Hello All

I would like to hear about your experiences with planning/carrying out fieldwork. I have to travel abroad and do some interviews and I can't seem to get past the planning stages. Booking the flights seems very scary!! Without wanting to be too 'doom and gloom' (you all already had to deal with me being very down a few months ago!!) I'm getting very anxious. I want to want to go (if you know what I mean!) but when it comes down to it, I really don't want to go half way across the world, by myself, to a place where I don't speak the language, to interview people I've never met. I would have to go for a month I think. Is this all very silly of me? I know I should be thrilled by the prospect of travel but I'm simply not!

So, I thought that if I could hear some of your fieldwork experiences it might perk me up and give me the confidence to just do it....maybe....:-)

I do my fieldwork in the UK so not quite the same but I was very apprehensive.  I was nervous about recruiting as mine involves face to face recruiting and I thought I'd struggle with rejection. In actual fact, it's fine.  I like talking to people and I've been very lucky in that my non-participant rates have been very low indeed.

I was also nervous of doing interviews and focus groups with "elite" participants, i.e., people in positions of power. But, I've absolutely loved it.  I came into research because I enjoy trying to understand the way other people understand the world so this data collection stage was just wonderful! And people are so grateful to be able to tell their stories.

It is scary but once you've thrown yourself into it it's really very rewarding.

Good luck!

A

Did two lots of fieldwork in two different countries abroad and then did my final case in the UK - it's fantastic! It was much the best bit of my PhD. It IS intimidating and I had so many worries about getting interviews, coping etc but I found if I really tried to plan everything that calmed me down. I also made a list of touristy things to do in my downtime - almost as if I was planning for a holiday and that made me feel a lot better. Booking accommodation was the most important bit pyschologically for me - once I knew I had a bed to sleep in and so a base, I felt I could cope.

But honestly, it was when my PhD really came together, suddenly all the dry theoretical stuff came to life in the real situations people were outlining (my theoretical framework went out of the window 2 weeks in but the replacement was so much better) and I really felt that I somehow gained mastery of the materiel and became much more confident about the whole project. Some of the people I met I'm still friends with and I had a really fun time too. Honestly, you'll be fine!

I would have LOVED to do fieldwork abroad! I did all mine in the UK within one county, which happens to be the same county I live in. While I loved doing the interviews and focus groups and so on, doing it somewhere new would have made it so much more exciting! Quite a few of my PhD buddies went jetting off to far reaching corners of the globe, and I couldn't help but feel jealous!

Fairycakes, embrace the fact that your memories of doing a PhD could potentially be some of the best memories you have because you were able to travel! Go for it, and enjoy it. It may be scary at times, but I'm certain you won't regret it!

Hi Fairycakes

I agree with the others - travel is the best bit! I had to travel overseas for a couple of weeks to do interviews, and was really nervous. I had never been overseas by myself, and had only been overseas once before with my partner. So I was terrified! Like others have said, once you have the accommodation booked, at least you have a safe place and that will make you feel ok. You need to work out what it is that's making you anxious, then how to deal with it. For me this was being lost, alone, in a strange country. So beforehand, I made sure I had really good maps of the areas I'd be working/travelling in, downloaded from google maps; I made sure I had taxi numbers and that my phone would work overseas. I had a number of a contact in the country, in case anything did go wrong. So, work out what worries you the most, then take steps to deal with it.

I got to my place, halfway around the world, and was so wired and anxious! I'd organised a car service to pick me up from the airport, as the thought of even negotiating for a taxi was too much at that point. Then I got there, clung to my maps, did the interviews, and slowly started to relax. By the end of my time I was wandering around, being a tourist, travelling and having a great time!! This has been the best thing in my PhD by far. Not only was the field work good, but this gave me so much confidence and after doing that, I feel that I could do anything. It really changed my life and I learnt a lot about myself.

So, work out what worries you, be really prepared, do it, and start to enjoy!

Hi Fairycakes,

I'm an ecologist so fieldwork is a pretty integral part of my research. Recently, I have been to Africa on my own to work in the Namib desert, and to the US this summer to work in New England. Travelling by yourself anywhere is pretty scary, particularly if you don't have a lot of experience in it, and I wouldn't worry by the feeling that you want to go on a broad level, but when it comes down to it you are slightly dreading it. I think it is perfectly normal.

For starters, I would make sure you plan it to within an inch, because it is very easy to panic yourself if you encounter something small that you weren't expecting. I had folders and folders of every conceivable document I could need for all trips waaay in advance, and had booked everything I needed from cars to accommodation to transfers, because the last thing you need is to be stuck somewhere. Also, I tended to use a travel agent to sort things out, (I have links with a nice young man at Trailfinders now!) because they tend to let you know if there may be problems, and are always on hand if something goes wrong to call and whimper at. It can work out cheaper or just as cheap as finding things yourself on the internet, and you have a lot more peace of mind.

You say you are going to do interviews, but don't speak the language. Are you going to have someone else out there with you, or interviewing people who do speak the language? Learning even a little bit would really help things along; I would do a crash course in it, because it is much more isolating to be left out of conversations. Use it as an opportunity to pick up the basics, languages always come in handy in the end.

Also, the best thing I can suggest is to find someone else out there to meet. I stayed in a backpackers place in Africa and it was the best decision, because people kept on coming through that I could chat to, and hear about their experiences etc. A hotel may be nicer, but you may find yourself very alone and you can get down very quickly. Alternatively, stay in the university or with someone you know etc. There is no need to be completely alone all the time, even if you need to do the work alone. Better yet, find a research assistant!

Good luck, you will have a lot of fun in the end, I promise...

Hi Fairycakes, I had to go to New Zealand for a few weeks for some PhD work and i was so so nervous about going by myself!  I swear, the day before if you'd said to me that I didn't have to go I would have cried with relief! Totally ridiculous now though!  I went by myself, quite literally circumnavigated the globe for the flights and I had a great time. I was going to be in 2 places and I stayed in hostels in both which was great as I could meet other people and it wasn't anywhere near as lonely as I though it would be.  I'm not very good mentally when left alone for too long but meeting other people who were backpacking, or travelling on their own etc was just great. It also boosted my confidence no end, as other people have said, when you come back you'll be busting to get stuck in and find new places to go!  It's a bit difficult when you don't speak the language but if you get a handy guide book that give you an indication of the culture and where are good places to stay, eat etc that is a real help. Also learning a few phrases or just listening to the language in advance might help, at least you'll have an ear for it when you get there.
Good luck with it, doing fieldwork is nervewracking enough without throwing a complete new experience in the mix too, but when you do it you'll find you're enjoying it much more than you ever thought you would! (up)