ANSC 2060 Chapter : Ch 3
Document Summary
In a sense, we do field research whenever we observe or participate in social behavior and try to understand it, whether in a college classroom, in a doctor"s waiting room, or on an airplane. Whenever we report out observations to others, we"re reporting our field research efforts. Although many of the techniques involved in field research are natural activities, they are also skills to be learned and honed. Field research more typically yields qualitative data: observations not easily reduced to numbers. Field observation also differs from some other models of observation in that it"s not just a data collecting activity. Frequently, perhaps typically, it"s a theory-generating activity as well. As a field researcher, you"ll seldom approach your task with precisely defined hypotheses to be tested. One of the key strengths of field research is how comprehensive a perspective it can give researchers.
