Female researchers conducting field research in educational politics encounter special problems of access, entry, reciprocity, and ethics. Accordingly, this study focuses first on field research methods in policy settings as a general topic, then on problems specific to women in this area. A researcher must be aware of informal coalitions or networks of influence and power, the posturing and manipulation in policy games, and the special norms and traditions in policy settings. Appropriate ways are therefore proposed for managing role, entry and access, data gathering, reciprocity, ethics, and reporting in such settings. Because these issues must be managed differently at different stages in the research, separate sections are devoted to overcoming initial barriers, the exploratory stage, the focusing/analyzing stage, and methodological issues during the checking/testing phase. Thereafter, a discussion of male-female dynamics, coupled with a review of the pertinent literature and a consideration of women's inherent advantages and disadvantages in such research, leads to recommendations for appropriate role fronts for female researchers. (TE)