Doing Field Research in a Different City

[wildviolet]

Hi all,

 

I can't believe I'm almost ABD! Just a few more hoops to jump through, including finishing up required coursework this year and passing comps.

 

I *might* have the amazing opportunity to do my field research (dissertation data collection) next year (or a few months out of the year at least) in a city that is far from my current location. My question is, does anyone have experience doing your research in a location that is different from your university, especially over a long time period? (Moving is so hard financially, I'm tempted to finish the rest of my time--2 years--in this other city).

 

I'm trying to think this through and what it would mean... could I continue communicating with my advisor effectively via Skype? Could I leave all the grad school friends I've made here? Could I do my analysis and write my dissertation from a distance? I think I could still get funding via the university since my RAs don't require that I necessarily have to be in a certain place (I would have to check this with my advisor and RA supervisors, though).

 

I mentioned this "crazy" idea to my advisor, who said that it might not sound so crazy after all.

 

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

[TakeruK]

This is not crazy at all and in fact, there is a visiting grad student in my department that is on their 2nd of 2 years here as an ABD student too. This student is completely paid and funded through a fellowship and an RAship from their home institution (luckily, the cost of living in the two places are similar otherwise it could be really sucky!).

 

You just have to meet minimum residency requirements for your PhD program and satisfy other requirements like TA requirements (perhaps you have completed all of them or your supervisor can "buy you out" of TA duties). At my school, the minimum residency requirement for a PhD degree is only 1 year in residence. I think most schools require 2-3 years. 

[wildviolet]

Thanks, TakeruK!

 

This is my third year here, so if there is a requirement, I've probably met it. I'm just worried about keeping up my relationships with important people, like my advisor. I'm going to have a talk with him next week and see what he thinks about this idea. Like I said, he doesn't think it's too crazy, but maybe he's thinking only for a few months and not for the rest of my program.

[TakeruK]

yeah, definitely a good idea to make sure you're all on the same page  

 

And if your school has cheap grad student housing options, it might be a good compromise to make it 9 months in new city and 3 months in old city. Or visit for 1 week out of every 2 months or so (if your supervisor is willing to fly you back and forth!)

[dr. t]

I would talk to people in other departments at your university and see how they handle it. For people who require access to specific archives (history, etc), it's fairly standard to try to take your fourth year at that archive. They would have a better sense of how your university handles things and would be a good source of reference for the various snafus and individual problems which may arise.

[fuzzylogician]

I suppose this may depend on the person but I can't imagine doing my dissertation research without the support of my professors and (as importantly!) my colleagues. Writing is a lonely process, and not having the opportunity to commiserate, get advice, or get support from others who know what you are going through, would be very hard. I did some writing in groups, I definitely talked a lot to friends about how we all were doing, and I think getting feedback and advice from my professors was much easier than it would have been had I been away. 

 

In your new city, would there be any kind of support system for you? Maybe people at a local university that you could get in touch with? I think that kind of arrangement where you have local people to talk to would help a lot. Otherwise, I think it's possible to be away from your advisors and be successful, but I do think there may be more pitfalls, and it may take you longer to recognize them. I think that setting up ways to stay in touch and get feedback from your advisors, either through occasional visits or through skype meetings is important.

[wildviolet]

Yeah, I'm worried about keeping up communication with my advisor and support system, although my advisor is very used to working with people long-distance over Skype, etc. There is a nice local university where I could probably get together with other dissertators, although I wonder about being a newcomer and having to establish relationships so late in the game. That said, I'm pretty much on my own here, and I could probably keep up my current support network long-distance, even if it's just a few emails.

 

Although I know some people say, it's just a dissertation, and the best dissertation is a done dissertation... I still feel that I want to do the best I can (you know, for best dissertation awards and things like that). I actually have a few choices of where to do my field work, but I feel this particular city would be best for my research questions. However, as I investigate housing costs, I'm skeptical that I will be able to live in this city compared to my current city. The rent there is about $100 more than here (plus, I'd be going from a low-crime area to an average-crime area), although I think food costs would be a little lower. My other option is... maybe I just "visit" to collect data (but that would involve travel costs, etc.) that I'm not sure my advisor would pay for unless it was also directly related to data he wants to collect also. I keep going back and forth between comfort and convenience (stay here, get dissertation done close to advisor and friends) and discomfort (moving, long-distance dissertation writing). I try to weigh the pros and cons, but if money were not an issue, I think I'd move there in a heartbeat.

[TakeruK]

fuzzy brings up a good point. I should say that the visiting grad student that is here for 2 years is here to collaborate with a professor that is here. The visitor has an office like any other grad student and otherwise acts as if they were an enrolled student. The only difference is the behind-the-scenes/on-paper stuff. Our school is very nice to visiting students and allows them access to almost all student things (e.g. the gym) for just a small fee. Most people don't even know that the visitor is not actually a student here!

