FIELD RESEARCH AND FOCUS GROUP RESEARCHsocial life, we must include all perspectives. Field
researchers try to get inside the “heads” or meaning
systems of diverse members and then switch back to
an outsider or research viewpoint. As Van Maanen
(1982:139) noted, “Fieldwork means involvement
and detachment, both loyalty and betrayal, both
openness and secrecy, and most likely, love and
hate.” You want to be able to smoothly and quickly
switch perspectives and see events from multiple
points of view simultaneously. Usually a single
individual conducts a field research study alone,
although small teams have been effective. The per-
son must do many things at once and be highly atten-
tive (see Expansion Box 1, What Do Field
Researchers Do?)
Because you are directly engaged in “real”
social life as you study it, personal characteristics
are very relevant in field research, unlike most quan-
titative research. Wax (1979:509) noted:
Informal and quantitative methods, the peculiari-
ties of the individual tend to go unnoticed. Elec-
tronic data processing pays no heed to the age,
gender, or ethnicity of the research director or pro-
grammer. But, in fieldwork, these basic aspects of
personal identity become salient; they drastically
affect the process of field research.Such direct involvement in the field can have
an emotional impact. Field research can be fun
and exciting, but it can also disrupt your personal
life, physical security, or mental well-being. More
than other types of social research, it reshapes
friendships, family life, self-identity, or personal
values:
The price of doing fieldwork is very high, not in
dollars (fieldwork is less expensive than most other
kinds of research) but in physical and mental effort.
It is very hard work. It is exhausting to live two lives
simultaneously. (Bogdan and Taylor, 1975:vi)Field research requires much time. A study
may require hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in
direct observation and interaction over several
months or years with nearly daily visits to a field
setting. As Fine (1996: 244) remarked in his study
of four restaurant kitchens: “I attempted to be pres-
ent six days each week... and I attempted to stag-
ger my observation times.... I spent a month
observing in the kitchen in each restaurant then
interviewed all the full-time cooks for a total of
thirty in-depth interviews. Each interview lasted
from one to three hours.”Steps in Performing Field Research
The process of doing a field research study is
more flexible and less structured than quantita-
tive research. This makes it essential for you to be
well organized and prepared for the field. The
steps of a project serve as only an approximate
guide or road map (see Expansion Box 2, Steps in
Field Research). We can divide the overall pro-
cess into six parts: preparation, field site selection
and access, field strategies, relations in the field,
data gathering, and exit.EXPANSION BOX 1
What Do Field Researchers Do?A field researcher does the following:
- Observes ordinary events and everyday activities as
they happen in natural settings, in addition to any
unusual occurrences - Becomes directly involved with the people being
studied and personally experiences the process of
daily social life in the field setting - Acquires an insider’s point of view while maintaining
the analytic perspective or distance of an outsider - Uses a variety of techniques and social skills in a flex-
ible manner as the situation demands - Produces data in the form of extensive written notes
as well as diagrams, maps, or pictures to provide
very detailed descriptions - Sees events holistically (i.e., as a whole unit, not in
pieces) and individually in their social context - Understands and develops empathy for members
in a field setting and does not record only “cold”
objective facts - Notices both explicit (recognized, conscious, spo-
ken) and tacit (less recognized, implicit, unspoken)
aspects of culture - Observes ongoing social processes without impos-
ing an outside point of view - Copes with high levels of personal stress, uncer-
tainty, ethical dilemmas, and ambiguity