What is fieldwork?

Students engage in fieldwork every time they collect data in the natural environment of the phenomenon being studied. Fieldwork is a popular method of data gathering by scholars from multiple disciplines, such as geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and many more. Fieldworks tends to be qualitative research, which is “concerned with understanding and interpreting the social interactions of groups of people, communities, and society by observing and interacting with people in their natural settings,” where natural settings are very important (Research Connections 2022).

Fieldwork can be done independently or in groups, it can aim at studying other people or objects, places, habits or anything else. Fieldwork then is a broad methodology that helps students explore the social world through direct observations. Inquiry through fieldwork tends to be curiosity-driven, it is aimed at capturing meaning through first-hand experience and data (Pole and Hillyard 2016). It is also an inclusive approach to inquiry, as it takes into account the role of the researcher as well as the research itself (ibid.; see Figure 1 below).

Fieldwork then requires that the researcher leaves their institution (or the student leaves school) to collect information; with this, fieldwork brings the researcher closest to the subject of their research. While in the field, researchers may engage in various forms of data collection methods, some of which are described as part of separate modules (e.g., Observations module, Interviews module). In other words, there is no “standard” or “typical” fieldwork. Anthropologists, for example, who study human behaviour, culture, practices, traditions, norms, values, and many more, tend to rely on ethnographic fieldwork to gather data. During ethnographic fieldwork, researchers immerse themselves in a wide variety of aspects of people’s lives through long- or short-term exposure.

Figure 1: Components of Fieldwork

Source: Pole and Hillyard 2016

Fieldwork often requires researchers to interact with people and collecting first-hand (primary) data through interactions. In this case, all research must familiarize closely with research ethics (Ethics module) and become familiar with the research site (e.g., if it is a foreign country, then learn the language). Fieldwork may also involve observations of various interactions, habits, or behaviour. There is also no set time for fieldwork – some observation may take a few hours, and sometimes researchers may spend years in the “field” and continuously collect data and information. In all instances, researchers write fieldnotes, which are detailed notes on what the researcher observes.

Ethnographic research results in thick description, which means that human behaviours and social action (or any related phenomena studied by the researcher) is described in great detail, including the context of interactions, the behaviour itself, meaning attributed to interactions and many other factors. For thick description, rich fieldnotes are necessary. Fieldnotes should contain descriptive and detailed notes, focusing on specificities and not generality. Vivid accounts of observations will allow research to reconstruct the scene for the reader. Some researchers choose to write in real time (while observing the studied topic), while others decide to write afterwards, at the end of the day, for example. Both perspectives have pros and cons, depending on the site of observation. (for example, for some observations there may be no opportunity to write and take notes.)

Ethnographic fieldwork is inductive, which means “the method directs the anthropologist to study that which is of significance to the community studied rather than test a number of hypotheses formulated in advance of the fieldwork” (Howell 2018). In other words, researchers who conduct fieldwork undoubtedly begin research with a topic of interest (or a research question), but they enter the field with an open mind and few preconceptions, in order to allow theory emerge from observations (O'Reilly 2009). In contrast, deductive reasoning tests an existing or proposed theory while conducting research, and at the end either confirms theory or disproves it. It might be easier to make a distinction by thinking about an idea: when idea comes first, followed by observation – that is deductive thinking, and when observation comes first, which then generates an idea (generalization, theory, hypothesis), then it is indictive thinking.

Figure 2: Deduction vs. Induction Based on: Goswami (2011)