Abstract
This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.
The author, after a brief discussion of their precursors, examines the community studies dealing with Wales which appeared before 1972. Alwyn D. Rees's pioneer study is analysed in terms of the historical and geographical scope of his findings. The four studies carried out by his students and published in a single volume reflect the use of varying sociological and social geographical approaches rather than a systematic development of the themes taken up by Rees. Two studies by anthropologists writing from outside the culture which paradoxically contain more detailed information on contemporary social processes are examined as well as a second study (by David Jenkins) in a historical context distinguished by its effective use of oral sources.