Fieldwork Experience Research Articles

Community-Based Digital Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities for LIS Education

The integration of experiential learning with community service is a prevalent pedagogical approach in Library and Information Science (LIS) education, particularly in courses like digital collections and fieldwork experiences. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities associated with community-based digitization projects within an LIS program, drawing upon anecdotal evidence from various instances of faculty and student involvement. Through reflective analysis, the author identifies key themes such as community needs and barriers, the practicality of hands-on learning, and the complexity of collaboration. The paper proposes a framework for potential interinstitutional and cross-community collaboration, aiming to bridge the gap between LIS education and practical applications. By delineating essential resources and potential avenues for support, the framework seeks to facilitate the sustainability and success of community-based digital initiatives. However, uncertainties regarding funding accessibility and institutional policies pose significant challenges, highlighting the need for ongoing research and collaboration in this field.

Disability and postsecondary fieldwork experiences in the natural sciences: A systematic review

AbstractWe present a systematic review of 29 empirical studies on disability and fieldwork in natural science, postsecondary educational settings. Undergraduate students with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM, and disciplines requiring major field components are some of the least diverse, at least in part because fieldwork has been traditionally viewed as hard, physical, and masculine. Disability Studies in Education (DSE) frames the research questions, inclusion criteria and results. Studies were coded by disability model used, barriers and strategies to accessibility in field science, and meaningful involvement of persons with disabilities in research on fieldwork education. Although most studies asserted a view of disability as a social, cultural, and political phenomenon, some deficit language and interpretations persisted. Few studies included author positionality, and even fewer disclosed author disability status. The main instructional recommendations emphasize flexibility and adaptability, presuming student competence and making small‐scale changes consistently over time. Multiple studies emphasize the need for proactive planning, including robust contingency plans, and explaining how these plans can negate the need for complex modification. Twenty‐four additional non‐empirical studies are identified as resources for discipline‐specific guides and checklists for inclusive fieldwork. We conclude that important steps are being taken to investigate and critique barriers to fieldwork participation for students with disabilities, but there is still much work to be done in addressing systemic barriers beyond the control of individual instructors.

Exile and fieldwork as liminal conditions: Leonore Kosswig’s life and research in Turkey, 1937–1973

ABSTRACT This paper looks into the life and ethnographic work of Leonore Kosswig (1904–1973), who lived in Turkey as a German exile from 1937 until her death in 1973. While her husband, Curt Kosswig was invited to Istanbul University as a full professor, Leonore had no institutional affiliation. However, she traveled with her husband around Anatolia and joined his fieldwork, during which she developed an interest in local customs and the daily life of villagers and nomadic tribes. Leonore decided to stay in Turkey after Curt’s return to Germany in 1955. Her excellent command of Turkish and former experience in fieldwork allowed her to become one of the first women to conduct ethnographic research in Turkey. Until her death, she pursued several pioneering research projects on wedding customs, tablet weaving, nomadic life, and ownership signs. Relying on her research publications and ego-documents, we employ a biographical approach to articulate upon her liminal existence in exile. In dialogue with research on twentieth century forced migrations that engage with the concepts of in-betweenness and liminality, we address Leonore’s liminal existences on the edge of two worlds on numerous planes. In particular, we argue that Kosswig’s liminality was reflected on her exilic existence in Istanbul as a foreign woman; her ethnographic research agenda into liminal geographic locations, marginalized communities, and disappearing cultural artifacts; and her gendered navigation of foreignness and nativeness.

Roots, Rootlessness, and Uprooting: Personal, Ethnographic, and Folkloric Reflections on a Theme

Abstract This address examines the theme, “Roots, Rootlessness, and Uprooting,” of the 2023 American Folklore Society (AFS) Annual Meeting. I explore parts of my own journey as a folklorist by considering my professional origin story; ethnographic fieldwork experiences with my own family, the Buraku of Japan, and the people of Little Cayman; membership in various folklore communities, including the Association of African and African American Folklorists; and some of the history of American Folklore Society.

