Who/where/when – Field – Philological
The fictional world has an existence independent of the researcher. This means that the researcher does not have to fear that his or her personality influences the numbers and types of compliments that he or she encounters. In the diary method, collectors may find it more difficult to collect compliments outside of their own gender, social class, or age group. Such restrictions do not apply in the case of a philological search. It is relatively easy to compile all the compliments that occur in the fictional world of a novel and to establish the personal profiles of the complimenters and the recipients. But this procedure will tell us very little beyond the fictional world in which these compliments occur.