequence to conform to the standards of one particular group.
I also had to learn that the field worker cannot afford to think only of learning to live with others in the field. He has to continue living with himself. If the participant observer finds himself engaging in behavior that he has learned to think of as immoral, then he is likely to begin to wonder what sort of a person he is after all. Unless the field worker can carry with him a reasonably consistent picture of himself, he is likely to run into difficulties. (p317)
看了這一段，我想起了十年前認識的一個書店老闆，他本來是唸中文系的斯文男性，但當時為了表現他對抗性認同（據我了解），他刻意嚼檳榔。他有一次叫我吃檳榔，如果我在日本日本男性叫我抽煙，我就不會接受，但在台灣看到什麼都很新鮮也很好奇，於是我同意吃檳榔。後來告訴幾個大學生這件事，他們皺眉頭說大學生和女生不會吃檳榔。
還有，一九九八年在台北學中文時，每天下午教幾個大學生日語，他們下課之後常常帶我出去玩，我玩得很開心。不過有一次一個大學生（後來成為了我乾弟）跟我說我不像女生，一般台灣女生絕不會馬上答應跟男生一起出去玩，通常拒絕一兩次之後才會答應。
另外，二００四年接近總統選舉的二月下旬，我每次坐計程車會被司機問我支持的是籃還是綠，我跟他說我沒有投票權，但他才不理這些，逼我非得回答不可。那時候跟較不熟的朋友見面或在外面走走的時候都很緊張。
我在台灣的生活模式和跟人相處的模式跟在日本的時候很不一樣，總覺得如果我太固執日本的生活模式，會錯過很多難得的機會，但我做出太脫離自己既有標準的行為，人際關係上還是造成很尷尬的狀態。
我還沒有清楚地知道我該怎麼做，只告訴自己不要忘記老師在課程大綱寫的那一句：「就像人生一樣，行動還是不行動、說話還是沈默，都已經是一種選擇，都要負責任。」
Instead of bowling in order to observe something else, I should have been bowling in order to observe bowling. I learned then that the day-to-day routine activities of these men constituted the basic data of my study. (p320)
我也告訴自己，我得投入學生生活，也得重視跟同學之間的日常會話，也許校園裡面的生活跟外面很不一樣，不過覺得應該先從了解週遭人的routine activities開始，這對我未來的研究有幫助。
I did not worry about what Cornerville would do to Harvard, but I did worry lest some Harvard friend would unintentionally make a blunder that would make the local people ill at ease. (p331)
我也有類似的恐懼感，我並不吝惜跟日本朋友分享我的台灣經驗，但每次把我熟悉的台灣朋友或空間介紹給日本朋友的時候，怕他們透露他們對台灣的無知，讓台灣朋友不舒服 。
I quote his last words to me in the hope that future researchers will try a little harder to keep their promises to people in the field even after they no longer need them. (p350)
田中美惠子(桜井厚2005)也提到研究結束後，如何離開受訪者、如何保持適當的距離，我覺得介入某一個人的人生或被他人介入我內心，彼此之間多多少少有情感上的交流，所以開始訪談之前必需要心裡準備。
＜參考文獻＞
桜井厚 (2005). ライフストーリー・インタビュー(life story interview)―質的研究入門. 東京, せりか書房.
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