berlino Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 Though I am not yet in a graduate program, I was fortunate enough to be awarded a Fulbright research grant to spend the next year abroad. As I prepare, I am thinking about what I may need to bring. Do people have suggestions about items or tools that may be useful to bring for conducting field research? This could be utterly mundane ("don't forget paperclips!") or specific brands of technological tools. The research will primarily be conducted through interviews, ethnography, and archival work. So far, I have thought of a mobile scanner, an external hard drive for backing up files, and a flash drive. What else should I be considering?
rising_star Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 A lot depends on where you're going and how easy it will be to buy supplies there.
eco_env Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 I found plastic cups, petri dishes, wooden sticks, super glue, vinegar, oil, a hula hoop, camera, little bags, and a trowel to be helpful tools. I'll let you try to figure out what I do with that stuff .
itaal Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 Where you're going makes a big difference. I do field work on an indigenous language of Taiwan, but it only takes me 2 hours to drive to my consultant's house from home. And even though the tribe's in a mountain, it's all very modern there. I only need to bring things you would have for a short trip. As for the tools, I'm sure there's a few things, e.g. archiving programs, that field workers in your field typically use (e.g. Toolbox and LexiquePro for linguists). These tools are very helpful. They can make the whole process more systematic and efficient, so you might want to consult more experienced researchers in your field about this. I also have a digital recorder and a microphone like this (http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-145037-ME-51S-Stereo-Microphone/dp/B000BTAH62) to enhance the recording quality. And I always bring an external hard drive so I can back up the recordings everyday.
IRdreams Posted July 9, 2011 Posted July 9, 2011 Don't forget to bring a towel. On a more serious note, planning a filing system and a "to get" list before heading into the field can be one of the most beneficial pre-expedition things to do.
fuzzylogician Posted July 9, 2011 Posted July 9, 2011 Where are you be going? Maybe this old thread could be useful:
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