FIELD RESEARCH AND FOCUS GROUP RESEARCHDepending on the setting, you should be a friendly
but naïve outsider, an acceptable incompetent—
someone interested in learning about the social life
of the field but only partially competent (skilled or
knowledgeable) in the setting and whom members
accept as a nonthreatening person who needs to be
guided or taught.^36
You may know little about the setting or local
culture at first. You may be seen as a fool who is
hoodwinked or shortchanged and may be the butt
of jokes for your lack of adeptness in the setting.
Even when you are knowledgeable, you can dis-
play less than full information to draw out a mem-
ber’s knowledge. Of course, you might overdo
this and appear so ignorant that you are not taken
seriously.Step 5: Gather and Record Data.This section
considers how to obtain good qualitative field data.
Field data are what you experience, remember, and
record in field notes.
Absorb and Experience.The researcher is the
instrument for measuring field data. As Lofland
et al. (2006:3) observed, “In subjecting him- or
herself to the lives of others and living and feeling
those lives along with them, the researcher becomes
the primary instrument or medium through which
research is conducted.” This has two implications.
First, it puts pressure on you to be alert and sensi-
tive to what happens in the field and to be disci-
plined about recording data. Second, it has personal
consequences. Fieldwork involves social relation-
ships and personal feelings. You include your own
subjective insights and feelings, or “experiential
data.”^37 Personal, subjective experiences are part
of field data. They are valuable both in themselves
and for interpreting events in the field. Instead of
trying to be objective and eliminate personal reac-
tions, your feelings toward field events are data. For
example, Karp’s (1973, 1980) personal feelings of
tension in his study of pornographic bookstores
were a critical part of the data. His personal dis-
comfort in the field revealed some dynamics of the
setting. In addition, according to Kleinman and
Copp (1993:19), “If we avoid writing about our
reactions, we cannot examine them. We cannot
achieve immersion without bringing our subjectiv-
ity into play.”
Field research can heighten awareness of per-
sonal feelings. For example, you may not be fully
aware of personal feelings about nudity until you
are in a nudist colony or about personal possessions
until you are in a setting in which others regularly
“borrow” many items. Your surprise, indignation,
or questioning then may become an opportunity for
reflection and insight.^38Watch and Listen.A great deal of what you do in
the field is to pay close attention, watch, and listen
carefully. You must use all of the senses, noticing
what is seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched. You
should become an instrument that absorbs all
sources of information. You want to scrutinize the
physical setting to capture its atmosphere. What is
the color of the floor, walls, ceiling? How large is
a room? Where are the windows and doors? How
is the furniture arranged, and what is its condition
(e.g., new, old and worn, dirty, or clean)? What type
of lighting is there? Are there signs, paintings,
plants? What are the sounds or smells?
Why bother with such details? You may have
noticed that stores and restaurants often plan light-
ing, colors, and piped-in music to create a certain
atmosphere. Maybe you know that used-car sales-
people spray a new-car scent into cars or that shop-
ping malls stores intentionally send out the odor of
freshly made cookies. These subtle signals influ-
ence human behavior.
Observing in field research is often detailed,
tedious work. You need patience and an ability to
concentrate on the slow particulars of everyday life.
Silverman (1993:30) noted, “If you go to the cin-
ema to see action [car chases, hold-ups, etc.], then
it is unlikely that you will find it easy to be a good
observer.” Instead of the quick flash, motivation in
field research arises out of a deep curiosity about
the details. Good field researchers are intrigued
about details that reveal “what’s going on here” byAcceptable incompetent A field researcher who
pretends to be less skilled or knowledgeable in order
to learn more about a field site.