http://www.analytictech.com/mb119/chap2e.htmA comparable, and slightly earlier study was
Lee's work on The Search for an Abortionist (1969).In a situation where abortion(墮胎) was illegal, Lee wanted to discover how women acquired information about the opportunities for such terminations.
Doctors who undertake(試圖;著手做;進行,從事) illegal terminations cannot advertise and
must often operate from hotel rooms rather than from clinics.
Those who seek an abortion must, therefore, try to obtain information from those of their friends and acquaintances who may have had some experience with abortion in the past, as these people are likely to have that information or to be able to put them in contact with others who can help.
To study this process, Lee contacted abortionists and women who had had recent experience of an abortion.
In constructing her sample she was, interestingly, having to use information search techniques which were similar to those used by the women themselves.
Like Granovetter, she used a mixture of interviews and questionnaires to gather her data.
Having explored various aspects of their life and social background and their attitudes towards conception and abortion, Lee turned to an examination of their search for an abortionist.
The search involved the making of informed guesses about who might be able to help, either
by providing the name of an abortionist or mentioning a further contact who might help.
Lee found that women approached an average of 5.8 people before successfully contacting an abortionist the actual numbers of contacts ranging from 1 to 31.
A number of the contacts, of course, were 'dead ends', and the 'successful chains' varied in length from one to seven steps, the average length being 2.8.
Over three-quarters of the successful chains involved two or fewer intermediaries (Lee, 1969: Chapter 5).
Contacts tended not to be relatives or those in authority (employers, teachers etc.), and the most important channels were female friends of the same age.
