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  • Writing Field Notes
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Refers to notes created by the researcher during the act of conducting a field study to remember and record the behaviors, activities, events, and other features of an observation. Field notes are intended to be read by the researcher as evidence to produce meaning and an understanding of the culture, social situation, or phenomenon being studied. The notes may constitute the whole data collected for a research study [e.g., an observational project] or contribute to it, such as when field notes supplement conventional interview data or other techniques of data gathering.

Schwandt, Thomas A. The SAGE Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry . 4th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2015.

How to Approach Writing Field Notes

The ways in which you take notes during an observational study is very much a personal decision developed over time as you become more experienced in fieldwork. However, all field notes generally consist of two parts:

  • Descriptive information , in which you attempt to accurately document factual data [e.g., date and time] along with the settings, actions, behaviors, and conversations that you observe; and,
  • Reflective information , in which you record your thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns during the observation.

Note that field notes should be fleshed out as soon as possible after an observation is completed. Your initial notes may be recorded in cryptic form and, unless additional detail is added as soon as possible after the observation, important facts and opportunities for fully interpreting the data may be lost.

Characteristics of Field Notes

  • Be accurate . You only get one chance to observe a particular moment in time so, before you conduct your observations, practice taking notes in a setting that is similar to your observation site in regards to number of people, the environment, and social dynamics. This will help you develop your own style of transcribing observations quickly and accurately.
  • Be organized . Taking accurate notes while you are actively observing can be difficult. Therefore, it is important that you plan ahead how you will document your observation study [e.g., strictly chronologically or according to specific prompts]. Notes that are disorganized will make it more difficult for you to interpret the data.
  • Be descriptive . Use descriptive words to document what you observe. For example, instead of noting that a classroom appears "comfortable," state that the classroom includes soft lighting and cushioned chairs that can be moved around by the students. Being descriptive means supplying yourself with enough factual evidence that you don't end up making assumptions about what you meant when you write the final report.
  • Focus on the research problem . Since it's impossible to document everything you observe, focus on collecting the greatest detail that relates to the research problem and the theoretical constructs underpinning your research; avoid cluttering your notes with irrelevant information. For example, if the purpose of your study is to observe the discursive interactions between nursing home staff and the family members of residents, then it would only be necessary to document the setting in detail if it in some way directly influenced those interactions [e.g., there is a private room available for discussions between staff and family members].
  • Record insights and thoughts . As you take notes, be thinking about the underlying meaning of what you observe and record your thoughts and ideas accordingly. If needed, this will help you to ask questions or seek clarification from participants after the observation. To avoid any confusion, subsequent comments from participants should be included in a separate, reflective part of your field notes and not merged with the descriptive notes.

General Guidelines for the Descriptive Content

The descriptive content of your notes can vary in detail depending upon what needs to be emphasized in order to address the research problem. However, in most observations, your notes should include at least some of the following elements:

  • Describe the physical setting.
  • Describe the social environment and the way in which participants interacted within the setting. This may include patterns of interactions, frequency of interactions, direction of communication patterns [including non-verbal communication], and patterns of specific behavioral events, such as, conflicts, decision-making, or collaboration.
  • Describe the participants and their roles in the setting.
  • Describe, as best you can, the meaning of what was observed from the perspectives of the participants.
  • Record exact quotes or close approximations of comments that relate directly to the purpose of the study.
  • Describe any impact you might have had on the situation you observed [important!].

General Guidelines for the Reflective Content

You are the instrument of data gathering and interpretation. Therefore, reflective content can include any of the following elements intended to contextualize what you have observed based on your perspective and your own personal, cultural, and situational experiences .

  • Note ideas, impressions, thoughts, and/or any criticisms you have about what you observed.
  • Include any unanswered questions or concerns that have arisen from analyzing the observation data.
  • Clarify points and/or correct mistakes and misunderstandings in other parts of field notes.
  • Include insights about what you have observed and speculate as to why you believe specific phenomenon occurred.
  • Record any thoughts that you may have regarding any future observations.

NOTE:   Analysis of your field notes should occur as they are being written and while you are conducting your observations. This is important for at least two reasons. First, preliminary analysis fosters self-reflection and self-reflection is crucial for facilitating deep understanding and meaning-making in any research study. Second, preliminary analysis reveals emergent themes. Identifying emergent themes while observing allows you to shift your attention in ways that can foster a more developed investigation.

Emerson, Robert M. et al. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes . 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2011; Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Gambold, Liesl L. “Field Notes.” In Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Edited by Albert J. Mills, Gabrielle Durepos, and Elden Wiebe. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2010; Pace, Tonio. Writing Field Reports. Scribd Online Library; Pyrczak, Fred and Randall R. Bruce. Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences . 5th ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2005; Report Writing. UniLearning. University of Wollongong, Australia; Ravitch,  Sharon M. “Field Notes.” In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation . Edited by Bruce B. Frey. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2018; Tenzek, Kelly E. “Field Notes.” In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods . Edited by Mike Allen. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2017; Wolfinger, Nicholas H. "On Writing Fieldnotes: Collection Strategies and Background Expectancies.” Qualitative Research 2 (April 2002): 85-95; Writing Reports. Anonymous. The Higher Education Academy.

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Lorena Gibson

Anthropod: Thoughts from a cultural anthropologist

A template for writing fieldnotes

For my PhD I carried out ethnographic fieldwork in different locations: bastis  (slums) in the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata (India), and urban and peri-urban settlements in the city of Lae (Papua New Guinea). I knew from earlier visits that these different settings would mean that I was in for very different fieldwork experiences. I also knew I was unlikely to have much control over events. However, I could take steps to standardise my data collection and notetaking processes as much as possible. In the early stages of my research I decided to create a fieldwork template with that goal in mind.

After reading what others had to say about ethnographic fieldnotes (including A Thrice-Told Tale  by Margery Wolf [1992], Fieldnotes: The Makings of Anthropology  edited by Roger Sanjek, [1990], and Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes  edited by Robert Merson, Rachel Fretz and Linda Shaw [1995]), I created a fieldnote template  (originally in MS Word; now I use Pages) with the following sections:

[filename] [TITLE] [DATE] In these sections I insert the filename of each document as a header, give each fieldnote a short title, and record the date.

[DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY] This is for describing what happened during the day as accurately as I can. I take a ‘who, what, when, where, why, how’ approach and try to stick to ‘facts’ to create a verbal snapshot of what happened. This includes noting direct quotes and snippets of conversations, text messages, filenames of voice recordings, and what photos I took.

I am aware that all fieldnotes are constructed, and what we choose to take notes about are influenced by a range of factors, so in this section I try to minimise that. My aim is to keep description separate from analytical work for as long as possible while recognising that these snapshots are just that; a glimpse of a point in time from a particular perspective, through a particular lens.

[REFLECTIONS] I reflect on the day’s experiences, writing about how I might have influenced events, what went wrong (and what I could do differently next time), and how I feel about the process.

[EMERGING QUESTIONS/ANALYSES] Here I note questions I might ask, potential lines of inquiry, and theories that might be useful. This is where I start to do some analytical work .

[FUTURE ACTION] This is a ‘to-do’ list of actions. I usually include a timeframe alongside each point.

How it works for me I usually type my fieldnotes at the end of each day and use this template alongside handwritten notebooks, which I carry when I am out and about. I find that people often want to look at (and correct!) what I’m writing in notebooks so I use them to record people’s names, questions I want to ask, specific times of events, and for participants to write notes about what they think I should pay attention to.

I draw on all of the above sources, as well as photographs, emails, voice recordings (and their transcriptions), and my memories, when I write. I find the description section of my template is extremely useful for providing the context for photographs, recordings and transcriptions, and as a point of comparison for my memories, which change over time .

I have not (yet) started using digital media in my fieldnotes, although I am interested in how this works. I have been following EthnographyMatters since Tricia Wang’s post Writing Live Fieldnotes: Towards a More Open Ethnography about  ‘live fieldnoting’  on Instagram. A recent issue of Popular Anthropology Magazine ( Vol 4, No 1, 2013 ) has a section dedicated to blogging fieldnotes .

I am always keen to hear about how others take fieldnotes. What is your process? What are your thoughts on ‘live fieldnoting’ or blogging from the field?

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Published by lorenagibson

I am an anthropologist and musician based in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. I currently teach cultural anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. My research interests include the anthropology of hope, NGOs and development, music and other creative practices, how people relate to the future, children and youth, gender relations, and agency. These interests and have taken me to India and Papua New Guinea (among other places). View all posts by lorenagibson

13 thoughts on “ A template for writing fieldnotes ”

Thank you for these observations. I have little experience in ethnography but am embarking on some qualitative research my work for a charitable nonprofit organization. Your notes here have been very useful.

I’m at the beginning stages of my field work and have been toying around with how best to stay organized, and reading your post is super helpful. Thank you!

Thank you for your template it helped as I start to write my field notes.

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Hi! I am halfways in my process of doing fieldwork for my masters. I want to ask you if it would be possible to see one fieldnote of you? That would tremendously help me through my process 🙂 Best, Katharina

thanks for the upload

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A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research: Context and Conversation

Affiliation.

  • 1 1 Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
  • PMID: 29298584
  • DOI: 10.1177/1049732317697102

Field notes are widely recommended in qualitative research as a means of documenting needed contextual information. With growing use of data sharing, secondary analysis, and metasynthesis, field notes ensure rich context persists beyond the original research team. However, while widely regarded as essential, there is not a guide to field note collection within the literature to guide researchers. Using the qualitative literature and previous research experience, we provide a concise guide to collection, incorporation, and dissemination of field notes. We provide a description of field note content for contextualization of an entire study as well as individual interviews and focus groups. In addition, we provide two "sketch note" guides, one for study context and one for individual interviews or focus groups for use in the field. Our guides are congruent with many qualitative and mixed methodologies and ensure contextual information is collected, stored, and disseminated as an essential component of ethical, rigorous qualitative research.

Keywords: field notes; qualitative research; research methods.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Documentation* / methods
  • Documentation* / standards
  • Focus Groups
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Qualitative Research*
  • Research Design*

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  • K08 HS024733/HS/AHRQ HHS/United States

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10.4: Field Notes

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Learning Objectives

  • Define descriptive field notes.
  • Cite the variety of ways that field researchers might take notes while in the field.
  • Describe what should be noted when taking field notes.

Field notes are your opportunity to write poorly and get away with it. I say that in jest, but there is some truth to it. This is one type of writing where you should not be going for literary value, to make your writing interesting, and even to make it readable for anyone other than yourself. Instead, the aim is to record your observations as straightforwardly and, while in the field, as quickly as possible in a way that makes sense to you . Field notes are the first—and a necessary—step toward developing quality analysis. They are also the record that affirms what you observed. In other words, field notes are not to be taken lightly or overlooked as unimportant.

Some say that there are two different kinds of field notes: descriptive and analytic. Though the lines between what counts as “description” and what counts as “analysis” can get pretty fuzzy, the distinction is nevertheless useful when thinking about how to write and how to interpret field notes. In this section, we’ll focus on descriptive field notes. Descriptive field notes are notes that simply describe a field researcher’s observations as straightforwardly as possible. These notes typically do not contain explanations of or comments about those observations. Instead, the observations are presented on their own, as clearly as possible. In the following section, we’ll examine the uses and writing of analytic field notes more closely.

Writing in the Field

Field researchers use a variety of strategies to take notes while in the field. Some research is conducted in settings where sitting with a notebook, iPad, or computer is no problem (e.g., if conducting observations in a classroom or at a meeting), but this is probably the exception rather than the norm. More often, field researchers must find creative ways to note their observations while engaged in the field. I’ve heard about field researchers jotting notes on their hands and arms, keeping very small notebooks in their pockets and occasionally jotting notes there, carrying small recorders to make quick observations, and even writing notes on toilet paper during visits to the restroom. With the advent of smartphones, taking notes in the field has become less arduous than it once was, as it is common to see someone texting or surfing the web from their phone in almost any setting.

Your strategy for recording your observations while in the field will be determined mostly by the site you choose and the role you play in that site. Will you be in a setting where having a notebook or smartphone in your hands will look out of place? If no, by all means, take notes! But don’t let your note taking distract you from what’s happening around you. Writing notes while in the field requires a fine balance between jotting down your observations and actually engaging in the setting. If you are strictly an observer, these will be easy to balance. But if you are also a participant, don’t let your note taking keep you from participating. If you do happen to be in a location where taking notes “in the moment” would be too obvious, rude, or distracting, you may still be able to occasionally jot down a few things very quickly. You may also need to develop a way of jotting down observations that doesn’t require complete sentences or perhaps even words. I know several field researchers who developed their own version of shorthand to take notes, using some combination of abbreviations and symbols, without taking too much time away from their participation in the field.