 

I probably would not want to go elsewhere for the writing phase unless I was officially joining another department as a visiting student (i.e. I would not want to just be working on my own, unconnected with any other academics/seminars/etc.) But that's just my personal preference!

[wildviolet]

Thanks--that's a good point that I will keep in mind. Ultimately, it's also up to my advisor and what he thinks is best, too.

[as72]

Hey, just a voice of encouragement! We in anthropology often spend a minimum of 10 months away from our home department collecting data in the field, and obviously not always in the U.S. By the time I finish with this phase of things, I'll have been living two continents away for nearly 2 years. Technology really makes it a whole different ball game. My advisor and I email very regularly, we Skype when needed, and collaborate on revisions for various things. I have a whole different support network here in the field, which has its own benefits. There is something to be said for focusing on your work and dissertation but not becoming embroiled in it to the point that you forget life outside your PhD program exists. It can be very grounding to be in a different environment and actually, for me personally, having this taste outside of the daily life of my department has been motivating me to get the dissertation finished because I can't wait to find an exciting job (in academia or outside). I think it's highly personal and you have to be honest with yourself about how much of a self-starter you are. Do you need someone in your department to be telling you what to do all the time? Do you like doing things in groups? Or is weekly Skyping with your home department friends enough to encourage and support you? It definitely depends on the responsiveness of your advisor, also. If you think doing this fieldwork would enhance your dissertation then you definitely have to go for it!

[victorydance]

Have you looked at applying to dissertation fellowships? There are tonnes of internal and external awards that would provide funding for fieldwork. 

 

In my field, ABD's are expected to do approximately 1 year of fieldwork in foreign countries. If they can make it happen, so can you. 

[fuzzylogician]

In my field, ABD's are expected to do approximately 1 year of fieldwork in foreign countries. If they can make it happen, so can you. 

There is a big difference between fields where it's expected for students to do research away from the department and ones where it's not. If it's the norm, departments will be set up to deal with the situation and there would be provisions in place for dealing with students who are away; if not, there may be kinks to work out and they may be bigger or smaller depending on luck and the circumstances. This is not to say it's impossible, it's clearly not, but it's harder to do if it's unusual and people don't really have experience with it. 

[rising_star]

So, my department is split between people who go far away for fieldwork and writing and those who don't. I was in the former group. What did I do? I stayed in touch with people via phone and Skype so that I felt connected. I went to conferences. I applied for and received funding for my work and then kept in touch with others with that funding (a different kind of networking). 

 

wildviolet, if you have the opportunity and it would be good for your research, you should at least try to do it. Yes, moving sucks. But, realistically, you'll have to move at the end of your PhD anyway. In terms of logistics, moving for a full year can sometimes be easier due to leases and whatnot. Also, when you get into the full year territory then dissertation support funding (both for research and/or for writing up) becomes available. There's a wiki page for Dissertation Fellowships that you can check out if you're interested in ideas of what might be possible. Pursuing one of these might give you more funding, make the move easier, and also not leave you dependent on your advisor for funding. Good luck! If there's anything specific you want to know, send me a PM.

[victorydance]

There is a big difference between fields where it's expected for students to do research away from the department and ones where it's not. If it's the norm, departments will be set up to deal with the situation and there would be provisions in place for dealing with students who are away; if not, there may be kinks to work out and they may be bigger or smaller depending on luck and the circumstances. This is not to say it's impossible, it's clearly not, but it's harder to do if it's unusual and people don't really have experience with it. 

 

True enough. But having an adviser on board already makes it a lot easier.  

[wildviolet]

Thanks, everyone!

 

Update: I spoke more with my advisor about this, and he's all for it. He's thinking not next year but perhaps the year after because he's going to need a graduate student out there anyway to help collect data for his project. I could either use this data or collect my own, depending on my research question. Actually, in the work that we do, we can look at data from many different angles and get several papers out of one data set.

 

My gut feeling now is that I don't want to move yet--I'm too comfortable here, and logistically it's too much time/effort to think about moving and setting up in a new place. I still need to finish up coursework and comprehensive exams next semester. But, in 1.5 years? I think I can do it. My advisor does recognize that this other city is an "ideal" research site.

 

As far as funding, I think I could still have my RAs from my home university (through my advisor's grants). But, I do also have some competitive national dissertation fellowships in mind, like Spencer and American Educational Research Association (for those of you in education). Another possibility for funding that one of my friends brought up is part-time work with the new city's school district to help with the higher cost-of-living in the new city.

 

It's not uncommon for people in my department/field to do their dissertation work away from the university. In fact, I hardly ever see fourth or fifth year and beyond students unless they're in the building for meetings (and even then most of our meetings are combined in-person plus online/conference call).