Field research

Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research changes across disciplines. For example, biologists who remain field research may simply observe animals interacting with their environments, whereas social scientists conducting field research may interview or observe people in their natural environments to memorize their languages, folklore, in addition to social structures.

Field research involves a range of well-defined, although variable, methods: informal interviews, direct observation, participation in the life of the group, collective discussions, analyses of personal documents exposed within the group, self-analysis, results from activities undertaken off- or on-line, and life-histories. Although the method loosely is characterized as qualitative research, it may and often does include quantitative dimensions.

Analyzing data

In qualitative research, there are many ways of analyzing data gathered in the field. One of the two most common methods of data analysis are thematic analysis and narrative analysis. As pointed before, the type of analysis a researcher decides to use depends on the research question asked, the researcher's field, and the researcher's personal method of choice.