High spatial resolution radio continuum and 6.67‐GHz methanol spectral line data are presented for methanol masers previously detected by Walsh et al. (1997). Methanol maser and/or radio continuum emission is found in 364 cases towards IRAS‐selected regions. For those sources with methanol maser emission, relative positions have been obtained to an accuracy of typically 0.05 arcsec, with absolute positions accurate to around 1 arcsec. Maps of selected sources are provided. The intensity of the maser emission does not seem to depend on the presence of a continuum source. The coincidence of water and methanol maser positions in some regions suggests there is overlap in the requirements for methanol and water maser emission to be observable. However, there is a striking difference between the general proximity of methanol and water masers to both cometary and irregularly shaped ultracompact (UC) H ii regions, indicating that, in other cases, there must be differing environments conducive to stimulating their emission. We show that the methanol maser is most likely present before an observable UC H ii region is formed around a massive star and is quickly destroyed as the UC H ii region evolves. There are 36 out of 97 maser sites that are linearly extended. The hypothesis that the maser emission is found in a circumstellar disc is not inconsistent with these 36 maser sites, but is unlikely. It cannot, however, account for all other maser sites. An alternative model which uses shocks to create the masing spots can more readily reproduce the maser spot distributions.

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We present the results of a new survey of 23 molecular clouds for the Zeeman effect in OH undertaken with the ATNF Parkes 64-m radio telescope and the NRAO Green Bank 43-m radio telescope. The Zeeman effect was clearly detected in the cloud associated with the H II region RCW 38, with a field strength of 38 ± 3 µG, and possibly detected in a cloud associated with the H II region RCW 57, with a field strength of −203 ± 24 µG. The remaining 21 measurements give formal upper limits to the magnetic field strength, with typical 1σ sensitivities < 20 µG.For 22 of the molecular clouds we are also able to determine the column density of the gas in which we have made a sensitive search for the Zeeman effect. We combine these results with previous Zeeman studies of 29 molecular clouds, most of which were compiled by Crutcher (1999), for a comparsion of theoretical models with the data.This comparison implies that if the clouds can be modeled as initially spherical with uniform magnetic fields and densities that evolve to their final equilibrium state assuming flux-freezing then the typical cloud is magnetically supercritical, as was found by Crutcher (1999). If the clouds can be modeled as highly flattened sheets threaded by uniform perpendicular fields, then the typical cloud is approximately magnetically critical, in agreement with Shu et al. (1999), but only if the true values of the field for the non-detections are close to the 3σ upper limits. If instead these values are significantly lower (for example, similar to the 1σ limits), then the typical cloud is generally magnetically supercritical.When all observations of the Zeeman effect are considered, the single-dish detection rate of the OH Zeeman effect is relatively low. This result may be due to low mean field strengths, but a more realistic explanation may be significant field structure within the beam. As an example, for clouds associated with H II regions the molecular gas and magnetic field may be swept up into a thin shell, which results in a non-uniform field geometry and measurements of the beam-averaged field strength which are significantly lower than the true values. This effect makes it more difficult to distinguish magnetically subcritical and supercritical clouds.

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