Using the domestic group as the privileged unit of
analysis, this article provides a study of social change
based on the case study of a town in Northeastern
Portugal, covering the period between 1944-1994.
The article combines different types of sources
(ethnographic inquiry, documents from the Parochial
Archives) and underscores the importance of the
complementary use of qualitative and quantitative
methods for a dynamic approach to the study of the
domestic group
