The Power of the Field - Reflections on Field Work Improvisations

Women's mental health has been addressed from a variety of perspectives. The social and historical context in which they are viewed determines women's mental health. Violence, poverty and a life in lower urban socio-economic neighbourhoods have often been related to high levels of distress. This article presents the dilemmas faced by a researcher trained to study mental health largely from a biomedical perspective in carrying out research in a low income neighbourhood in the Jahangirpuri area, north-west of Delhi. It aims at exploring women's mental health issues in the context of their environment; an urban environment characterized by congestion of space, few civic amenities, poor sanitation and poverty. The article discusses my initial assumptions and the subsequent changes in my empirical strategies that were stimulated by the nature of the field. I emphasize the need for reflexivity in order to produce as real a picture of the empirical situation as possible.