Reviewing the Literature

By conducting a review of the literature, re­searchers refine the problem under study, clarify possible techniques to be used in collecting data, and may avoid making unnecessary mistakes. When David Snow and his colleagues began con­sidering mental illness among the homeless, they turned to two types of literature. First, they re­viewed "popular" magazines such as Time, News-week, and People and found a consistent image of

CHAPTER TWO ♦ METHODS OF

SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

the homeless as "street people" who had previ­ously spent time in mental hospitals. Second, they examined systematic studies done in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia which indicated that homeless persons coming to emergency shelters and psychiatric hospitals were usually found to have a diagnosable mental illness.

But were these studies representative of the homeless? Still further review showed that when researchers focused on the homeless in general— rather than solely on those treated by psychiatri-cally based agencies under emergency condi­tions—the proportions of homeless persons found to be mentally ill were much lower (Ohio Department of Mental Health, 1984; Roth et al., 1985; Snow et al., 1986:407-408). These conflict­ing findings called into question the common media image of the homeless as predominantly mentally ill. The researchers' review of the litera­ture underscored the importance of thoroughly examining previous studies that use different techniques before proceeding with one's own research.

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