FIELDWORK WITH PEOPLE Sue Oreszczyn and Dave Scott U

Purpose of the session Overview of some key issues in doing fieldwork Alert you to the kinds of questions you need to answer about doing fieldwork Enable you to discuss some key concerns in doing fieldwork with people Help you to construct your own fieldwork plan

Activity 1 5 minutes with a partner Doing fieldwork with people – what is your biggest fear?

Before you go into the field Obtain Ethics approval The work should be undertaken in accordance with the Open University’s Code of Good Practice in Research. Work involving human subjects requires approval from The Open University’s Human Research Ethics Committee. Fill in form – information and forms found at

Research questions What’s driving your research? What is the problem? What are you trying to explain? Why do you need to do fieldwork for your research? Are your fieldwork questions clear/precise enough to allow you to investigate your research questions through fieldwork?

Methodology and Methods What kinds of methods are you going to use? Surveys Structured interviews Semi-structured interviews Unstructured/open-ended interviews/life histories Focus groups Observation Participant observation Activities/tests/exercises/simulations Participatory approaches Putting into practice what you have learned What methodological approach underpins your fieldwork? The quest for objective facts or the social construction of facts

Activity 2 5 minutes each with a partner What questions are you trying to answer by doing fieldwork? What is your proposed methodology? What methods do you intend using?

What is your ‘field’? What/who is the population of your study? –How many people? –What are the boundaries (human, social, organisational, geographical)? –What are the key characteristics of the people you will be gathering data from? –What kind of relationship do you want/need with them? How will you establish it? –What other issues will you have to take into account in designing your fieldwork?

Practical issues What time do you have? What is your budget? What equipment do you need? What languages/codes do you need to learn? How much do you already know about your ‘field’? How will you project yourself? What risks are there?

Preparation and piloting Designing modes of inquiry –Questionnaire design –Structuring interviews –Semi-structured interviews –Open-ended interviews –Focus groups –Observation –Participant observation –Activities/tests/exercises/simulations Will they work? Iterations and triangulation(?) in data collection

In the Field Recording Note-taking Diaries Audio-recording Filming Electronic records Maps Drawings Diagrams Photographs

What could go wrong? Missing appointments Equipment failure Being overawed by the occasion – many causes and many consequences, e.g. failure to articulate self Domination Losing data (post-interview) Other?

Activity 3 You have collected your data, now how will go about analysing it?

Analysing Quantitative analysis (constructing variables, creating data outputs etc.) Coding and analysing interviews (multiple methods) Using software (think about this before you start) Categories, sub-categories, indicators from your research questions Looking at processes, trends, relationships, patterns, commonalities, differences

Interpretation and explanation Constructing your story Relationship between theory and data – Using theory to frame description and explanation – Using fieldwork data to construct theory: emergent properties from data Different stories/conflicting evidence – Best fit explanations

Drawing up a fieldwork plan (needed for your probation report) Time plan - Access to participants Ethical approval Additional interviews or opportunities not originally planned for Cancellations Feedback from supervisors Interim reports to participants Writing up as you go Budget plan translation/travel/equipment/emergencies Return trips