When: Once every visit (at least 5 required; 2% each; at least 10% of your final grade)
How: E-mail within 2 days
of field site visit
You will be asked to provide fieldnotes based on your field research for each day in the field. Fieldnotes are usually mostly fairly raw and descriptive with some analytical comments at the end. Fieldnotes should be roughly two to four single-spaced pages in length (4-8 doublespaced). Even if you are working in teams, each person is required to hand in their own fieldnotes.
For the first three weeks of your field research, do not film or take photographs. Tape recordings of interviews are fine. I want you to experience the fieldsite visually, tactilely, and verbally without the intermediary interference of a camera. Get to know your field subjects and earn their trust.
Fieldnotes will not be graded per se but completing them satisfactorily contributes 10% of your final course grade. Keep a running total of the time spent in the field as well money spent.
The structure of the fieldnotes should include:
Date/Time: October 12, 2006
Location: Hamline High Rise
Informants Contacted: Bao, Kay (PHA Supervisor), Ramon, Estelle, Peter
Hours Spent in Field: 4 hours. Running total = 16 hours
Expenditures: Bus fare $2.25, Soda pop $1 = $3.25. Running total = $23.16.
Shooting Log: List the names of any audio or video tapes of any tapes you might have recorded or the roll numbers / folder name of any photographs you may have taken.Notes: What happened while you were there. Who did you talk to. blah blah blah.
Analysis/Discussion: What themes are emerging in the field. Link this with issues in class.
Remember that fieldnotes are confidential but have been subpoenaed.
Use pseudonyms and otherwise protect your informants.
Logging Tapes / Photographs
You are strongly encouraged to log all tapes / photographs that you have taken in the field. The easiest way to do this is to embed this in the fieldnotes above.
Film based projects: You are strongly encouraged to use a new DV tape each day of filming and to label it clearly. You should also create a log of all scenes shot.
Photography based projects: With a digital camera, it is possible to review all photos at the end of the day and write log notes, however it is best if you log the photos as you take them as it not always possible to remember everything. Create a new folder for each day of photography and label it clearly.
Audio based projects: Create a new folder for each interview and/or label each file carefully. You are strongly encouraged to log all interviews. Full transcriptions are not necessary, but extended descriptions of each recording are strongly encouraged.