5 Preparation for Field Work

Dr. K. Anil Kumar

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Defining Fieldwork and Ethnography
3. Steps Involved in Anthropological Fieldwork
4. Preparation for Fieldwork before Going to Field Summary

Learning Outcomes:

After reading this module the learner will be able to:

•  Understand what is fieldwork and ethnography;
•  Learn how anthropologists conduct research on culture by preparation for fieldwork;
•  Gain knowledge about what does fieldwork involve; and
•  Know some important issues in socio-cultural anthropological fieldwork.

1. Introduction

Anthropology is a field based science and fieldwork is the central component of the discipline. Fieldwork represents one of the fundamental or “paradigmatic” elements of anthropology as an academic discipline. Without fieldwork experience no one can become an anthropologist. Whitehead and Conaway (1986) suggest that anthropology is shaped by fieldwork, and that anthropologists are shaped by field experiences. This shaping lends itself to more personal and firsthand accounts about the study group. As such, fieldwork defines anthropology and gives it a distinctive identity.

Despite various transformations in the discipline, fieldwork remains at the heart of anthropological research and continues to be “the rite of passage” for aspiring anthropologists. Fieldwork is an essential attribute of ethnography. It is ethnographic fieldwork, more than anything else that characterizes and distinguishes the discipline of anthropology from other social sciences.

Anthropologists and fieldwork go hand in hand. The anthropologists, also known as an ethnographer, in ethnography, data collection is carried out primarily through fieldwork. In fact for many anthropologists fieldwork is almost synonymous with ethnography.

The popular image of the field anthropologists tends to be overly romanticized. Field anthropologists are often envisioned working in idyllic settings, reclining in their hammocks while being served non-carcinogenic foods by beautiful native people. In reality, conducting anthropological fieldwork bears little resemblance to a carefree vacation. Like any scientific enterprise, it makes serious demands on one’s time, patience, and a sense of humor and requires a lot of hard work and thoughtful preparation. Although luck can be a factor, the success of a field experience is usually directly proportional to the thoroughness of one’s preparations (Gary Ferraro and Susan Andreatta: 2010).

2. Defining Fieldwork and Ethnography

The discipline of anthropology relies on fieldwork as the primary way of conducting research. Anthropological research covers a wide range of topics. Anthropologists are interested in studying about the biological and cultural aspects of human societies all over the world. There are now four major fields of anthropology: biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology. Each focuses on a different set of research interests and generally uses different research techniques (see Figure 1.2).

Before going to know about the preparation for fieldwork, here it is important to first understand the meaning and definition terms what is ‘fieldwork’ and ‘ethnography’. In anthropology many definitions have been developed in literature to refer to the fieldwork. The term ‘fieldwork’ is used to describe research in all the sub-fields of anthropology. The word ‘fieldwork’ originates from ‘anthropological background. Fieldwork is among the most distinctive practices of anthropologists bringing to the study of human life in society. In anthropology, fieldwork is the process of collecting descriptive data on a specific culture through extended periods of living with members of the culture. Most socio-cultural anthropologists gather data by doing fieldwork, going to the field. Through fieldwork, socio-cultural anthropologist seeks a detailed and intimate understanding of the context of social action and relations.

The meaning and definition of fieldwork has gradually changed, with the inclusion of new concerns and ideas about ethics, politics, reflexivity, collaboration, and reciprocity. A good way to introduce fieldwork is to begin by considering how it has generally been defined in the discipline. Let us discuss some of the most popular definitions from the discipline. Hortense Powdermaker’s provides a classic definition of fieldwork i n her book “Stranger and Friend: The Way of an Anthropologist”. She defines ‘fieldwork’ is the study of people and of their culture in their natural habitat. Anthropological fieldwork has been characterized by the prolonged residence of the investi – gator, his participation in and observation of the society, and his attempt to understand the inside view of the native peoples and to achieve the holistic view of a social scientist. The publication of Malinowski’s Argonauts of the Western Pacific in 1922 revealed the great potentialities of fieldwork. This study of Trobriand Islanders, among whom Malinowski had lived for almost three years, set new standards for fieldworkers which continue to operate. Fieldwork came to mean immersion in a tribal society – learning, as far as possible, to speak, think, see, feel, and act as a member of its culture and, at the same time, as a trained anthropologist from a different culture (Powder-maker 1966).