As with other proficiencies one develops, writing field notes is a skill that can be improved with practice. Recall the discussion in Chapter 1 about the dangers of informal observation. Conducting field research and taking field notes are decidedly not informal activities. In field research, observation is deliberate, not haphazard. That said, for a first-time field researcher, taking field notes can feel like a pretty haphazard activity. Understanding when to write, what to write, where to write, and how to write are all skills that field researchers develop with experience. I demonstrate this point to students early in our discussion of field methods by sending them out of the classroom in groups of two or three each and having them take notes about what they observe over a 15-minute period of time. No problem, they say. How hard can it be? Pretty tough, as it turns out. Students typically return from their 15 minutes of observation frustrated, confused, and annoyed with me for putting them through the experience.

So why torture my students in this way? It isn’t just to be a jerk, I promise. When students return to the classroom, I ask them to compare notes with their group members and discuss what strategies they used in making and recording observations. Typically, students have some overlap in the kinds of things noted, but inevitably one person will have paid more attention to conversations overheard, another to actions and unspoken physical expressions such how people walked or dressed, and yet another to nonhuman surroundings such as the landscape, sounds, and scents. Students conducting this exercise also often use different note-taking strategies, some drawing more pictures, others writing in complete sentences, others using abbreviations. I ask them to talk about what they’ve learned from the experience and the following two “lessons” are among the most frequently cited: (a) taking field notes is hard, and (b) it would have been nice to have some more direction before the exercise so they knew what to zero in on.

I’m always glad to hear that students recognize the difficulty of the task, and it’s true that I give them very few instructions prior to the field note exercise. This is intentional. In part I hope to make the point that while field research projects often occur inductively, this doesn’t mean that field researchers enter the field with absolutely no idea about what they plan to observe. Having a research question or topic in mind helps a researcher focus her or his observations. At the same time, it is important that field researchers not allow their original question or topic blind them to occurrences in the field that may not seem particularly important at the time. As I share with my students, you never know whether or how some observation might be important down the line. We’ll take a closer look at this point in Section 10.5 .

No matter how difficult it can be to write notes while in the field, it is worth the effort. Field researchers rely on the notes they take in the field to develop more complete notes later and, eventually, to develop analysis. Have you heard the popular philosophical question about trees falling? It goes something like this: If a tree falls in the woods but nobody hears it, did it actually make a sound? I don’t have a good answer for you from a philosophical perspective, but I can say that when it comes to field research, if you observe something but neglect to note it, it might as well not have happened. This is because you, like any other human being, cannot possibly be expected to remember everything that you see happen over the hours, days, months, or years that you spend collecting data in the field. For this reason, writing notes in the field (to the extent possible) is important, as is “filling in” those notes as soon as you are in a location where you can focus on more formal note taking. We examine this more formal aspect of note taking next.

Writing out of the Field

Immediately upon leaving any observation in the field, you should take the time to complete the brief notes you took while in the field. Even if you feel that the notes you’ve taken in the field are complete, you’ll be surprised by how much more you’ll recall once you sit down without distractions and read through what you’ve jotted down. You’ll also have the opportunity to add your own reflections, or observations about your observations, when you write up more complete notes.

When you type up notes upon returning from an observation, you should “fill in the blanks” and write as much as possible about what you’ve just observed. Even if it seems mundane, I think it’s fair to say that one’s field notes can never contain too much detail. Writing as much as possible, in as much detail as possible, should also help you avoid generalizing in your field notes. Be specific about what you observe; rather than saying that “everyone” said or did something, make note of exactly who said or did X (or note that you’re not sure exactly who did so but that it seemed as if most everyone did). Rather than saying that someone you observed was “angry,” describe what gave you that impression. For example, was that person yelling, red in the face, or shaking her fist?

Don’t forget to describe exactly where you were and detail your surroundings (in addition to describing the interactions and conversations you observed and participated in). Early in a field research project you may focus slightly more on describing the “lay of the land” than you do later on. This might mean writing up very detailed descriptions of the locations you observe and the people with whom you interact. You might also draw a map or, if appropriate in your setting, take pictures of your field sites. If your observations will be conducted in the same place and with the same people, these descriptive details you write up early on will become less noticeable to you over time. It will be helpful to have some documentation of your first impressions and of the sort of details that later become so much a part of the everyday scene that you stop noticing them. The following excerpt from my own field notes comes from my first meeting with two of the key informants in my field research in the breast cancer movement.

1/14/99, 11:00am

Met Jane and Polly at the XX office today. I was scheduled to be there at 10:30 but traffic was so bad due to last night’s snow storm that I did not get there until 11:00am. Jane and Polly did not seem bothered by my tardiness (Polly, “We don’t keep a time clock around here.”). I walked into the building and took the elevator up to the second floor. I was a little unsure about where to go from there so I just walked into the first open door and said, “I’m looking for the XX office.” A woman showed me into a large office (long and slightly irregular shape with windows on one wall, a desk and table and many chairs. Also two computers set up on a counter that runs along the wall across from the windows.) Two women were looking at a computer screen that was on the counter. When I walked in I introduced myself and Jane and Polly introduced themselves to me. Both women shook my hand, though Jane was the first to do so and did so with slightly more self-assurance than Polly. Polly told me to hang my coat on one of the “coat racks” and gestured to the many chairs that were around the office. I placed my coat and purse in what I hoped would be the most out of the way location; a corner behind the table. (Blackstone, 2003)Blackstone, A. (2003). Racing for the cure and taking back the night: Constructing gender, politics, and public participation in women’s activist/volunteer work (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

The description in my field notes continues for several more paragraphs, but I won’t torture you with those details. As you can see, this field notes excerpt is definitely not going to win the Pulitzer Prize for its riveting story or prose. Thankfully, that isn’t its purpose. Instead, the goal was to describe a location where I knew I’d be spending a fair amount of time and to describe my first impressions of the two women I knew would be likely candidates for key informants. One thing you’ll notice is that I used quotation marks every time I directly quoted a person. Including as many direct quotes as you can is a good idea, as such quotes provide support for the analytic points you’ll make when you later describe patterns in your data. This is another reason that taking notes in the field (to the extent possible) is a good idea. Direct quotes may be difficult to remember hours or even minutes after hearing them. For this reason you may wish to write verbatim quotes while in the field and then take the time to describe the circumstances under which something was said later on when you write up your full notes after leaving the scene.

