Herbert J. Rubin is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Northern Illinois University. He is the author of Applied Social Research and (with Irene Rubin) four editions of Community Organizing and Development. He has written articles based on in-depth interviewing that explore rural development in Thailand, suburban land-use fights, cooperative housing and economic and community development. Both his monograph on Thailand, The Dynamics of Development in Rural Development and his book on community renewal in the United States, Renewing Hope within Neighborhoods of Despair: The Community-based Development Model, are based on participant observation and hundreds of in-depth interviews. He is… currently using open ended in depth interviews as well as participant observation to study organizations that advocate for the poor.