Full Description
From ravenous ants and temperamental gear to debilitating illness and unpredictable politics, field research can be fraught with challenges and opportunities for mishap. Disasters in Field Research is your guide to what can go wrong while conducting fieldwork—and what you can do to avoid or minimize the impact of unexpected events.
Ice, Dufour, and Stevens address the issues confronting both students and professional researchers as they embark on field research. For example, permits may be difficult to obtain—or even revoked at the last minute. Cultural differences and misunderstandings can disrupt data collection. Equipment can be held up by customs—or fail to work as expected. The authors offer practical advice on preparing for such possibilities, while active researchers from a wide array of disciplines relate, in brief first-person narratives, their own encounters with disaster, how they solved (or failed to solve) the problem, and their recommendations for avoiding similar issues in the future. Each thematic chapter concludes with strategies and suggestions for making the most of your preparations, recovering from missteps, and coping with calamity. The result is an excellent companion book for field methods courses in a variety of disciplines—and an excellent companion to carry with you into the field.
Contents
List of Boxes and Figures
1—Introduction
2—Oh, the Permission, Permits, and Approvals You Will Need: Research Permissions
Permissions to Study the Living
Permission to do Research in Host Country: Visas
Permissions from Host Country Institutions
Permission from the Local Community
And . . . Consent from the Subjects Themselves
Even Research on Inanimate Objects Requires Permits
Permits, Permits, and More Permits
Suggestions and Strategies
3—"And you may ask yourself—Well . . . how did I get here?": Fieldwork Logistics
Permission to Enter the Country
Getting to the Field Destination
Local Transport
Money
Where Do You Stay?
Communications
Transporting Equipment and Data to and from the Field
Suggestions and Strategies
4—My Equipment Is Possessed and the Dog Ate My Notebook: Managing Equipment and Data
Is the Equipment "Field Friendly"?
Recording Data in the Field
Good to Know Before You Go
Keeping Everything Working
Suggestions and Strategies
5—Where Have They All Gone?: Participant Recruitment and Retention
Sampling
Habituation of Animal Subjects
Recruitment of Human Participants
Gatekeepers
Local Insights
Politics and History
Retention of Subjects
Suggestions and Strategies
6—I'm Not a Witch: Cultural Misunderstandings in the Field
Language
Cultural Norms
Suspicions of Outsiders or Government
Research Misunderstandings
Sensitive Topics
Gender Issues
Differing Expectations of Researcher and Subjects
Avoiding Cultural Mishaps
Suggestions and Strategies
7—I'm in the Middle of a War Zone: Safety and Security
The Fluid Nature of Risk
Theft and Interpersonal Violence
Fieldwork in Conflict Zones and Other Dangerous Places
Perceptions and Suspicions
Why Work in Dangerous Places?
Suggestions and Strategies
8—What Do I Do When Struck by Lightning? Maintaining Health in the Field
Why Be Concerned about Your Health?
Travelers' Diarrhea
Febrile Illness
Vector-Borne Infections
Other Infectious Diseases
The Exotics
Skin Problems
Health Risks: Large Fauna
Health Risks: Human-Induced Accidents/Injuries
Health Risks: Environmental
Mental Health in the Field
The Problems You Bring with You
Suggestions and Strategies
9—Is Fieldwork for Me?: Assessing Your Inclination for Fieldwork
An Interest in Travel and Adventure
Grit
Tolerance of Ambiguity
Being OK with Being Away
Ability to Accept the Way Things Are
Family
Intellectual Challenges and Satisfactions
Camping—Literally and Figuratively
Food
Going Alone or Taking a Team
How Long Do I Keep Working?
Suggestions and Strategies
Index
About the Authors