Another thing you might find were you to read through the many pages of field notes I took during my participant observation is that I use all capital letters and brackets in some places. This is the strategy I developed for expressing my own personal feelings and impressions in my field notes. While the distinction between what one actually observed and what one thinks about what he or she observed is not always easy to make, most field researchers do attempt to distinguish between these two categories of information.

The bracketed portions of your field notes may never be used, but in some cases they will become the very early stages in your analysis of data. My notes from three years of participant observation include bracketed notes of both types. Sometimes, I used bracketed notes to express emotion or purge difficult thoughts or feelings. This was especially helpful when I felt upset about or annoyed by something that had occurred in the field. Because field research requires developing personal relationships with “subjects,” and because interpersonal relationships all experience various highs and lows, it is important to express your feelings about those relationships in your notes. Writing these more personal reflections may become important for analysis later or they may simply be cathartic at the moment. They might also reveal biases you have about the participants that you should confront and be honest about.

Every field researcher’s approach to writing up field notes will vary according to whatever strategy works best for that individual. Where I used brackets to document personal feelings and reflections on bits of data, other field researchers may use the “comments” function in a word processing program or use a different font type, size, or color to distinguish observations from reflections. Others might create two columns for their full field notes—one containing notes only about what was observed directly and the other containing reactions and impressions. There isn’t a wrong way to write field notes. What’s important is that you adopt a strategy that enables you to write accurately, to write as much detail as possible, and to distinguish observations from reflections.

key takeaways

  • When taking descriptive field notes, researchers should try to make note of their observations as straightforwardly as possible.
  • Field researchers might use any number of tools or strategies to facilitate taking notes in the field such as writing on one’s own hands, dictating observations into a handheld recorder, or taking notes in the form of text messages on one’s phone.
  • In field research, observation is deliberate, not haphazard.
  • Note taking does not end when a researcher exits an observation; handwritten notes are typed up immediately upon leaving the field so that researchers can “fill in the blanks” in their brief notes taken while in the field.
  • Try out the note-taking exercise that my students complete in class. Find another person or two with whom you can conduct observations and take notes for about 15 minutes (perhaps someplace in your campus library, student union, or dorm). Sit near your peers who are also taking notes but do not talk with them during this portion of the exercise. Be sure to use all of your senses as you take notes: your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mouth, and your sense of touch. When your 15 minutes are up, compare notes with your peers. Where are there similarities? Where are their differences? Why do those similarities and differences exist? What strategy did you each employ to take notes? How might you approach field note taking differently were you asked to do it again?

qualitative research field notes template

The Ultimate Guide to Qualitative Research - Part 2: Handling Qualitative Data

qualitative research field notes template

  • Handling qualitative data
  • Transcripts
  • Introduction

What are field notes?

Understanding field notes, constructing field notes, how to approach writing field notes, considerations for qualitative data analysis.

  • Survey data and responses
  • Visual and audio data
  • Data organization
  • Data coding
  • Coding frame
  • Auto and smart coding
  • Organizing codes
  • Qualitative data analysis
  • Content analysis
  • Thematic analysis
  • Thematic analysis vs. content analysis
  • Narrative research
  • Phenomenological research
  • Discourse analysis
  • Grounded theory
  • Deductive reasoning
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Inductive vs. deductive reasoning
  • Qualitative data interpretation
  • Qualitative analysis software

Field notes in research

Field notes are the centerpiece of observational research . Transcripts can document what was said in interviews , focus groups , or recorded observations. Still, to turn social practices, cultural rituals, and non-verbal communication into qualitative data , researchers typically turn to field notes to provide a detailed description of what they see.

qualitative research field notes template

Let's look at how field notes figure into qualitative research as well as some challenges and considerations when incorporating field notes into research.

Field notes are an integral part of many types of research, especially within the realm of qualitative inquiry. Essentially, field notes are the researcher's written record of observations made, experiences had, and insights gleaned while in the field conducting research.

Whereas qualitative interviewing seeks out perspectives and beliefs from research participants, notes are useful for documenting what research participants do and how they behave in social practice. Notes from observations serve as the first point of contact with the data to be analyzed. They are a fundamental resource for understanding the context, nuances, and complexities of the research setting.

Field notes are not objective descriptions, nor is the primary goal always to completely and accurately document factual data; they also contain the researcher's interpretations and reflections on what has been observed . This gives field notes their dual nature - they are both descriptive and reflective, painting a comprehensive picture of the phenomena under study.

At their core, field notes seek to capture the rich and complex world of human experience in a form that can be communicated to others and used for qualitative data analysis. They provide the essential raw material from which researchers can develop an understanding of the people, practices, and cultures they are studying.

What do you write in your field notes?

Field notes should capture a broad array of information, including what was seen, heard, felt, and thought during the course of research. In essence, they are a record of your sensory and intellectual experiences in the field. The information can include descriptions of people, actions, and interactions. You can also mention your own thoughts, questions, and ideas as they arise in response to what you're observing in our field notes.

qualitative research field notes template

Field notes may also include sketches, diagrams, or other visual materials that aid in capturing the research setting. Furthermore, they may detail any particular incidents, events, or situations that you find noteworthy or that illustrate the phenomena you're investigating.

What is the purpose of a field note?

The primary purpose of a field note is to create a comprehensive and nuanced record of the research setting and the phenomena being investigated. Field notes serve as the raw material for analysis , allowing researchers to revisit their observations, reflect upon them, and derive meaningful insights and interpretations . They also help in providing a level of detail and context about the setting and participants that would be difficult to recall accurately from memory alone.

Moreover, field notes also serve an important role in grounding the research in the lived experiences and realities of the people being studied. By capturing not just what is said but also the ways in which it is said, the interactions between individuals, and the context in which these interactions take place, field notes help ensure that the resulting analysis and conclusions are rooted in the real-world experiences of the research subjects.

The value of field notes in qualitative research

In qualitative research methods for data collection , field notes play a critical role as they capture the rich, complex, and nuanced data that characterize this form of inquiry. They are instrumental in helping researchers understand and interpret the social world from the perspective of the individuals being studied.

