Microblog #6, "Coming of Age in Samoa, Chapter 2, Appendixes II and V"

2
Summary
This chapter describes a day on Samoa, in the time frame of the writing. The description is very colorful, and written in the present tense.

Discussion
Does the present tense indicate the chapter was written by the author while present? I also noted that western culture had begun to penetrate Samoa by this time, as evidenced by the hymn singing.

II
Summary
The author describes her methodology for the study. In particular, she notes that there were only 68 girls in the three villages she was in, a mediocre sample size, and that time constraints also negatively impacted the rigor of the study.

Discussion
I do like that she spent more time on the weaknesses of her study than the strengths. A critical analysis tends to be a better sign than a sales pitch, in my estimation.

V
Summary
A statistical listing of the sixty-eight girls mentioned above. Many factors related to growing, puberty, and residence were charted, apparently partially from observation and partially from surveys.

Discussion
There is one serious flaw with her tables: it is not clearly indicated whether the " symbol indicates "no answer" or "as above". Also, I found reading "TABLE I" an uncomfortable experience; the information was a lot more personal than I wanted to know about.