Charlotte Seymour-Smith defines fieldwork as a Research undertaken by the anthropologist or ethnologist in a given ethnographic area or community. Such an ethnographic area in modern anthropology is not necessarily limited to the traditional tribal or peasant community, and may embrace studies of urban, industrial or other settings which the anthropologist selects for the purposes of intensive research. The anthropological perspective has similarly been employed in the study of subcultures and in institutional research within modern industrial society. So, while it was once true to say that anthropology was the study of people considered to be primitive, of exotic and little-known tribal cultures, and of peasant communities, modern anthropological research can no longer be defined by this criterion and must be defined instead by the application of its distinctive methods of field-work and analysis. In many cases, however, disciplinary boundaries become blurred in the study of modern industrial and urban society, due to the emergence of novel theoretical and methodological syntheses resulting from interdisciplinary collaboration and interchange. (Seymour-Smith 1986).

Ethnography originates from the Greek word ethnos which means people or folks and graphis which means writing. As a noun, the term ethnography means portrait or description of a people or description of a culture or a piece of culture. Ethnography has a long history within the field of cultural anthropology, beginning with the early fieldwork of such notable scholars as Margaret Mead, Bronislaw Malinoski, and Clifford Geertz. As a qualitative research method, ethnography seeks to describe and to understand another way of life from the native point of view. The goal of ethnography, as Malinowski put it, is “to grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of his world” (Malinoski: 1922).

In other words, ethnography is concerned with the meaning of actions and events to the people we seek to understand. Rather than manipulate variables or proceed from a research hypothesis, both questions and answers must be discovered in the social setting being studied. Ethnographic fieldwork usually involves conducting observation, interviewing informants, note-taking, making maps, collecting life histories, analyzing folklore, charting kinship, keeping a diary, audio and videotaping, collection of relevant materials and documents, keeping a field journal, and taking photographs.

Ethnography is what they do when they have finished their fieldwork and start to write up research material gathered during participant observation. Ideally, then, we should distinguish between two rather different practices: interacting with people and writing about them (Brian Moeran: 2007).

In the discipline of anthropology fieldwork is an essential component of ethnography. In ethnography, primary data collection is carried out primarily through fieldwork. Ethnography is also the written description and analysis of the culture of a group of people based on fieldwork. In anthropology fieldwork, is a method of conducting qualitative research, and ethnography, which is the writing up of that research. In fact for many anthropologists fieldwork is almost synonymous with ethnography. Because, the writing process is never entirely separate from the fieldwork process

Although fieldwork and ethnography includes many techniques, such as observation, interview, collection of objects & artifacts, mapping space, taking census data, photographing and filming, using historical archives, and recording life histories, the heart of anthropological fieldwork is participant observation. Participant observation is the technique of gathering data on human cultures by living among the people, observing their social interaction on an ongoing daily basis, and participating as much as possible in their lives. This intensive field experience is the methodologically hall mark of socio-cultural anthropology. Typically, the field experience results in an ethnography, that is, an in-depth description and analysis of a particular culture.

3. Steps Involved in Anthropological Fieldwork

Dissertation work or doing ethnography or any other research in anthropology plays a very significant role as the fieldwork conducted gives researcher an insight to any anthropologically related issue practically in a wider spectrum. It provides researcher a platform in professional career too because of your first hand involvement and observation. The anthropological fieldwork is planned and carried out independently which is learnt by practice and experience. One of the most important phases of researcher fieldwork experience is planning and preparation before he/she leave. To conduct anthropological fieldwork minimum preparation is required. Because in the field researcher will face the following common issues in the fieldwork:

• Gaining acceptance in the community.
• Selecting the most appropriate data-gathering techniques.
• Understanding how to operate within the local political structure.
• Taking precautions against investigator bias.
• Choosing knowledgeable informants.
• Coping with culture shock.
• Learning a new language.
• Be willing to reevaluate findings in the light of new evidence.

If an anthropological fieldwork is to be successful, you must attend to a number of essential matters during this preparation period. After deciding on the aims and objectives, research site, sources and methods of study, a formal preparation for fieldwork should plan. Before going to the field, the prospective researcher must develop a good research proposal and prepare for the fieldwork itself. In the discipline of anthropology these steps are critical to the success of the research/ project. However, the following steps are generally followed for the preparation of fieldwork.

