Have fun and live your field experience with integrity. Maybe someday this will develop into your Ph.D. Dissertation. It is a well known "scientific" legend that we can remain "objective" in doing science and research; let me know how this works out for you.
In your final presentation:
Create a setting map that includes the visible setting details and the location of the main people in the situation; we need to see this or a picture if possible.
• Summarize the main features of the setting, costumes, non-verbal behaviors exchanges.
• Analyze your experience with ethnographic detail. Ask analytic questions, Such as "What are the most powerful situational influences? Support your analysis with specific examples from your observations.
• Finally, reflect on what you learned about this group of people, this situation and yourself.
Your field experiences will be judged by the following criteria-
• Ability to objectively report important setting details and social behaviors
• Ability to draw appropriate connections with anthropological/ethnographic perspectives.
• Ability to self-reflect on power of situations
• Clarity of written and verbal expression
• Mechanics & format (notes & setting map attached; grammar; organization, etc.)
• Use of Theory
Your notes and methods section of the field experience is due in class at 1:00 p.m. on the day of your oral presentation. Note the policy for papers and assignments on the syllabus. It is always a good idea to let someone proofread a draft of your paper/listen to your presentation.
Video is limited to 2 segments and must be original. Each film segment is limited to 3 minutes.
Performance: To help your classmates learn more about what you observed, you will give a 20 minute presentation on the day assigned. Explain your methods at the beginning of your presentation.
Detail is important in ethnography. Who did what? Not necessarily why because you don't know why. What happened? How did it happen? What were the preceding circumstances? What was the setting? What happened over the course of time? How did your impressions evolve? What did you learn? Have you changed any of your perceptions? If so, explain.
The following are guidelines for your mini field study, which you will present orally with visual aids. Written documentation of field notes, interviews, methods and dates and time in the field must be submitted at the time of your final presentation.
You will observe and analyze a real-life situation/ people group. You have a choice whether to be an active participant or passive observer of your field study situation. This project requires keen observation and recording of situational factors. Take note of the methods used by Turnbull and the guidelines for doing field work/ ethnography in the handouts provided.
Wherever possible record events/ situations, as they happen, Plain and simple: this is what I saw, this is what I heard. Look for patterns, rituals, verbal, non verbal, situational factors and everything else that an ethnographer looks for/at.
Choose a specific site or people group to study. This is not an assignment about reflecting on your memory of some situation, but about keenly observing (with some insight) the specific Troup.
Take very detailed field notes. Once your setting has been approved by me, be present at the site or among your study group as often as you can. If you choose to be a passive/unobtrusive observer rather than a participant observer, you are not required to tell blatant lies about your reason for being there. Behave as naturally as you can, without exposing the reason for being there. If you choose to be a participant observer, you can do so without revealing your purpose, if you choose to reveal your field work role, be cognizant that the behaviors may alter when you exit the situation, immediately write detailed notes about the settings (e g location, number of people present, lighting, background noise, clothes, artifacts), physical and demographic features, verbal exchanges and non-verbal behaviors (e.g., personal space, territoriality, gestures, eye contact, tone of voice). Conduct interviews, if these will expand the study. You will need to turn in these notes with your presentation.
Ethics - Please read the methods chapter very carefully. Follow the simple rule of field work: when a doubt, don't. If something feels uncomfortable, don't do it. Protect yourself from liability ' potentially uncomfortable situations. Do not carry tape recorders. Only record yourself, preferably after the observation. Do not film anyone without their permission. You may lies, public property or events, but not specific people - remember avoid liability at all costs. Do not deliberately expose yourself to places where there is questionable or illegal activity. Under no circumstances, should you share the information you gather in the field with outsiders, if that information is considered sensitive. Be sensitive to other people's privacy, interpersonal space, cultural and belief systems. Under no circumstances, should you interview anyone under the age of twenty one, even with the permission of parents.