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Criteria are presented for optimizing qualitative research for rural sociology. These direct that the data must be informative and set in established and appropriate literatures, and should be systematic, empirical, transparent, self-reflexive and ethical.

Alabama's forest products industry plays a dominant role in the state's rural economy. Examination of how access to employment opportunities is distributed provides insight into how the benefits of this industry are distributed. Based on a combination of available secondary data and semi-structured interviews with management and workers in the pulp and paper sector of Alabama's forest products industry, a clear picture of segmented labor markets emerges in which structural and cultural factors determine access to certain jobs. The evolution of these highly segmented labor markets is traced from deep roots in racial discrimination to contemporary efforts in support of affirmative action. Increased use of sub-contracting in logging, hauling, and mill work represents the most recent change affecting the structure of labor markets associated with the production of pulp and paper.