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<noinclude>{{RECOUP_header|Ethnographic_fieldwork}}</noinclude>{{ | <noinclude>{{RECOUP_header|Ethnographic_fieldwork}}</noinclude>{{Template:RECOUP/Shortheader|title=Ethnographic fieldwork}} | ||
|title=Ethnographic | =Introduction to ethnographic fieldwork= | ||
}} | |||
=Introduction to | |||
Recording informal conversations or actual events is an essential part of ethnographic fieldwork. This is about ''writing'' (in some senses, more than about ‘participating’ or ‘observing’): there is no point in observing if the observations remain locked up in the heads of the researchers. Therefore, the session is designed to lead up to a fieldwork exercise in which participants do some observation (in as participatory a way as is possible, given local constraints), to write fieldnotes, to share them with the facilitators and the rest of the group, and to engage in some positive reflection on their own and others’ writing styles. Some time is needed to get participants’ permission and understanding of the benefits of getting and giving constructive feedback in these ways. | Recording informal conversations or actual events is an essential part of ethnographic fieldwork. This is about ''writing'' (in some senses, more than about ‘participating’ or ‘observing’): there is no point in observing if the observations remain locked up in the heads of the researchers. Therefore, the session is designed to lead up to a fieldwork exercise in which participants do some observation (in as participatory a way as is possible, given local constraints), to write fieldnotes, to share them with the facilitators and the rest of the group, and to engage in some positive reflection on their own and others’ writing styles. Some time is needed to get participants’ permission and understanding of the benefits of getting and giving constructive feedback in these ways. | ||
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'''Preparation:''' | '''Preparation:''' | ||
* A | * A {{Template:RECOUP/PRA|Presentation on ethnographic fieldwork}} is available to be used or amended if desired | ||
* Examples of appropriate fieldnotes from your own research or some other appropriate project should be available (preferably 1-2 pages of two or three different styles of fieldnotes). | * Examples of appropriate fieldnotes from your own research or some other appropriate project should be available (preferably 1-2 pages of two or three different styles of fieldnotes). | ||
* A | * A {{Template:RECOUP/HOA|Handout on note-taking during fieldwork and interviews}} is available, which outlines the different types of note-taking | ||
* Flip chart and big markers (OR use someone sitting at a computer and typing in points raised so that they are shown on a projector) | * Flip chart and big markers (OR use someone sitting at a computer and typing in points raised so that they are shown on a projector) | ||
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* The ethical issues raised by fieldwork will also inevitably be raised by participants: decide whether you want to go into these in detail during this session, or address them in a dedicated session on ethics. | * The ethical issues raised by fieldwork will also inevitably be raised by participants: decide whether you want to go into these in detail during this session, or address them in a dedicated session on ethics. | ||
{{ | {{Template:RECOUP/Box|text='''Topics to be covered (not necessarily in this order):''' | ||
|text='''Topics to be covered (not necessarily in this order):''' | |||
* The fieldworker is the research instrument: what does this mean for issues of replicability and reliability? Are issues of validity central? | * The fieldworker is the research instrument: what does this mean for issues of replicability and reliability? Are issues of validity central? | ||
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}} | }} | ||
'''Useful Reading''' | |||
The following books include discussions about doing ethnographic fieldwork that you and workshop participants might find useful. | |||
* Sarangapani, P (2003) ''Constructing School Knowledge : An Ethnography of Learning in an Indian Village'' New Delhi, Sage Publications | |||
* Thapan, M (ed.)(1998) ''Anthropological Journeys : Reflections on Fieldwork'' New Delhi, Orient Longman | |||
* Abu-Lughod, L. (1988) 'Fieldwork of a 'Dutiful' Daughter' in S. Altorki and C.F. El-Solh (eds) ''Arab Women in the Field''. New York: Syracuse University Press. | |||
=Preparation for field visit= | |||
'''Time:''' 30 minutes | '''Time:''' 30 minutes | ||
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Otherwise, the site for practice observational work must be one where public access is unrestricted, and yet course participants can do more than just observe people from a distance. Ideally, it should be possible to hear conversations, to speak to people at the site without unduly misleading them as to your purposes, and to find a range of activities to observe. There are two options we have used: | Otherwise, the site for practice observational work must be one where public access is unrestricted, and yet course participants can do more than just observe people from a distance. Ideally, it should be possible to hear conversations, to speak to people at the site without unduly misleading them as to your purposes, and to find a range of activities to observe. There are two options we have used: | ||
