The Stages of Field Work
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Stage 1- Adjustment.
· Coping w/ culture shock and adjusting to the surrounding environment, and in some cases the idea of not being welcome/being regarded as stupid or inferior.
· Being cautious w/ inquiries and people & slowly establishing contacts.
· Learning the language, how to manage on your own, how to schedule your activities.

Stage 2- Involvement
· Continuing with language acquisition.
· Collecting data relevant to research hypothesis.
· Strengthening friendships and contacts.
(A short break from the field often follows)

Stage 3- Achievement
· Strengthening ties w/ community
· Widening range of topics, becoming more ambitious
· Reflecting on reflexive nature of fieldwork (reflexive = feedback process).

Problems of ethnographers in an alien society:
Ethnocentrism
Informants
Language
Gender
Hypotheses
Practicalities
Culture shock
Recording information
Acceptance

Other Notes in this Category

1. Field Work Case Studies
2. Fieldwork and Research
3. Participant Observation
4. The Stages of Field Work

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