Through field notes, researchers can capture the subtleties and complexities of human behavior, social interactions, and cultural practices, making them an indispensable tool in qualitative research. As a result, many research disciplines employ field notes in data collection. In communication research, methods for documenting observations through notes focus on how information is conveyed and negotiated between different speakers. Field notes serve an important purpose in analyzing social settings for research in anthropology and sociology, as well. In general, descriptive notes from qualitative observation can aid a qualitative researcher in identifying emergent themes about behaviors and actions seen during the course of a research study.

qualitative research field notes template

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What should field notes include?

These notes should be comprehensive, capturing a range of information that covers both descriptive and reflective aspects of the field research experience.

qualitative research field notes template

Descriptive content includes detailed accounts of the physical setting, the people involved, the activities and interactions observed, and the nonverbal cues and behaviors noticed. Researchers might also note down direct quotations from participants that seem significant or representative of common themes.

Reflective content, on the other hand, includes the researcher's thoughts, feelings, reactions, and initial interpretations related to what's being observed. This might encompass speculations, feelings, problems, ideas, hunches, impressions, and prejudices.

Beyond these, researchers often find it helpful to include methodological notes (information about the research process) and demographic information about the people being observed.

Elements of a comprehensive field note

A comprehensive field note typically includes these elements:

1. Headnotes: These include the date, time, location, and other context-setting details of the observation period.

2. Descriptive observations: A detailed description of the physical setting, the participants, activities, and conversations.

3. Reflective notes: Personal reflections that reveal thoughts, ideas, concerns, or preliminary analysis about what is being observed.

4. Sketches and diagrams: Visual representations can be useful for depicting spatial relationships, layouts, or intricate details of observed objects.

5. Analytical insights: Early propositions or interpretations based on what is being observed.

6. Methodological notes: Information about any changes in research plans, the rationale for decisions, and lessons learned for future fieldwork.

The intersection of observation and note-taking

The process of taking notes goes hand-in-hand with observation in qualitative research . The researcher, while being a keen observer, should also be a diligent note-taker, translating observations into detailed and comprehensive notes. This dual role requires practice and skill. Balancing observation and note-taking can maximize the richness of the data collected, allowing for a deep and nuanced understanding of the phenomena under study.

Field note writing is not a task that is undertaken only after fieldwork. Rather, it is an ongoing process that spans the duration of the research project. From the preparation stage to time spent in the field, and finally, reflecting upon and refining your notes, there are different aspects to consider at each stage.

Preparation before field visits

Before you start your fieldwork, it is important to get familiar with the note-taking process. This could require you to practice taking notes in everyday situations. Taking accurate notes is not necessarily the main goal as long as these notes reflect your thinking about what you see. Still, note-taking should be guided by the research question or theoretical constructs underpinning your research study.

qualitative research field notes template

There are few strict prescriptions for taking notes while in the field; the advice presented here is aimed at giving the researcher guidance about how to collect useful data for later analysis . Rather than present some hard and fast rules about field note writing, let's close this section with two particular considerations that can guide your research.

Triangulation is an important component of qualitative research . In the context of observation data , it is especially useful to contextualize themes uncovered during observations with analysis from other research methods. A more developed investigation, for example, might incorporate observations with interview research in order to triangulate research participants' beliefs with actions.

Finally, while you may be tempted to try and document every particular event that occurs during an observation, it is unreasonable to expect the researcher to notice the smallest details or to argue that every particular detail is salient to a given research inquiry. As with interview and focus group research , all research methods should focus on collecting data that is relevant to the study and the research questions you are looking to address.

qualitative research field notes template

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Examining the world through qualitative inquiry

qualitative research field notes template

Tips for observing and taking field notes in qualitative studies

Kathryn Roulston

Recently I was in a field setting observing a classroom. I thought about taking notes on my tablet or laptop, but I thought that might be distracting for those in the classroom. I went old school – I took a pad and hand wrote notes, and began by drawing an organizational map of the classroom. In the evening, I typed up the notes on my computer, and included as many details as I could recall. With permission of the administrators in the setting, I also took some photos in the classroom that provided context for my descriptions of what went on. Back in my office, I transcribed the interviews that I’d conducted within the next few days and then reviewed the transcripts slowly in order to write up a narrative about what I had learned and include relevant photos. What ended up in my field notes?

I included information about the physical artifacts in the room and what was on the walls; took note of who was in the classroom and how the furniture was arranged. I wrote down what was written on the whiteboard; and described the classroom interactions that occurred among teachers and students. As much as possible, I wrote down conversations verbatim. When I came to writing the narrative that reported what I had learned from the interview participants, I found the field notes incredibly helpful to fill out and provide context for what interviewees had told me. Since this research is part of a group project, I was able to talk about what I had done at the next group meeting, and be reminded of what I still had to do (e.g., write a letter of thanks to the participants, send them copies of the draft narratives for review and feedback along with small tokens of appreciation). Discussing the project with others was helpful, since it allowed me to think about what I had learned within a larger framework, and gain feedback on the kinds of information that I still need to gain.

It’s simply not possible when conducting observations in field settings to observe and record everything that is going on. Initially, it can be difficult as a newcomer in a setting that one is observing to make out what the most important things are to attend to. Neither do multiple researchers observing the same events in a single setting necessarily “see” the same things (Reid, Kamler, Simpson, & Maclean, 1996). There are all sorts of good reasons why observers notice different things.

Numerous scholars provide guidance on what to observe and how to take field notes (for some key texts, see DeWalt & DeWalt, 2002; Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 1995, 2001; Goodall, 2000; Lofland, 2006; Spradley, 1980). In the study that I described above, interviews are the primary source of data, with observational data providing contextual information. If you are doing a study in which observations are the main source of data,  it is important to be systematic in note-taking from the very beginning of a project. Once you have have fieldnotes, you must begin to make sense of these. Miles and Huberman (1994, pp. 51-53) provide guidance as to the kinds of questions that one might ask of fieldnotes, and present these in a “contact summary form” (for an updated version, see  Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014, pp. pp. 125-126). I’ve used Miles and Huberman’s questions from their contact summary form to generate an observation summary guide, also drawing on Spradley (1980), who reminds us that each social situation involves a place, actors and activities (pp. 39-41).

