Listening to and observing welfare states as an anthropologist

Abstract

This article argues for a greater use of qualitative methods in researching welfare systems. Tracing some of the main developments of welfare state research in Scandinavia and looking at the social and historical context of this work, it is suggested that the dominant quantitative thrust of research has greatly restricted our understanding of the welfare state. The article concludes by arguing for combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches in investigating welfare systems, professional helpers and their clients.