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FIELDWORK DO’S AND
DON'TS
Ellen Hoefsloot
Based on my experiences doing fieldwork in
East Africa
Preparations
• Contact with your supervisor
• Mental prep
Once there
• Take your time
• Get your bearings
• Meet people
Fieldwork – when it works out
• Gorgeous work environment ;)
• Changes perspectives
Fieldwork – when it works out
But also… physically and emotionally draining
Fieldwork – when it doesn’t work out
Unexpected, unresolvable
or potentially dangerous
situations
My Do’s and Don’ts
• Be thoughtful, flexible and creative; don’t sweat it when
plans fall apart
• Listen to your instincts; don’t let anyone or anything
pressure you into doing something you are not
comfortable with
• Take your time; don’t rush to start or to finish your
fieldwork.
• Wear a helmet 
QUESTIONS?

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Fieldwork do’s and don'ts by Ellen Hoefsloot

  • 1. FIELDWORK DO’S AND DON'TS Ellen Hoefsloot Based on my experiences doing fieldwork in East Africa
  • 2. Preparations • Contact with your supervisor • Mental prep
  • 3. Once there • Take your time • Get your bearings • Meet people
  • 4. Fieldwork – when it works out • Gorgeous work environment ;) • Changes perspectives
  • 5. Fieldwork – when it works out But also… physically and emotionally draining
  • 6. Fieldwork – when it doesn’t work out Unexpected, unresolvable or potentially dangerous situations
  • 7. My Do’s and Don’ts • Be thoughtful, flexible and creative; don’t sweat it when plans fall apart • Listen to your instincts; don’t let anyone or anything pressure you into doing something you are not comfortable with • Take your time; don’t rush to start or to finish your fieldwork. • Wear a helmet 

Editor's Notes

  1. Introduce myself and my project
  2. Contact with your supervisor/NGO: It probably won’t be possible to meet the people you will be working with before you leave. For me it was sometimes difficult to discuss my project (and my questions and doubts and insecurities about it) through skype and email. Mental prep: Before leaving, I kept going from excited to extremely nervous and back, until my dad told me that I could always come back home if I felt there was ANY reason to do so.
  3. Once there: For me it was great that I was able to take a few weeks to get acclimatised in this new environment (even though I fancy myself well-travelled and am not easily shocked by new cultures) and especially at the company I was working with. When I arrived not everything was as well-prepared as my supervisor had promised, and the supervision in general was not what I had expected. Because I didn’t have to rush to get my field work done I was less stressed by the – from a Dutch perspective – lack of organisation.
  4. Changes perspectives: I used to try very hard to take pictures without electricity lines running through them – I thought they ruined gorgeous landscapes. As I was sitting up on this ridge, staring into the middle of nowhere, I actually got a bit emotional seeing that electricity lines reached even this most remote of places.
  5. Physically draining: Travel is not always easy. Need to use crowded and uncomfortable buses, and lots of walking required to reach remote homes. Emotionally draining: Felt guilty for asking people to answer my highly personal questions without giving them anything in return (apart from sweets and pictures of the netherlands). Felt very out of place/uncomfortable because people stare at you and kids follow you around - sometimes people reacted in a hostile manner when I refused to give them money. Felt inept because I was often not able to connect with my interviewees on the level I would have liked to. Felt very lonely at times. Ways to deal: keep a diary (a.k.a. research logbook) to write down ideas and feelings related to places visited and people interviewed take enough time to reflect on interviews and observations during your time in the field (not only after)
  6. Rain that does not let up, elections, bureaucracy