A must-read guide to conducting qualitative field research in the social sciences Doing Field Projects: Methods and Practice for Social and Anthropological Research delivers a thorough and insightful introduction to qualitative field methods in the social sciences. Ideal for undergraduate students just starting out in fields like anthropology, sociology, and related subjects, the book offers readers twenty instructive projects. Each project is well-suited as a standalone exercise, or several may be combined as a series of field work assignments. From interview techniques to participant observation, kinship analysis, spatial mapping, photo and video documentation, and auto-ethnography, Doing Field Projects covers each critical area of qualitative fieldwork students are likely to encounter. Every project also contains discussions of how to execute the research, avoid common problems and mistakes, and present the uncovered data in several different formats. This important resource also offers students: A thorough introduction to fieldwork, including the history of fieldwork methods, the shift from colonial to post-colonial anthropology, and discussion of fieldwork vs. ethnography Comprehensive explorations of getting started with fieldwork, including necessary equipment, research design, data presentation, and journal keeping Practical discussions of the ethics of fieldwork, including the "Do No Harm" principle, institutional approval, openness, and anonymity In-depth examinations of autoethnography, proxemics, mapping, recorded interviews, participant observation, and engaged anthropology The opportunity to conduct a complete fieldwork course using digital and online resources only Supporting learning material for each chapter, including a brief outline of Learning Goals and a paragraph summarizing the contents Doing Field Projects: Methods and Practice for Social and Anthropological Research is the perfect guide for undergraduate students taking courses and programs in which qualitative field methods are central to the field, like anthropology and sociology.

A must-read guide to conducting qualitative field research in the social sciences Doing Field Projects: Methods and Practice for Social and Anthropological Research delivers a thorough and insightful introduction to qualitative field methods in the social sciences. Ideal for undergraduate students just starting out in fields like anthropology, sociology, and related subjects, the book offers readers twenty instructive projects. Each project is well-suited as a standalone exercise, or several may be combined as a series of field work assignments. From interview techniques to participant observation, kinship analysis, spatial mapping, photo and video documentation, and auto-ethnography, Doing Field Projects covers each critical area of qualitative fieldwork students are likely to encounter. Every project also contains discussions of how to execute the research, avoid common problems and mistakes, and present the uncovered data in several different formats. This important resource also offers students: A thorough introduction to fieldwork, including the history of fieldwork methods, the shift from colonial to post-colonial anthropology, and discussion of fieldwork vs. ethnography Comprehensive explorations of getting started with fieldwork, including necessary equipment, research design, data presentation, and journal keeping Practical discussions of the ethics of fieldwork, including the "Do No Harm" principle, institutional approval, openness, and anonymity In-depth examinations of autoethnography, proxemics, mapping, recorded interviews, participant observation, and engaged anthropology The opportunity to conduct a complete fieldwork course using digital and online resources only Supporting learning material for each chapter, including a brief outline of Learning Goals and a paragraph summarizing the contents Doing Field Projects: Methods and Practice for Social and Anthropological Research is the perfect guide for undergraduate students taking courses and programs in which qualitative field methods are central to the field, like anthropology and sociology.

This text helps students learn how to, & get a feel for being an anthropologist.

As a practical bridge between the classroom and the field, this down-to-earth, hands-on collection offers an impressive range of insightful, focused vignettes about cultural research that will jumpstart students thinking about the practice of anthropology. Reflecting the contributions of nearly two dozen practicing social scientists, each clearly written chapter of Doing Cultural Anthropology covers the fundamentals of a different data-collection technique. Following an overview of a particular ethnographic method, each author describes his or her own research project and shows how that technique is utilized. Learning-by-doing remains the thrust of the latest edition, which includes two new chapters plus significant revisions to five of the original contributions. Each chapter ends with suggestions for student projects that promote hands-on exposure to what ethnographers actually do. Readers are given just enough information to appreciate the technique and to practice it for themselves.

EDUCATION / Research

A revealing look at the common causes of failures in randomized control experiments during field reseach—and how to avoid them All across the social sciences, from development economics to political science departments, researchers are going into the field to collect data and learn about the world. While much has been gained from the successes of randomized controlled trials, stories of failed projects often do not get told. In Failing in the Field, Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel delve into the common causes of failure in field research, so that researchers might avoid similar pitfalls in future work. Drawing on the experiences of top social scientists working in developing countries, this book delves into failed projects and helps guide practitioners as they embark on their research. From experimental design and implementation to analysis and partnership agreements, Karlan and Appel show that there are important lessons to be learned from failures at every stage. They describe five common categories of failures, review six case studies in detail, and conclude with some reflections on best (and worst) practices for designing and running field projects, with an emphasis on randomized controlled trials. There is much to be gained from investigating what has previously not worked, from misunderstandings by staff to errors in data collection. Cracking open the taboo subject of the stumbles that can take place in the implementation of research studies, Failing in the Field is a valuable "how-not-to" handbook for conducting fieldwork and running randomized controlled trials in development settings.