Observation Summary

Observer: _________________                     Date of observation: ________________

Time:____________________                       Today’s date:______________________

Place: _______________________________________________________________

Actors: _______________________________________________________________

Activities: ____________________________________________________________

  • What were the main issues or themes that struck you in your observations at this setting?
  • What questions could be asked concerning the place you observed?
  • What questions could be asked concerning the actors you observed?
  • What questions could be asked concerning the activities you observed?
  • For each of the elements of the social situation (i.e., place, actors, activities) you observed, identify the main information that you got (or failed to get) for the questions above.
  • Was there anything else that struck you as salient, interesting, illuminating, or important?
  • If you were to undertake another observation in this setting, what new questions would you consider?

(These questions are adapted from Miles & Huberman, 1994).

Reflecting on what one has observed and noted in fieldnotes throughout the life of a project by asking these sorts of questions assists with preliminary data analysis, and can also guide further data collection and generation.

If researchers spend lengthy periods of time in a fieldsetting, then it is likely that at some point their role as “observer” will become somewhat more “participatory”. In methodological writing about ethnographic observation, readers are alerted to the spectrum of possibilities that observers might occupy — from full participant engaging with participants in a setting to a visitor. Emerson et al. (1995, p. 11) remind us of four important implications of the participatory process involved in writing fieldnotes:

  • What is observed and ultimately treated as ‘data’ or ‘findings’ is inseparable from the observational process.
  • In writing fieldnotes, the field researcher should give special attention to indigenous meanings and concerns of the people studied.
  • Contemporaneously written fieldnotes are an essential grounding and resource for writing broader, more coherent accounts of others’ lives and concerns.
  • Such fieldnotes should detail the social and interactional processes that make up peoples’ everyday lives and activities.

The authors I’ve cited here each provide much guidance in how to begin taking field notes and what to do next.  I hope these ideas from authors who used participant observation as a method provide a helpful start to thinking about what to observe in a field setting.

DeWalt, K. M., & DeWalt, B. R. (2002). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers . Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.

Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes . Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2001). Participant observation and fieldnotes. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, & L. Lofland (Eds.), Handbook of ethnography (pp. 352-368). London: Sage.

Goodall, H. L. (2000). Writing the new ethnography . Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.

Lofland, J. (Ed.) (2006). Analyzing social settings: A guide to qualitative observation and analysis (4th ed.). Wadsworth/Thomson Learning: Belmont, CA.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd. ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.

Reid, J.-A., Kamler, B., Simpson, A., & Maclean, R. (1996). “Do you see what I see? Reading a different classroom scene. Qualitative studies in education, 9 (1), 87-108.

Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation . Holt Rinehart and Winston: New York.

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Kathy Roulston is a professor in the Qualitative Research program in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. She teaches qualitative research methods, and has written on qualitative interviewing. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9429-2694 Kathryn J. Roulston on ResearchGate My books include: Interviewing: A guide to theory and practice, see: https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/interviewing/book272521 Interactional studies of qualitative interviews. See: https://benjamins.com/catalog/z.220 View all posts by qualpage

2 thoughts on “ Tips for observing and taking field notes in qualitative studies ”

your discussion is helpful. Thank you

Thanks Sabrina. Glad that was helpful!

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How to Write Field Notes

What are Field Notes?

Your field notes are where you record observations and activities that you encounter or participate in during fieldwork. You should begin your field notes as soon as you start your field work, not when you begin collecting your oral histories! This means when you begin to meet with people to discuss the possibility of interviews or visit a community, you should start writing field notes about your experiences and observations. Field notes serve the following functions:

First, they work as descriptions : you write them as notes and details of time, date, activities, settings, observations, behavior and conversations in the field. Field notes keep track of observations that you generally tend to forget over time. They also supplement your research data because field notes help you keep track of observations during interviews and place documentations. According to Thomas Schwandt, descriptive information is your “attempt to accurately document factual data [e.g., date and time] and the settings, actions, behaviors, and conversations that you observe.”

Second, field notes serve as interpretations . They allow you to examine value-laden and subjective aspects of field work. As you write your field notes, in a different section distinct from the descriptive narratives, write your interpretations of what you encounter in the field. Theorize and suggest explanations for what you see. Explain what you observed and ruminate on why your observations are relevant and important. Answer the “so-what” question.

Third, field notes are reflections . This includes an introspective commentary of what you observe and experience — and what all this means to you. According to Thomas Schwandt, reflective information includes recording of “your thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns as you are conducting the observation.”

Complete the field notes as soon as possible after you complete a fieldwork activity. According to Schwandt, “unless additional detail is added as soon as possible after the observation, important facts and opportunities for fully interpreting the data may be lost.” [1]  You can write your initial notes in cryptic form, shorthand, and quick notes that can be later expanded and formalized. You may record your initial notes in a notebook . Another possibility is to talk out your observations immediately after your fieldwork. For example, you could turn on your voice recorder or your phone recording app and discuss your observations while you commute to your next destination. You will refine, expand, and combine your jottings into your full field notes, which will more likely be stored on your computer.

qualitative research field notes template

Always paginate your field notes.

Schwandt, Thomas A.  The SAGE Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry . 4th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2015.

Characteristics of Field Notes

  • Be accurate . You only get one chance to observe a particular moment in time, so before you conduct your observations, practice taking notes in a setting that is similar to your observation site in regards to number of people, the environment, and social dynamics. This will help you develop your own style of transcribing observations quickly and accurately.
  • Be organized . Taking accurate notes while you are actively observing can be difficult. It is therefore important that you plan ahead how you will document your observation study [e.g., strictly chronologically or according to specific prompts]. Notes that are disorganized will make it more difficult for you to interpret the data.
  • Be descriptive . Use descriptive words to document what you observe. For example, instead of noting that a classroom appears “comfortable,” state that the classroom includes soft lighting and cushioned chairs that can be moved around by the study participants. Being descriptive means supplying yourself with enough factual evidence that you don’t end up making assumptions about what you meant when you write the final report.
  • Focus on the research problem . Since it’s impossible to document everything you observe, include the greatest detail about aspects of the research problem and the theoretical constructs underpinning your research; avoid cluttering your notes with irrelevant information. For example, if the purpose of your study is to observe the discursive interactions between nursing home staff and the family members of residents, then it would only be necessary to document the setting in detail if it in some way directly influenced those interactions [e.g., there is a private room available for discussions between staff and family members].
  • Record insights and thoughts . As you observe, be thinking about the underlying meaning of what you observe and record your thoughts and ideas accordingly. This will help if you to ask questions or seek clarification from participants after the observation. To avoid any confusion, subsequent comments from participants should be included in a separate, reflective part of your field notes and not merged with the descriptive notes.

