1. Final Year Projects
5: Planning your Fieldwork

2. Final Year Projects What is fieldwork? Questionnaire Interview
Case study
Experiment (or adaptation of the classical method)
Participant observation/Ethnography
Documentary analysis/content analysis
some combination of the above

3. Final Year Projects Advantages (if done well!)
Shows some enterprise and initiative
Brings a project ‘alive’ by the use of the author’s own data
Can demonstrate the use of research methods taught earlier in the course
Gives the opportunity for statistical hypothesis testing

4. Final Year Projects
Disadvantages
Can often appear only as an ‘add-on’ not fully integrated with the rest of the test
If not done well, it can detract from the project
Can be time-consuming and detract effort from the rest of the project
Things can go wrong, not under your control!

5. Final Year Projects
Which method to use ?
Determined by the overall shape of the investigation i.e. methods should be suited to the subject matter
A combination of methods may be used i.e. not a choice of one OR the other. Questionnaires + a strategic interview are a powerful combination

6. Final Year Projects
Planning access
Getting permissions can be time-consuming
Finding the appropriate person is not always easy
Some pre-survey contact is usually vital
Personal contact rather than ‘cold-calling’ usually a better approach
What is in it for the organisation?

7. Final Year Projects A time-line for fieldwork: Activity
Time (in weeks)
Reading around the method
Planning (e.g. sampling)
Access
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Incorporating your analysis

8. Final Year Projects
Ethical concerns
These have to be thought about and then an ethics statement form completed
Confidentiality has to be respected
Ethical concerns at design, data collection and analysis stages
Your tutor has to be FULLY INVOLVED and to GIVE CONSENT

9. And finally….
Any questions?