4. Preparation for Fieldwork before Going to Field

In preparation of fieldwork several activities are required, and they can be captured under preparation and documentation. Preparation, of course, starts as soon as one begins research, develops an interest in a particular topic or field, and starts working on a proposal and a work plan. For the preparation of research proposal and work plan you read considerable volumes of theoretically and methodologically informative works, which is invaluable because it directs your gaze to particular aspects of social reality and sharpens your eyes and ears for particular phenomena and events. That is a kind of general preparation, and we need not dwell on it here.

(a) Selecting a research topic

Selection of topic for a research or project is a basic first step. The topic should be brief, precise and reflect the scope of the problem under research. Anthropologists often find a topic for a research by carrying out a review of literature, which is the formal term for reading what others have already written about the subject and assessing its strengths and gaps. For example, socio-cultural anthropologists realized during the 1970s that anthropological research to date had ignored women and girls, and this is how feminist anthropology began (Miller 1993). The researcher should be acquainted with all available literature related to the problem. The researcher should ascertain whether the same topic has been investigated before, and if so, how and to what extent. A critical appraisal of all previous studies is to be done and the gaps, if any, are to be ascertained.

(b) Choosing a research site

A basic first step in establishing a fieldwork project is to decide on the particular location or locations for the research. A research site is the place where the research takes place. The researcher often has a basic idea of the area where the fieldwork is going to be carried out, for example, a small town, a village, part of the city, a district, in a factory or institutes etc. In anthropology ethnographers have however, also study a range of social settings, such as organizations, institutions, meetings, and just about any setting in which humans are interacting. For example following are some different settings that have been studied by ethnographers: Sacred places, beauty parlours, weekly markets, food activities (dinner, feast), religious festivals, shopping malls, jails/prisons, a family settings, industry or work settings, slaughter houses, hospitals, city halls, and agencies, etc. The ethnographic study of various types of social settings is based in various attributes of human interaction.

Most of the time in the discipline the research site depends upon the problem selected for study. The chosen problem may be concerned with a particular aspect of tribal community, a rural society or modern society. But it is often impossible to know, in advance, exactly where the research will be conducted. Selecting a research site depends on many factors. There may be more than one research site. It may be necessary to find a large village if the research involves class differences in work patterns, or a clinic if the study concerns health-care behaviour. It may be difficult to find a village, neighbourhood, or institution in which the people readily welcome the researcher and the project. Often, housing shortages mean that even the most welcoming community cannot provide space for an anthropologist. So most of the fieldwork are held in remote locations- a situation that the majority of students are not familiar with face all kinds of problems in that case he/she should be ready to handle it.

(c) Research funding

Anthropologists spend more time preparing for field work. Before going to the field, the prospective researcher must go through extensive reading about the background literature on the area / watching videos on the area, etc. A major fieldwork in anthropology lasting a year or a longer may well require a minimum of a year’s preparation. If a fieldwork project is to be successful, the anthropologists must attend to a number of essential matters during this preparatory period. First conducting anthropological fieldwork is expensive, it is necessary to obtain funding from a source that supports anthropological research. Because, carrying out one year anthropological fieldwork without funding is very difficult. In this regard anthropologists should well prepare to obtain fund from various source such as Indian Council Social Science Research (ICSSR), the University Grants Commission (UGC) etc. Apart from this several other sources of funding are available for the anthropological research. Anthropologists can also apply for grants to other governmental, nongovernmental, national and international organizations. Financial support (covering living expenses, transportation and various research related costs) is awarded on highly competitive basis to the proposals that have the greatest merit. Even though a proposal may require months of preparation, there is no guarantee that it will be funded. In this case anthropologists require serious preparation to obtain funding for the fieldwork.

(d) Health precautions

Second preparation for fieldwork involves taking the proper health precautions. Before leaving home, a fieldworker should obtain all relevant immunizations. For research in a remote area, a well stocked medical kit (see 1.4 kit) and basic first-aid training is essential. Depending on the field’s location, preparation for the field may involve. A fieldworker travelling to a malaria-infested area must take the appropriate (region-specific) malarial suppressants before leaving home. It is also prudent to obtain information about available health facilities ahead of time in case the anthropologists or a family member become ill while in the field. If you have any other allergy or a medical condition that requires special needs (ex. bee sting allergy) be sure to prepare for the worst of situations. If you do have certain allergies that require immediate assistance, it would be a good idea to prepare an individual first aid kit to carry with you in your field bag.