General Guidelines for the Descriptive Content

  • Describe the physical setting.
  • Describe the social environment and the way in which participants interacted within the setting. This may include patterns of interactions, frequency of interactions, direction of communication patterns [including non-verbal communication], and patterns of specific behavioral events, such as, conflicts, decision-making, or collaboration.
  • Describe the participants and their roles in the setting.
  • Describe, as best you can, the meaning of what was observed from the perspectives of the participants.
  • Record exact quotes or close approximations of comments that relate directly to the purpose of the study.
  • Describe any impact you might have had on the situation you observed [important!].

General Guidelines for the Reflective Content

  • Note ideas, impressions, thoughts, and/or any criticisms you have about what you observed.
  • Include any unanswered questions or concerns that have arisen from analyzing the observation data.
  • Clarify points and/or correct mistakes and misunderstandings in other parts of field notes.
  • Include insights about what you have observed and speculate as to why you believe specific phenomenon occurred.
  • Record any thoughts that you may have regarding any future observations.

NOTE :  Analysis of your field notes should occur as they are being written and while you are conducting your observations. This is important for at least two reasons. First, preliminary analysis fosters self-reflection, and self-reflection is crucial for understanding and meaning-making in any research study. Second, preliminary analysis reveals emergent themes. Identifying emergent themes while observing allows you to shift your attention in ways that can foster a more developed investigation.

Field Notes Template

First and foremost, your field notes should be useful for you. Organize them as you will best be useful to you, which might include searchable keywords, or a very regular format. Below is one possible template for your field notes which includes a very complete and regular format. Feel free to adapt it to your needs. You can see two different formatting examples in the document entitled “Example Field Notes.”

Write a one paragraph summary or abstract of the events. Include analytic descriptions.

Site/location:

Activity (explain in detail):

Participants (list names):

Length of Observation:

Description and photograph

Write a detailed narrative of what you observed. Document specific words, phrases, summaries of conversations, and insider language.

If you can or would like, include a photograph. Tag the photo.

Questions/Things to follow up with and sketch

This is the interpretive part of your notes. Please make sure you relate the field observations to larger issues discussed in the field school or in the required readings. List additional questions about people, places, or behaviors at the site for future investigation.

“Analysis of what you learned in the setting regarding your guiding question and other related points. This is how you will make links between the details … and the larger things you are learning about how culture works in this context. What themes can you begin to identify regarding your guiding question? What questions do you have to help focus your observation on subsequent visits? Can you begin to draw preliminary connections or potential conclusions based on what you learned?” [2]

Add a sketch of a detail that explains your observations.

Reflections

This includes your personal responses to fieldwork. “Reflection on what you learned of a personal nature. What was it like for you to be doing this research? What felt comfortable for you about being in this site and what felt uncomfortable? In what ways did you connect with informants, and in what ways didn’t you? While this is extremely important information, be especially careful to separate it from analysis.”

[1] http://www.gpgrieve.org/PDF/How_to_write_Field_Notes.pdf

Examples logo

With so many things going on in a research site, researchers and scientist need to keep up with the pace and try to jot down every data and observation they could get. Luckily, they have this tool, called a field note in pdf that helps them record and track every observation they made.

However, field note is not as easy as writing a thank-you note . One should have knowledge in a particular field, preferably in science related field. It is because a field note is a complex written document. It contains facts, data, numbers, and math or science terminology that is not easily understood.

Forest Field Note

forest field note

Size: 76 KB

Geological Field

geological field

Size: 71 KB

Engineering Note

engineering note

Size: 65 KB

Observation Field

observation field

Size: 59 KB

What Is a Field Note?

A field note refers to a note created by researchers and scientist in the course of qualitative field research statement . This note is a way for them to remember and record the behaviors, activities, observations, and events of a specific phenomenon that they are studying.

Field notes are intended to read as evidence to produce deeper understanding and meaning of the phenomenon, culture, or social situation that is being studied. Furthermore, field notes have two components: descriptive information or the factual data that is recorded and reflective information or the observer’s reflection about the study that is being conducted.

Want to know more about field notes? Check out these field note templates here.

How to Write Field Notes

A field note is very important and this should be written down quickly to avoid forgetting important details. To help researchers write a field note effectively and efficiently, they develop a list of what should be included in a blank note also:

  • Date, time, and place of observation.
  • Specific data, facts, and information on what happened on the site.
  • Observations using sensory. Sight, smell, sounds, texture, and taste.
  • Personal reflections of the observation.
  • The hypothesis and questions about your observations.
  • The summary of your overall research and observation.
  • Page numbers to keep your observation in order.

Survey Field Note

survey field note

Size: 198 KB

Interview Field

interview field

Size: 492 KB

Coding Field Note

coding field note

Size: 119 KB

Parking Field

parking field

Size: 16 KB

Ethnographic Note

ethnographic note

Size: 224 KB

Why Are Field Notes Important?

There are several reasons why free notes are important in researching and collecting data in an observation:

  • Field notes provide accurate observations. The data and facts you have written are based on your actual observation and not coming from an unreliable source.
  • Field notes organized the data you collected. Field notes are written in chronological order and according to specific prompts so that researchers and scientist will not lose track of the observation in Assessment plan they conducted.
  • Field notes are descriptive. The observation is written in a descriptive format so that their colleagues will able to easily understand and comprehend the data that is written by researchers and scientist.
  • Field notes also record personal insights, thoughts, and reflection. Not only facts, numbers, and data are written in a field note. The personal insights, thoughts, and reflection of the researchers and scientist are also included in a field note. This is to give an underlying and deeper meaning of the observation.
  • Field notes only focus on the research problem. This is to give more time in analyzing and finding a solution and action plan to a research problem that will be useful for future research.

Researchers and scientists also use SOAP note (Subjective, Objective, Assessment Plan) to properly back up their field notes.

qualitative research field notes template

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  1. A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research: Context and Conversation

    Abstract. Field notes are widely recommended in qualitative research as a means of documenting needed contextual information. With growing use of data sharing, secondary analysis, and ...

