Techniques of fieldwork

Techniques of fieldwork

The techniques of fieldwork is – 

A.Observational Techniques:

Observation is one way to collect primary data. Observation is a purposeful, systematic & selective way of watching & listening to an interaction or phenomenon as it takes place.

v  Characteristics:

i.)             Most appropriate method of data collection.

ii.)            Observation is a systematic method.

iii.)          Observation is objective.

iv.)          Observation is quantitative.

The observation techniques of fieldwork are divided into two techniques, namely-

i.)    Participant Observation.

ii.)   Non-participant Observation.

B.Questionnaires Techniques:

Questionnaires are usually used for collecting data from the respondent through a series of questions.

                Questionnaires are not only statistical in nature but also descriptive in nature in regard to answer from the respondent. Descriptive answer is required for qualitative fieldwork.

               Based on the types of questions use, questionnaires are as follows-

                                                                                                i.         Structure Questionnaires,

                                                                                               ii.         Non-Structure Questionnaires,

                                                                                             iii.         Open Questionnaires,

                                                                                             iv.         Closed Questionnaires,

v  Advantages:

                                 i.         It is less expensive.

                                ii.         It offers greater anonymity.

v  Disadvantage:

                                 i.         Application is limited.

                                ii.         Response rate is low.

C.Interview Techniques:

Interview is a commonly used method of collecting information from people. In many walks of life we collect information through different forms of interaction with others.

      Interview can be conducted face-to-face or over the telephone. This process of asking questions can be either very flexible, where you as the interviewer have the freedom to think about & formulate questions as they come on your mind around the issue being investigated, or inflexible. Interview are classified into different categories according to this degree of flexibility, as-

(i).Unstructured Interview

(ii).Semi-Structured Interview

(iii).Structured Interview

v  Advantage of Interview:

i.)             The interview is more appropriate for complex situations.

ii.)            It is useful for collecting in-depth information.

iii.)          Information can be supplemented.

iv.)          Questions can be explained.

v.)            Interviewing has a wider application.

v  Disadvantage of Interview:

i.)             Interviewing is time consuming & expensive.

ii.)            The quality of data depends upon the quality of the interaction.

iii.)          The quality of data depends upon the quality of the interviewer.

iv.)          The quality of data may vary when many interviewers are used.

v.)            The researcher may introduce his/her bias.

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