(e) Permission to conduct fieldwork research

Third, if the field research is to be conducted in a foreign country (as is usually the case), permission or clearance must be obtained from many levels from the host government, from the funding organization, from the local people, from the university, institutional review board, ethical committee etc. Because field projects usually last a year or longer, no foreign government will allow an anthropologist to conduct research without prior approval. The host government officials often want to make sure that the research will not be embarrassing or politically sensitive, that the finding will be useful, and that the researcher’s presence in the host country will not jeopardize the safety, privacy, or jobs of any local citizens. Moreover host governments often require anthropologists to affiliate with local academic institutions in order to share their research experience with local scholars and students. Sometimes particularly in developing countries the approval process can be very slow.

(f) Learning the local language

A fourth concern that must be addressed before leaving for the field is proficiency in the local language. An important part of the tradition of anthropological fieldwork that it must be conducted using the native language. If the fieldworker is not fluent in the language of the culture to be studied, he or she should learn the language. Dictionaries and grammar books many not even exist for some of the more esoteric languages, and finding a native speaker to serve as tutor while still at home may not be possible. In such cases the ethnographer will have to learn the language after arriving in the field (Gary Ferraro and Susan Andreatta: 2010).

(g) Personals specialized equipment and supplies

Fifth, the soon to be fieldworker must take care of a host of personal details before leaving home. Arrangements must be made for care of personal possessions such as clothing, equipments, tents, houses, cars, and pets while out of the country; decision have to be made about what to ship and what to purchase abroad; if families are involved arrangements must be made for children’s education; equipment such as cameras, laptop, audio and recording devices must be purchased, insured, and protected against adverse environmental conditions; up-to-date passports and visa must be obtained; and a schedule for transferring money must be worked out between one’s bank at home and a convenient bank in the host country. These and other pre-departure details should put an end to the illusion that fieldwork is a romantic holiday.

(h) Field equipments

Sixth in anthropological fieldwork for anthropologist since the early times a note book and pencil was the major instrument to keep the track of all the information collected in the field and record it for future analysis. Depending on the field’s location, preparation for the field may involve buying specialized equipment, such as a tent, warm clothing, waterproof clothing, and sturdy boots. Research equipment (see Box 1.4.1 field equipments) and supplies are another important aspect of preparation.

For example cameras, video recorders, tape recorders, and laptop computers are now basic field equipment you should carry to the field for recording data in the field itself. All the anthropologists are required to maintain a field dairy and record the data relating to the topic assigned in a separate notebook.

As with everything else about anthropological fieldwork, recording tools were changed from the past. Taking detailed notes, however, is the continuous practice of anthropologist’s trademark method of recording data. Field notes consist of daily logs, personal journals, descriptions of events, and notes about those notes. Ideally, researchers should write up their field notes each day. Trying to capture, in the fullest way possible, the events of even a single day is a monumental task and can result in dozens of pages of handwritten or typed field notes. Electronic technology like, mobile, laptop, computers now enable anthropologists to enter their daily observations data directly into the computer. The other instruments like tape recorder, camera, and video recorder are a major aid to fieldwork to capture more detail picture, voices and film recording of people performing ritual during fieldwork.

Generally students of anthropology leaving for fieldwork carry the following with them:

• Research proposal
• Check list of items to be collected
• Adequate number of questionnaires/, interview guides etc.
• Note books for writing field dairy
• Camera with accessories
• Audio recording device
• Appropriate instruments in biological research
• Census particulars and study area map
• Identity card
• Letter of introduction

You are expected to honestly explain the purpose of fieldwork and avoid giving impressions such as: you are a government or NGO functionary, etc. Rapport must be established with all sections in the village/hamlet. Picking up local terms will be highly useful. Knowing and adoption of local ways of greetings will help immensely. In some places addressing members/respondents in appropriate kinship terms may be useful. Participations in daily chores, economic activities, song and dances of the local population will help rapport building. Follow the local etiquette with regard to areas of restricted entry within houses, religious places, during rituals etc. The respondents’ convenience should be kept in mind during data collection with regard to time and locale. Sensitive information is collected towards the end of fieldwork. Answer the questions put forth by informants patiently. Payment of cash to informants should be avoided as it will create problems for you. You should express your gratitude in other ways.

