Thread by @ChrisGeison

Just wrapped up two weeks of contextual inquiry, so I thought I’d share a few suggestions on conducting contextual inquiry/ethnographies/fieldwork:

/THREAD

Topics:
1) Safety
2) Etiquette
3) Logistics

IMO, the best resource on fieldwork is @sladner. If you want to know *how & why* to do fieldwork, read ‘Practical Ethnography’! I just want to share some tactical tips for researchers so the work goes smoothly.

Disclaimers:
-This is long, but it’s not exhaustive. Lemme know what I missed.
-I have blind spots. As a cis-het white guy born & raised in the US, I have more blind spots than most. If you see my blind spots, plz let me know so I don’t repeat the same mistake.

Intro: Fieldwork can be imminently enlightening, rich, fun, weird, and brings great stories. I wish our industry did more of it. It’s also expensive, logistically complex, & there are risks. Here’s some of what I’ve learned about making it go well:

1) SAFETY

-First & foremost, if for any reason you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, excuse yourself politely and Get Out Immediately. You have a right to a safe work environment, even when that work environment is someone’s home.

-Always use 2 researchers. You don’t know what environment you’re walking into. (It’s also *much better* for collecting data and debriefing.)

-Agree in advance on an excuse. Maybe you pull out your phone, look at it, and say, “Shoot, we just got called into an urgent meeting. You’ll receive the full compensation but we have to cut this session short.”

-Either researcher has full authority to end the session if they feel unsafe. If your research partner makes an excuse to end the session early, don’t question it in the moment and provide support after the moment.

-Send as diverse a team as you can.
2 men entering a female participant’s home can make her feel unsafe. *Many* women have experience with sexual assault.
2 white researchers entering a Black participant’s home and asking about their behavior can feel like colonialists or cops.

(If you can only send 2 white male researchers on a project, you’ve got bigger problems than how to do fieldwork—your company has a diversity problem, and that manifests itself in all kinds of ways that undermine your claim to human-centered work. Handle that shit.)

-Don’t schedule sessions after sunset if you can possibly avoid doing so.

-Arrange to have a colleague you check in with at the end of each session. Just a quick text or slack update: “S2 complete, heading to S3.”

-If you have any past trauma, explore that with a therapist and ensure you both agree that this project is appropriate for you. And schedule time post-project, maybe even during the project, to ensure you’re ok, and to avoid countertransferrence coloring your findings.

-If you’re sober, you may want to touch base with your sponsor or a sober friend before sessions and at the end of each day. Sessions can be stressful and I’ve been offered whiskey, weed, & wine by participants.

-If you have any severe allergies, make sure the recruiter knows. Also, bring allergy meds, an epi-pen, whatever you need to ensure you’ll be OK.

-Debrief after sessions and/or at the end of the day. Not just on the data collected, but on the experience. If you felt uncomfortable, share it so you can let it go or determine a course of action for the future. Lots more to say here, perhaps another time...

2) ETIQUETTE

-Behave as though you’ve been invited into the home of someone you admire. Respect their space and the customs of their home. Ask permission, express gratitude. Be an ideal guest.

-Establish rapport. Jr researchers have sometimes told me they don’t chitchat for fear of biasing participants. WTF?! Being “all business” biases people too. Stay neutral when discussing project objectives, avoid controversial topics, but find common ground and connect.

-Dress comfortably; formally enough that you show respect, informally enough that you don’t seem out of place in their home; nothing too fashion-forward or expensive.

-There is cultural variance (and potential safety issues) around accepting offers from your host (e.g., food, drink, gifts). I usually politely decline.

-Check your biases at the door. There’s so much to say here that I’m not even gonna get into it right now. I’ll just say this: that participant’s house doesn’t smell “weird,” it smells like their Home. Extrapolate that. Internalize that. Respect that.

3) LOGISTICS

-Schedule no more than 3 sessions per day. I don’t care if the locations are close or your stakeholders are pressuring you for more. 3 sessions maximum. Being fully present in someone else’s space is taxing.

-Leave enough time between each session to get to the next session—with traffic!—and with enough time to stop at a store with a bathroom. Avoid asking participants if you can use their bathroom.

-If you need internet access, bring your own wifi hotspot. Do not ask to use participants’ wifi! Also, have what you need available offline in case you can’t access cellular networks.

-Redundancy! (Not the British definition.) Have duplicates of batteries, recording equipment, files, etc. If your video camera goes down, you’ll be glad you had an additional webcam or an audio recording device running as backup.

-Wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off and socks that are clean & without holes. Many people take their shoes off when they enter their house. You must do the same.

-Bring a bottle of water. Bring only water. You do not want to spill coffee in a stranger’s home.

-Keep a change of clothes in the car or an extra shirt in your bag. Coffee happens.

Outro: I wanna give a big shoutout to #ResearchOps. They are always a critical component to a research project’s success, but never more so than when they’re your lifeline on fieldwork. Give them a little gift at the conclusion of the project to say thanks.