  2. Writing Field Notes

    Field notes are intended to be read by the researcher as evidence to produce meaning and an understanding of the culture, social situation, or phenomenon being studied. The notes may constitute the whole data collected for a research study [e.g., an observational project] or contribute to it, such as when field notes supplement conventional ...

  3. A template for writing fieldnotes

    A template for writing fieldnotes. lorenagibson Fieldwork August 14, 2013 2 Minutes. For my PhD I carried out ethnographic fieldwork in different locations: bastis (slums) in the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata (India), and urban and peri-urban settlements in the city of Lae (Papua New Guinea). I knew from earlier visits that these different ...

  4. A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research: Context and

    Historically, "scratch notes" or field notes have been a central component of qualitative research since the early 1900s, originating in the field of ethnographic anthropology (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 2011).Notable anthropologists, including Cushing, Boas, Malinowski, and Mead, developed a style for what are now considered field notes (Ottenberg, 1990).

  5. A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research: Context and

    A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research: Context and Conversation. Qual Health Res2018 Feb;28 (3):381-388. doi: 10.1177/1049732317697102. Epub 2017 Apr 5. 1 Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Field notes are widely recommended in qualitative research as a means of documenting needed contextual information.

  6. 10.4: Field Notes

    10.4: Field Notes. Page ID. Anonymous. LibreTexts. Learning Objectives. Define descriptive field notes. Cite the variety of ways that field researchers might take notes while in the field. Describe what should be noted when taking field notes. Field notes are your opportunity to write poorly and get away with it.

  7. A guide to field notes for qualitative research: Context and conversation

    Field notes are widely recommended in qualitative research as a means of documenting needed contextual information. With growing use of data sharing, secondary analysis, and metasynthesis, field notes ensure rich context persists beyond the original research team. However, while widely regarded as essential, there is not a guide to field note collection within the literature to guide researchers.

  8. Mastering Field Notes in Qualitative Research

    Field notes are an integral part of many types of research, especially within the realm of qualitative inquiry. Essentially, field notes are the researcher's written record of observations made, experiences had, and insights gleaned while in the field conducting research. Whereas qualitative interviewing seeks out perspectives and beliefs from ...

  9. PDF A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research

    Field notes situate qualitative studies within a larger societal and temporal context. In addi-tion, they provide nontextual or auditory information about interviews and focus groups, useful in ...

  10. PDF Learning Objectives Fieldnotes

    Fieldnotes are an integral form of data in a qualitative research project, particularly for projects that use observations as a data generation method. Fieldnotes are descriptive, reflective, and analytical. They are versatile, and learning to take good fieldnotes is a necessary skill in the qualitative researcher's arsenal.

  11. PDF CHAPTER 8. FIELD NOTES AND OTHER DATA

    125 CHAPTER 8. FIELD NOTES AND OTHER DATA Virtually all research involves documents, and most of these can be analyzed qualitatively. Although the focus in this book has been on primary documents, this chapter examines how to use many of these principles to work with secondary documents, including interviews, field notes from observations, and records.

  12. PDF Qualitative Research Methods

    Tips for Taking Field Notes 24 Suggested Readings 25 Case Study Samples 26 Participant Observation Steps 27 Module 3 — In-Depth Interviews 29 Overview of In-Depth Interviewing 29 ... We recommend that field staff read the Qualitative Research Methods Overview module, page 1, first, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the kind of ...

  13. Writing Field Notes and Using Them to Prompt Scholarly Writing

    In this editorial, my goal is 2-fold: First, I want to reflect and side with scholarly writers of all stripes and stages of the academic career in admitting that writing is hard, challenging, frustrating and that even seasoned ethnographers and other qualitative methods-based researchers face the same challenges that students, postdoctoral research fellows, and early-career scholars do ...

  14. A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research: Context and

    Field notes are widely recommended in qualitative research as a means of documenting needed contextual information. With growing use of data sharing, secondary analysis, and metasynthesis, field notes ensure rich context persists beyond the original research team.

  15. A Guide to Field Notes for Qualitative Research: Context and

    An overview of unstructured field observations as a qualitative research method for analyzing material surroundings and social interactions is presented and a practical approach to collecting and recording observational data through a "3 Cs" template of content, context, and concepts is detailed. Expand. 14. PDF.

  16. Structuring a qualitative findings section

    5). Anchoring Excerpts from Field Notes. Similarly, excerpts from field notes can be used to start your discussion of a finding. Again, the finding itself is used as the heading, and the excerpt from field notes supporting that finding comes directly after the heading, prior to the rest of the narrative discussion of the finding.

  17. Tips for observing and taking field notes in qualitative studies

    Once you have have fieldnotes, you must begin to make sense of these. Miles and Huberman (1994, pp. 51-53) provide guidance as to the kinds of questions that one might ask of fieldnotes, and present these in a "contact summary form" (for an updated version, see Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014, pp. pp. 125-126).

  18. How to Write Field Notes

    Field notes serve the following functions: First, they work as descriptions: you write them as notes and details of time, date, activities, settings, observations, behavior and conversations in the field. Field notes keep track of observations that you generally tend to forget over time. They also supplement your research data because field ...

  19. Field Note

    A field note refers to a note created by researchers and scientist in the course of qualitative field research statement. This note is a way for them to remember and record the behaviors, activities, observations, and events of a specific phenomenon that they are studying. Field notes are intended to read as evidence to produce deeper ...

  20. Field notes and memos

    Student Resources. Chapter 1: Introduction. Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives and Research Methodologies in Business. Chapter 3: Selecting and Planning Business Research Proposals and Projects. Chapter 4: Business Research Ethics.

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    For researchers doing qualitative research, interviews are a commonly used method. Data collected through interviews can be recorded through field notes, transcripts, or tape recordings. ... Therefore, the suggestion is that to enhance the quality of data management in qualitative studies, field notes, transcripts, and tape recordings should be ...

  22. In the field: notes on observation in qualitative research

    The importance of unstructured observation as a research method is discussed and critically the problems associated with both access and field notes are examined. BACKGROUND Observation is used in research in two ways - structured and unstructured. Which of these methods to choose depends on the research question but will be defined predominantly by the paradigm underlying each study.

  23. PDF Tips & Tools #20: Writing Analytic Memos for Qualitative Research

    to your colleagues. As you go through your data and jot down marginal notes (and code, depending where you may be in the process), every so often you should write analytical memos. How often you do this depends on your data. For instance, if you are conducting 20 key informant interviews of MUH landlords and managers in order to