Ethical Issues

Anthropologists’ in general but particularly socio-cultural anthropologists face a number of ethical problems when conducting their research. When conducting anthropological research, there are ethical principles that will you should keep in mind. For example, obtain informed consent before the study or the interview begins; be sure to safeguard your informant’s rights, interests and sensitivities. Communicate the aims of the interview as well as possible to the informant. Your informant should have the right to remain anonymous and speak “off record.” There should be no exploitation of informants for personal gain. In the field should not explore any sensitive issues before a good relationship has been established with the informant. Anthropologists ensure the confidentiality of the data obtained and learn enough about the culture of informants to ensure it is respected during the data collection process. If sensitive questions are asked, for example, about family planning or sexual practices, or about opinions of patients on the health services provided, it may be advisable to omit names and addresses from the questionnaires. Anthropological researchers have primary ethical obligations to the people, species, and materials they study and to the people with whom they work. Anthropological researchers have primary ethical obligations to the people, species, and materials they study and to the people with whom they work. Finally, make your data available to your informant.

Summary

•  Anthropology is a field based science and fieldwork is the central component of the discipline. Fieldwork represents one of the fundamental or “paradigmatic” elements of anthropology as an academic discipline.
•  Anthropologists and fieldwork go hand in hand. The anthropologists, also known as an ethnographer, in ethnography, data collection is carried out primarily through fieldwork. In fact for many anthropologists fieldwork is almost synonymous with ethnography.
•  Fieldwork is the process of collecting descriptive data on a specific culture through extended periods of living with members of the culture.
•  The anthropological description of a particular contemporary culture by means of direct fieldwork.
•  Socio-cultural anthropologists study different cultures and societies in world by spending time observing and interacting with people of those cultures and societies, by writing field notes and gathering data to draw conclusions about their daily lifestyle, habits and beliefs.
•  Dissertation work or doing ethnography or any other research in anthropology plays a very significant role as the fieldwork conducted gives researcher an insight to any anthropologically related issue practically in a wider spectrum.
•  If an anthropological fieldwork is to be successful, you must attend to a number of essential matters during this preparation period.
•  After deciding on the aims and objectives, research site, sources and methods of study, a formal preparation for fieldwork should plan.
•  Before going to the field, the prospective researcher must develop a good research proposal and prepare for the fieldwork itself. In the discipline of anthropology these steps are critical to the success of the research/ project. However, the following steps are generally followed for the preparation of fieldwork.
•  Selection of good and current topic for a research or project is a basic first step.
•  Choosing a appropriate research site is important.
•  Obtaining research funding from a source that supports anthropological research is significant.
•  Before leaving home, a fieldworker should obtain all relevant immunizations. For research in a remote area, a well stocked medical kit and basic first-aid training is essential.
•  Permission or clearance must be obtained from many levels from the host government, from the funding organization, from the local people, from the university, institutional review board, ethical committee etc.
•  If the fieldworker is not fluent in the language of the culture to be studied, he or she should learn the language.
•  Arrangements must be made for care of personal possessions such as clothing, equipments, tents, houses, etc,.
•  Depending on the field’s location, preparation for the field may involve buying specialized equipment, such as a tent, warm clothing, waterproof clothing, and sturdy boots. Research equipment and supplies are another important aspect of preparation.
•  Once you enter into the field area or location researcher should inform to the villagers about his/her research and take permission from them.
•  In the field many times participants withhold their support for the research, refuse to participate, or withdraw their consent at any time in the research process, and it is the researcher’s duty to build rapport with the study population.
•  In the research field culture shock can range from problems with food to language barriers and loneliness. In anthropological fieldwork the researcher should mentally prepared with regard to the culture shock.
•  Once the research hypothesis has been formulated and the research site selected, the next step is collection of primary data. This is a very important part of your fieldwork as this is the base of your whole “DISSERTATION” or “PROJECT WORK”. You can collect data using your tools.
•  Anthropologists’ in general but particularly socio-cultural anthropologists face a number of ethical problems when conducting their research. When conducting anthropological research, there are ethical principles that will you should keep in mind. Anthropological researchers have primary ethical obligations to the people, species, and materials they study and to the people with whom they work.