ABSTRACT
The research for this study was carried out from August 1978 to July 1979. It involved interviews with 102 members and ex-members of the Sri Lankan Parliament. All but five of those interviewed had been or were members of the Seventh and Eighth Parliaments of Sri Lanka. 1 The term of the Seventh Parliament lasted from June 1970 to July 1977. The Eighth Parliament first sat in July 1977 and has continued to sit until the present time. 2 Selection of respondents was non-random but was stratified to include both a broad ethnic and geographic distribution of members. 3 The length of the interviews averaged about an hour and fifteen minutes with the shortest lasting about thirty minutes and several running well over three hours. The questions asked in the interviews followed no particular order except that all members were asked to discuss certain topics which dealt with areas where data was sought. Notes were taken during the interviews and rewritten later. Appendix A lists the topics discussed in the interviews and the data sought under each topic.
