Failing in the Field: What We Can Learn When Field Research Goes Wrong, edited by DeanKarlan and JacobAppel. Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA, 2018, 146 pages, ISBN 9780691183138.

Abstract

‘Failing in the Field: What We Can Learn When Field Research Goes Wrong’ begins with a tantalising premise: ‘…we will all fail here or there, despite our best efforts. Sometimes we just cannot do better. Rather than double down, we may need to learn and move on.’ Accepting our failures and learning to move on is a principle most researchers, fieldwork based or not, can relate to. In this book, Karlan and Appel charmingly share a series of experienced failures and outline the underlying factors which drove them. The objective of learning from these failures motivates the book; the goal is not just to highlight (or find an outlet for otherwise unpublishable) research failures, but to identify what we can learn from them, by sharing stories that otherwise often go untold. David McKenzie, in a review on the World Bank Development Impact Blog,1 concisely identifies a typology built by Karlan and Appel. The typology classifies five primary errors which are frequently made in fieldwork. The authors devote a chapter to each of these errors. They return to them in the subsequent six chapters, which describe specific case studies of experiments which did not succeed (‘failures’). In each case, the authors explore the errors which caused the failure. Each of the five primary errors conveys a different message about the challenges and potential pitfalls of fieldwork. These include the following: These five errors form a helpful framework which underlies the lessons learned in the case studies of failed experiments explored. The subsequent case study chapters are well presented, with accessibility and details that make them interesting for new graduate students and experienced experimenters alike. Although each failed study is unique, there are systematic similarities. From these case studies, a series of lessons emerge: The format of the book, typology followed by cases, makes the book useful for readers. This format is the real value-added of the book; demonstrating how even a well-planned, well-designed study can fall subject to the pitfalls and sources of failure. The book is written in such a way that readers can learn and design future work to avoid these troubles. The book is appropriate for researchers across a spectrum of experience. The typology helps a more experienced researcher commiserate and map their own project challenges or failures, so that they can design experiments and avoid pitfalls down the line. The typology and examples provide ample material for first-timers looking to learn before they venture into the field. Although the target audience is students and young researchers, this book may be helpful for anyone engaging in field or survey work, in developing or developed nations. ‘Failing in the Field’ is a delightful read. It's short, at only 146 pages, making it a quick read. Beyond the content, the goal of the book provides a metaphorical breath of fresh air in an environment where we often suffer our failures in silence (particularly if they're costly and/or embarrassing). It is refreshing to read and understand that we are not alone in the challenges we face – and that even the best trials and best researchers sometimes have projects which end in failure. One element was missing though, despite the book's merits; a reflection on what to do with our own failed experiment, trial, or survey. Without a JPAL, NBER or similarly pedigreed affiliation, researchers (such as myself) are unlikely to receive a book deal to publish our own failed experiments or even to get through the peer-review process to see the failure in print anywhere. So what should we do? The authors recommend submitting our failures to a blog, to be hosted on the World Bank Development Impact Blog. However, recent searches indicate that the blog is now defunct.2This suggests that the appetite for failures may be lower than anticipated, or that the conversation addressing failure has not yet expanded such that we are all willing to fess up. Perhaps, the starting point for that is with this book? So let's read and start talking about our failures.