Unexpected findings of a female team in Xochimilco, Mexico

This is a reflection about the methodological circumstances that led the au thor to certain unexpected information during the course of a qualitative a pproach to the perception of health problems of a group of poor families in the south of Mexico City. Special attention is paid to the influence of th e research team composition (four women with different professional backgro unds, ages, marital statuses, and styles of personal interaction) and the p sychoanalytic technique that influenced the study. The inclusion of people of different ages, professions, and personality traits proved extremely val uable both as a means of widening the possibilities for empathetic relation s between the research group and the population studied and for increasing the shades of measuring that the team was able to capture.