Module 3: Local Fieldwork

Module 3: Local Fieldwork

Goals: 

1. Conduct first-hand, primary research

2. Generate and answer research question(s)

3. Analyze research methodology and responses 

4. Situate research within current research and community concerns

5. Evaluate your research (p. 321)

Have you ever been a part of research? Have you ever thought of some possible nuances of doing research locally? If yes, wonderful, and if not, we will discuss them in brief in this module. In simple terms re-search literally means 'searching again'. Thus, the important question in research is what to search first and what to search again. There are at least two searches in research. The first is a search for a topic, a problem, an issue, an idea, a concept, etc. In the context of our course, you can search for one of the social issues or problems that matter to you. Nevertheless, in this course, you are not expected to conduct 'big' research; you will conduct small research locally, in your community or agency. After you search a topic or issue of your interest, you will explore more on it, which is the second search. You are actually carrying out your research in your second phase of searching. For example, if you feel more compelled to study the topic of 'mental health', this is your first search, that is asocial problem, mental health issue. There exist many social issues or problems, and you searched 'mental health' out of many. What is a re-search, then? When you conduct a study that tries to find the 'causes' of mental health or possible 'consequences' of mental health problems, or 'role of family' in mental health or 'racial, economic, gender issues' within mental health or 'possible solutions' of mental health problems, you are re-searching; you are doing 'research'. However, research is systematic as well as scientific. It is to be supported with data, evidence, and proof.  Therefore, one of the challenges of doing research is collecting data, analyzing and interpreting them systematically. In this course, you will conduct small research in the form of a fieldwork, that is a research conducted in a specific field, which is your local community, or your agency. You will collect data in your community or agency.  UTEP FYCH reads:

Local Fieldwork: Students will identify a social, political, or ethical issue related to their local community or partnering agency.  [this is your first search]. As part of this assignment, students will generate research questions pertaining to the topic and their inquiry. Local research may include field observations, consulting local and primary sources, collecting surveys, and conducting interviews. [this is your second search, hence 'research'] (p. 321).

Now, in this module, it is the time for you to conduct primary research. Primary research is a study where a researcher collects fresh data and generates findings by analyzing and interpreting them systematically. The data is collected by following specific methods such as interviews, surveys, observations, relevant to the research. Thus, it is an “opportunity to conduct scientific and narrative research in a local setting through the process of first-hand observation (p. 322). Therefore, such research is known as “first-hand primary research” (p. 322). During the entire research process, there are some practical things to be incorporated for conducting ethical and responsible research:

i.               “if you choose to conduct interviews, be sure to write your questions in advance and prepare to take notes or ask permission to record. Your instructor can guide you in how to do ethical interviews” (p. 323).

ii.              “field work are surveys that ask questions of a large pool of respondents” (p. 323).

iii.            “Another important component of field work is the requirement of the researcher to analyze the research and report honestly” (p. 324).

Hence, doing research requires a systematic as well as scientific way of building and distributing knowledge. After you conduct research and generate findings, your research contributes to the knowledge and some other scholars will start their research from the point you have left. Therefore, deviations, hasty generalizations, biased interpretations, inadequate information, etc. lead to faulty conclusions and biased findings that may misinform the audience or other scholars who want to cite your research. Hence, ethical and responsible research is always demanded, awarded, and appreciated.

Click the link and practice quiz.

Click: Purna's Quiz  

Match  the Following: In-class Activity

Research Process for RWS 1302 (Module 3) Simplified: This is one possible process out of many.

Classwork: Exploration Activity

1. Do some googling and find the difference between ''Qualitative Research' and 'Quantitative Research'.

2. Then, discuss what type of research you are going to carry out in this module, and why.

Module 3: How Can We Organize and Structure the Research Essay?

There are many ways to write a research essay or research report. For this module, you can tentatively follow the following structure.

1.    Introduction

This is a background information section, you can introduce your agency, and the issue/problem you are exploring. Write your research question (s). You can cite some sources for background, but you don’t have to.

2.    Research Method(s)

In this section, mention your data collection method (interview, survey, observation, etc.). After deciding your method, explain why you chose a particular research method. In other words, write how your chosen method best fits your study or research. Don’t forget to share your research process: the number of research participants, contact channels, and recruitment process. Share where and how you conducted interviews or surveys. Share your interview or survey questions. If you are doing field observation, talk about the date, time (duration), location, the variable to be observed, etc. In short, discuss the entire data collection process; be as detailed as possible.

3.    Data Analysis and Interpretation

This is the main section of your research. Here, you are supposed to share the participants’ perspectives and experiences or your field observations, BUT REMEMBER that your job is not just to share what your participants answered to each of your interview questions or what you found during observation. The most important part is to analyze and interpret the data you collected.

For example, if one of the participants says, “Hunger is one of the most bitter experiences in my life,” your job is not just to report “One of the participants revealed that hunger was one of the most bitter experiences in their life.” Instead, you need to analyze and interpret it. For example, you can report it as follows:

The lived experience of hunger, shared by one of the participants, suggests that food scarcity still exists and negatively affects people and their identities. The term “most bitter experiences” implies that hunger is the lived experience or material reality in El Paso.

You are also encouraged to quote some words or answers from the participants while analyzing and interpreting, but your analysis is required to be more than what you quote from the participants. Follow the same analysis and interpretation methods throughout this section.

In case of observations, you may highlight what you found adding implications of the observations or findings. Follow the same process.

4.    Discussion

In this section, you are expected to share your experiences and observations with your data (participants' responses). Think of answering the following questions:

a.     Did participants' responses answer your research question or were you able to find the answer to your research question? If yes, what is the answer to your research question? If not, did you find anything missing in your research plan? Elaborate on it.

b.    Did you find something you did not expect in your data? If yes, how do you understand it?

c.     Reflect on your experience as a researcher: What did you learn about the process of conducting first-hand or primary research?

5.    Conclusion and Implication

In this section, summarize your entire research process and your research results or findings. Then, write where and for what purposes this research can be used. You can describe how your research contributes to your community/agency as well as other communities. You can also discuss how your research can further be expanded in the future by yourself or by other researchers.

Documentation Style:

Font Style: Times New Roman

Font Size: 12

Citation Style: APA or MLA format (see Links Uploaded on Blackboard); APA format requires a title page, while MLA format requires a first-page heading.