Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T14:25:19.811Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

20 - Conducting Fieldwork

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2019

Joanna M. Setchell
Affiliation:
Durham University
Get access

Summary

Fieldwork can be exciting, and even addictive, but it can also be daunting and dangerous. Fieldsites range from a tent to established research stations. You may be close to home, or on the other side of the world. National researchers may be just as foreign to a local area as non-national researchers. You may be in a familiar environment or in a very unfamiliar one. Fieldwork often involves sharing living space with other people, and with wildlife. In this chapter I begin with what it takes to be a fieldworker, then cover permissions and logistics, field kit, personal safety, the social context, LGBTQIA+ concerns, natural hazards, physical health, mental health, and returning home.

Type
Chapter
Information
Studying Primates
How to Design, Conduct and Report Primatological Research
, pp. 247 - 262
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

20.13 Further Reading

Clancy, KBH, Nelson, RG, Rutherford, JN, Hinde, K. 2014. Survey of academic field experiences (SAFE): Trainees report harassment and assault. PLOS ONE 9: e102172. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102172. Reports on a survey of experiences of sexual harassment and sexual assault in fieldworkers showing that the primary targets are women trainees, and that perpetrators are predominantly senior to them professionally. Suggests policies to improve the situation.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ice, GH, Dufour, DL, Stevens, NJ. 2014. Disasters in Field Research: Preparing for and Coping with Unexpected Events. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. Provides a wealth of practical suggestions to avoid, or at least minimise, the impact of the unexpected, with real-life examples from researchers in a variety of disciplines.Google Scholar
Jolly, A. 2016. Thank You, Madagascar: The Conservation Diaries of Alison Jolly. London: Zed Books. A beautifully written account of the late Alison Jolly’s experiences in Madagascar.Google Scholar
Morgan, BJ. 2012. Notes from the field: A primatologist’s point of view. Nature Education Knowledge 3: 8. Describes daily life as a field primatologist in Central Africa.Google Scholar
Smith, DS. 2012. Travel medicine and vaccines for HIV-infected travellers. Topics in Antiviral Medicine 20: 111115. A summary of considerations for vaccination in immunocompromised people.Google Scholar
Sohn, E. 2019. Ways to juggle fieldwork with kids in tow. Nature 570: 405407. https://doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01909-w. Advice on conducting fieldwork with children.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Werner, D, Thuman, C, Maxwell, J. 2015. Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook, Revised Edition. Berkeley, CA: Hesperian Health Guides. A classic healthcare handbook on how to prevent, recognise and treat many common sicknesses. Search online for free pdf versions in multiple languages.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×