Antonella Meo

The article puts forward some reflections on the relational dynamics that develop among the actors involved in research activity. The reference is to an investigative analysis of the representations and experiences of ‘vulnerability’ that centred on women whose position was that of wives and mothers in one income families, living in Turin. The study was conducted by using focus group, applied with a specific implementation, namely by setting up a number of discussion meetings with the same group of women, spread over a period of time. Attention centred partly on the dynamics of interaction that came into play between the participating women and the researcher, highlighting the way it affected the nature of the findings but also that it was crucial in illuminating the phenomenon under study. Thus the article explores the role of interactive and communicative processes in research situations that imply face-to-face relationships within small groups.