RECOUP/Ethnographic fieldwork/Fieldwork Tasksheet 2/handout

Fieldwork exercise

This is designed to give you a chance to observe in a partly participant way. Your topic is:

What are the main differences between how men and women use space in a place of worship (a temple, church, mosque etc)?

You should think about this task in advance and try to imagine certain kinds of things you may be able to observe, such as how men and women enter the space; whether there are differences between mixed-sex groups and single-sex groups; or what men and women do before, during and after an act of worship. Remember that collective worship or individual prayer are not the only things people do in a place of worship. Think about whether you can talk to anyone about these topics or will have to base your work solely on observation.

You should not abuse your access to the place of worship by walking in a big group, drawing attention to yourselves, or obviously making notes in inappropriate places. You should work alone or in pairs: each pair should visit a different site.

We want you to observe and report your observations:

A: as you enter and walk around the place of worship. Try and remember as much as possible about the trip: for example:

• the conversations you had
• the activities you observed
• what struck you as surprising

Do NOT take notes at the time: When you can get to a relatively private place and when there is no-one observing you, you can take some head-notes to act as memory-jogs.

B: If you are able to observe and take notes at an interview being conducted by your partner, try and also capture some aspects of the setting, the body-language of the respondent, and anything going on round about the interview that is of interest.

In this case, you can take notes at the time.

FOR BOTH KINDS OF EXERCISE

As soon as possible after the end of the field trip, find a quiet place and write up your visit in as much detail as possible. Think about the style of writing. You may write in any language you prefer. Write more than just an account of what you did and observed, for example

• your own reflections on the experience:
  • how you felt at different points of the fieldwork exercise
  • what you think went well
  • what you think you did wrong
• what is missing from your written account, and
• what does this experience suggest you should look for in future if you were to continue this research

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Singal, N., and Jeffery, R. (2008). Qualitative Research Skills Workshop: A Facilitator's Reference Manual, http://oer.educ.cam.ac.uk/wiki/RECOUP, Cambridge: RECOUP (Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty, http://recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk/). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. (original page)