This article presents five personal narratives about a field-worker's experience during an eighteen-month study of a residential college. The narratives focus on five distinct aspects of fieldwork: gaining access, waiting for action, establishing relationships, respondents' perceptions of the field-worker, and writing up fieldwork accounts. These stories illuminate the unanticipated struggles associated with fieldwork.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Agar, M.1996. The professional stranger: An informal introduction to ethnography. 2d ed. San Diego: Academic Press.
2.
Anderson, B. G.1990. First fieldwork: The misadventures of an anthropologist. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
3.
Barley, N.1983. The innocent anthropologist: Notes from a mud hut. London: British Museum.
4.
Bernard, H. R.1998. Introduction. In Handbook of methods in cultural anthropology, edited by H. R. Bernard, 9–36. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
5.
Bogdan, R. C., and S. K. Biklen.1982. Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
6.
Burgess, R. G.1991. Access in educational settings. In Experiencing fieldwork: An inside view of qualitative research, edited by W. B. Shaffir and R. A. Stebbins, 43–52. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
7.
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.1990. Campus life: In search of community. Princeton, NJ: Author.
8.
Clifford, J., and G. E. Marcus.1986. Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press.
9.
Cusick, P.1973. Inside high school: The student's world. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
10.
Delamont, S.1992. Fieldwork in educational settings: Methods, pitfalls, and perspectives. Washington, DC: Falmer.
11.
DeVita, P. R.1992. The naked anthropologist: Tales from around the world. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
12.
Dewalt, K., and B. R. Dewalt.1998. Participant observation. In Handbook of methods in cultural anthropology, edited by H. R. Bernard, 259–299. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
13.
Eisner, E.1991. The enlightened eye. New York: Macmillan.
14.
Ely, M., M. Anzul, T. Friedman, D. Garner, and A. McCormick-Steinmetz.1991. Doing qualitative research: Circles within circles. London: Falmer.
15.
Fontana, A., and J. H. Frey. 1994. Interviewing: The art of science. In Handbook of qualitative research, edited by N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 361–376. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
16.
Glesne, C.1989. Rapport and friendship in ethnographic research. Qualitative Studies in Education2 (1): 45–54.
17.
Glesne, C., and A. Peshkin.1992. Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. White Plains, NY: Longman.
18.
Hodder, I.1994. The interpretation of documents and material culture. In Handbook of qualitative research, edited by N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 393–412. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19.
Jorgensen, L.1989. Participant observation: A methodology for human studies. Applied Social Research Methods Series, Vol. 15. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
20.
Kincheloe, J. L., and P. McLaren. 1994. Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. In Handbook of qualitative research, edited by N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 138–157. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
21.
Lareau, A., and J. Shultz, eds. 1996. Journeys through ethnography: Realistic accounts of fieldwork. Boulder, CO: Westview.
22.
Levy, R. I., and D. W. Hollan. 1998. Person-centered interviewing and observation. In Handbook of methods in cultural anthropology, edited by H. R. Bernard, 333–364. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
23.
Lincoln, Y., and E. Guba. 1989. Ethics: The failure of positivist science. Review of Higher Education12:221–240.
24.
Moffatt, M.1989. Coming of age in New Jersey: College and American culture. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
25.
Olesen, V.1994. Feminism and models of qualitative research. In Handbook of qualitative research, edited by N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 158–174. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26.
Patton, M. Q.1990. Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
27.
Rabinow, P.1977. Reflections on fieldwork in Morocco. Berkeley: University of California Press.
28.
Raybeck, D.1992. Getting below the surface. In The naked anthropologist: Tales from around the world, edited by P. R. DeVita, 3–16. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
29.
Rhoades, G.1991. Is love the answer?Review of Higher Education14 (2): 239–250.
30.
Sanger, J.1996. The compleat observer: A field research guide to observation. London: Falmer.
31.
Schatzman, L., and A. L. Strauss.1973. Field fesearch: Strategies for a natural sociology. Englewood, NJ: Prentice Hall.
32.
Shaffir, W. B., and R. A. Stebbins. 1991. Getting in. In Experiencing fieldwork: An inside view of qualitative research, edited by W. B. Shaffir and R. A. Stebbins, 25–30. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
33.
Simons, H.1987. Getting to know schools in a democracy: The politics and process of evaluation. London: Falmer.
34.
Spradley, J.1980. Participant observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
35.
Tierney, W. G.1993. Building communities of difference: Higher education in the twenty-first century. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
36.
Van Maanen, J.1983. The moral fix: On the ethics of fieldwork. In Contemporary field research: A collection of readings, edited by R. M. Emerson, 269–287. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
37.
Van Maanen, J.1988. Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
38.
Van Maanen, J.1991. Playing back the tape: Early days in the field. In Experiencing fieldwork: An inside view of qualitative research, edited by W. B. Shaffir and R. A. Stebbins, 31–42. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
39.
Werner, O., and M. Schoepfle.1987. Systematic fieldwork. Vol. 1: Foundations of ethnography and interviewing. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
40.
Whyte, W. F.1943. Street corner society: The social structure of an Italian slum. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
41.
Whyte, W. F.1997. Creative problem solving in the field: Reflections on a career. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
42.
Witherell, C., and N. Noddings, eds. 1991. Stories lives tell: Narrative and dialogue in education. New York: Teachers College Press.
43.
Wolcott, H. F.1995. The art of fieldwork. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
44.
Wolcott, H. F.1999. Ethnography: A way of seeing. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
45.
Wolf, D. L.1996. Feminist dilemmas in fieldwork. Boulder, CO: Westview.
