fieldwork
Data collection outdoors
Fieldwork is research or data collection conducted outside a laboratory or office, in the environment where subjects naturally exist.
Anthropologists do fieldwork among the communities they study; geologists do fieldwork at rock formations; social workers do fieldwork visiting clients.
The term emphasizes direct observation over armchair theorizing: Her dissertation required two years of fieldwork in rural Guatemala.
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- siteDesignated location
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
trenching · survey · grid · trowel · sieving · pottery · bones · context
Formal evaluative conversations
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- methodologyFormal procedural framework
- empiricalBased on observation, not theory
- samplingExtracting subset for study
coding · transcription · longitudinal · cross-sectional · survey · questionnaire · respondents · focus-groups
Organized exploratory journey
- geologyStudy of Earth's composition
- ecologyStudy of environmental relations
- samplingExtracting subset for study
- specimenIndividual for examination
biodiversity · mapping · botany · zoology · ornithology · entomology · paleontology · excavation
Drawing forth information
- recordingCaptured audio or video
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
- phoneticsStudy of speech sounds
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
dialect · corpus · annotation · wordlist · grammar · lexicon · informant · pronunciation
Gathering mature crops
- plowingTurning earth for crops
- sowingPlanting for cultivation
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- cultivationFostering growth through care
tillage · cropping · tractor · combine · threshing · seedling · fertilizing · pesticide
Involving direct physical engagement
- trainingDeveloping abilities through practice
- experiencePractical knowledge from life
- on-siteAt the actual location
- real-worldExisting in physical reality
applied · skills · apprenticeship · immersive · ground-level · firsthand · engagement · technique
Systematic study of peoples
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- fieldnotesOn-site written observations
- kinshipState of being related
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
customs · taboos · ethnology · qualitative · ethics · immersion · rapport · gatekeepers
excavation
Act of unearthing
- digUnearth by shoveling
- siteDesignated location
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
artifacts · trenching · survey · grid · trowel · sieving · pottery · bones · context · features
interviews
Formal evaluative conversations
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- methodologyFormal procedural framework
- empiricalBased on observation, not theory
sampling · coding · transcription · longitudinal · cross-sectional · survey · questionnaire · respondents · focus-groups · variables
expedition
Organized exploratory journey
- geologyStudy of Earth's composition
- ecologyStudy of environmental relations
- samplingExtracting subset for study
specimen · biodiversity · mapping · botany · zoology · ornithology · entomology · paleontology · excavation · transect
elicitation
Drawing forth information
- recordingCaptured audio or video
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
- phoneticsStudy of speech sounds
documentation · dialect · corpus · annotation · wordlist · grammar · lexicon · informant · pronunciation · sociolinguistics
harvest
Gathering mature crops
- plowingTurning earth for crops
- sowingPlanting for cultivation
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
cultivation · tillage · cropping · tractor · combine · threshing · seedling · fertilizing · pesticide · herbicide
hands-on
Involving direct physical engagement
- trainingDeveloping abilities through practice
- experiencePractical knowledge from life
- on-siteAt the actual location
real-world · applied · skills · apprenticeship · immersive · ground-level · firsthand · engagement · technique · proficiency
ethnography
Systematic study of peoples
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- fieldnotesOn-site written observations
- kinshipState of being related
rituals · customs · taboos · ethnology · qualitative · ethics · immersion · rapport · gatekeepers · acculturation
- AnthropologistsMargaret Mead, anthropologists, ethnographers, ethnologists, paleoanthropologists
- teachingteaching, lesson plans, instructing, educating, courses
- farm lifefarm, farmer, farmers, farming, barn
- manual laborfarming, lifting, carrying, shoveling, loading
- natural historynatural history, natural history museum, naturalist, naturalists, natural philosophers
- social sciencessociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, political science
fieldworklaboratory work
Scientific research activity
lab work · laboratory research · laboratory analysis · bench work · controlled experiments
fieldworkdesk work
Sedentary office labor
deskwork · library research · office work · literature review · textual analysis