#Ask all participants to visit a similar kind of setting, not necessarily the same examples. Two relatively successful sites we have used have been busy up-market shopping centres, and local temples. This helps with the feedback session, since all participants can be given the same orientation and research question. You might like to consider the | #Ask all participants to visit a similar kind of setting, not necessarily the same examples. Two relatively successful sites we have used have been busy up-market shopping centres, and local temples. This helps with the feedback session, since all participants can be given the same orientation and research question. You might like to consider the example handout for the shopping-centre fieldwork task ({{Template:RECOUP/HOA|Fieldwork Tasksheet 1}}) and the example handout for the place of worship fieldwork task ({{Template:RECOUP/HOA|Fieldwork Tasksheet 2}}). | ||
#Allow participants to use their own initiative and select a site they have access to for personal reasons. The advantage of this is that it allows participants to fit the observational exercise into what may be busy personal lives, and makes it more likely that they will have to report on conversations they have been part of. The disadvantage is that you may find it hard to come up with sensible common research questions. Participants often do not realise (until after the event) how different ‘observing in order to write’ is from carrying out one’s routine daily lives – but this is a good lesson to learn! | #Allow participants to use their own initiative and select a site they have access to for personal reasons. The advantage of this is that it allows participants to fit the observational exercise into what may be busy personal lives, and makes it more likely that they will have to report on conversations they have been part of. The disadvantage is that you may find it hard to come up with sensible common research questions. Participants often do not realise (until after the event) how different ‘observing in order to write’ is from carrying out one’s routine daily lives – but this is a good lesson to learn! | ||
In either case, participants need clear instructions about what to do, whether you want them to take notes at the time, how long they should spend at the site, and so on. Handouts explaining the task should be adapted to suit your own purposes before being given out, or used as part of a PowerPoint presentation to explain the task. | In either case, participants need clear instructions about what to do, whether you want them to take notes at the time, how long they should spend at the site, and so on. Handouts explaining the task should be adapted to suit your own purposes before being given out, or used as part of a PowerPoint presentation to explain the task. | ||
=Feedback after field visit= | |||
It is relatively easy to get people to do a piece of fieldwork observation in a public space. It is much harder to get them to write about it in ways that are clear, revealing, and available for themselves (and, in group projects, to others). Good fieldwork writing is essential in order to understand and analyse well after the event. This is a crucial session, and may take quite a lot of planning and quite a long time to run, depending on the number of participants. | It is relatively easy to get people to do a piece of fieldwork observation in a public space. It is much harder to get them to write about it in ways that are clear, revealing, and available for themselves (and, in group projects, to others). Good fieldwork writing is essential in order to understand and analyse well after the event. This is a crucial session, and may take quite a lot of planning and quite a long time to run, depending on the number of participants. | ||
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It is very important that people do not criticise in a negative way, but focus on the positive aspects. It is also essential that no-one takes part in these discussions unless they have also taken part in the fieldwork exercise and have fieldnotes to share: many participants will feel very vulnerable in sharing their writing in this way, and they are reassured if they know that everyone else is in the same boat. In the same spirit, the facilitators should make available some of their own fieldnotes for comparison. | It is very important that people do not criticise in a negative way, but focus on the positive aspects. It is also essential that no-one takes part in these discussions unless they have also taken part in the fieldwork exercise and have fieldnotes to share: many participants will feel very vulnerable in sharing their writing in this way, and they are reassured if they know that everyone else is in the same boat. In the same spirit, the facilitators should make available some of their own fieldnotes for comparison. | ||
There is a | There is a {{Template:RECOUP/PRA|Presentation on Reporting Back}} that provides an example of how we have worked through the materials that were produced after an exercise in which the course participants visited temples, in pairs, and wrote accounts of what they observed. The first slide is a list of the kinds of things that were generated from the feedback from the small-group discussions, as people reflected on their own and others’ writing; the remaining slides were created at short notice from the examples provided to the facilitators. | ||
There is also a document of | There is also a document of {{Template:RECOUP/HOA|notes towards running a feedback session}} that shows the kinds of topics that can be raised in a feedback session on the exercise visiting shopping centres, which uses examples from the fieldnotes produced by the course participants to stimulate discussion. | ||
<noinclude>{{RECOUP_footer|Ethnographic_fieldwork}}</noinclude><noinclude>[[Category:RECOUP]]</noinclude> | <noinclude>{{RECOUP_footer|Ethnographic_fieldwork}}</noinclude><noinclude>[[Category:RECOUP]]</noinclude> | ||
