RECOUP/Ethnographic fieldwork/Fieldwork Tasksheet 1/handout

Fieldwork exercise

The fieldwork exercise is designed to give you a chance to observe in a partly participant way. The topic of the research is:

What are the main differences between the ways in which foreigners and locals use the market you are observing?

You should think about this task in advance and try to imagine certain kinds of things you may be able to observe, such as whether they choose different of similar shops, whether they shop on their own or in groups, whether they make themselves obvious or are more restrained in their behaviour. You might also 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 markets by walking in a big group, drawing attention to yourselves, or obviously making notes in inappropriate places. You should work in pairs: we will suggest that each pair focuses on a different kind of shop.

We want you to observe and report your observations:

A: as you enter and walk around the market. 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 help you jog your memory

B: If you are able to observe and take notes at an interview being conducted by your partner, try and 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 should 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 your preferred language . Add in 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 today's experience suggests 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)