Conducting online interviews with hard-to-reach hospitality industry participants

Face-to-face interviews have long been a cornerstone of qualitative research methods, yet they can face hindrances, such as long geographical distances and budget limitations for travel to research sites. An alternative solution is the use of online interview techniques. Although studies have discussed issues related to conducting online interviews, challenges in interviewing hard-to-reach participants are still unexplored. In the context of this article, these participants are difficult to reach because they lack the technology required to conduct online interviews and/or their contact information is unavailable. Additionally, there are also issues associated with conducting online interviews that make researchers doubt its ability to produce high-quality data. Based on fieldwork experiences, this research note discusses challenges that occurred during a series of online interviews with hard-to-reach participants in the hospitality industry. This study highlights that even though issues can occur, rich and meaningful data can still be generated from online interviews.

Employment Decisions of Newly Graduated Occupational Therapists.

Introduction. Employment decision-making is essential for understanding workforce trends. Current occupational therapy workforce research describes distribution disparities of occupational therapists within geographic locations, services such as acute care or community health, and private or public sectors. New graduates of occupational therapy programs are critical to meeting the demand and distribution disparities of occupational therapy services in British Columbia. However, recent employment decision-making of new occupational therapy graduates has not been well studied. Purpose. This study aimed to examine factors that influence newly graduated occupational therapists' employment decisions. Methods. This descriptive study sampled 122 occupational therapists who were registered in one province and graduated from a Canadian occupational therapy program between 2017 and 2022. Data was collected through an online survey about intrinsic factors, extrinsic factors, and past fieldwork experiences that affected participants' employment decision-making. Descriptive data analysis was used to organize participants' responses. Findings. Results identified that work-life balance and mentorship were the highest rated factors that influenced participants' current and first employment respectively. Participants agreed that the variety and number of placements they had as students were more influential to their employment decisions than the length of the fieldwork education. Conclusion. This study identified the intrinsic and extrinsic factors in employment choices that may influence recruitment, retention, and workplace planning of new graduates.

Uncovering myths

In recent years, there has been a shift in heritage policies towards incorporating heritage communities and encouraging participatory practices. However, the concept of ‘community’ often possesses a romantic appeal, leading cultural workers to adopt the notion uncritically. The practice of engaging with communities should not be taken for granted. This contribution explores the very premise of community engagement, offering a critical reflection of the meanings we attach to the concepts of ‘community’ and ‘participation’. Drawing from my field work experience in a Rotterdam community, the article evaluates my own rights and wrongs, exposing the necessity to broaden the understandings of 'community' and 'participation'. In order to foster a more socially engaged practice, it is essential to challenge one’s own assumptions and biases as cultural workers.

On being a ‘passive observer’: The corporeal and affective dimensions of power in observational research on trafficked women in criminal proceedings

In this article, I analyse the methodological issues that arise when I accept a judge's invitation to observe her hear women testify in criminal proceedings against their traffickers at the district courthouse in X, Germany. I develop a theoretical framework using Pierre Bourdieu's theory of embodied power and his methods of epistemic reflexivity and participant objectivation, and feminist engagements with affect theory. I use my fieldwork experience with a judicial gatekeeper and in conducting ethnographic observational research ‘behind the scenes of formal law’ to interrogate how bodies, emotions and affects inform power in the spaces of criminal law. Specifically, I approach bodies, emotions and affects as conceptual tools with which to interrogate how power transmits when I ‘enter’ and ‘read’ the field, and make claims to ‘know’ the subject under study. Core to my analysis is a critical process of self-reflection, through which I challenge the assumptions that underpin my assessment of my research participants’ ability to consent to participate in my study.

Exercises in ethically engaged work in biological anthropology.

An ethical paradigm shift currently taking place within biological anthropology is pushing scholars to envisage and develop paths toward more ethical futures. Drawing from case studies in our own teaching, research, and fieldwork experience, we reflect on the complex, diverse, and dynamic nature of ethical considerations in our field. We discuss the acquisition and institutional narrative of a human osteological teaching collection at the University of Louisville as an embodiment of structural apathy turned structural violence, and the need for professional guidance in the potential retirement of deceased individuals from our classrooms. In documented collections (i.e., the Robert J. Terry Collection), we share our process and scholarly reemphasis of the humanity of a deceased individual through contextualized analysis (i.e., osteobiography and archival history) and postmortem agentive acts. Lastly, we present an archeological site in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which poses ethical concerns as biocultural bioarcheologists and archeologists attempt to negotiate the possible wishes of the deceased with the cultural value of reconstructing the community's otherwise undocumented past, all amidst the immediate threat of anthropogenic climate change. We offer these exercises and discussion in ethically engaged projects transparently and with an overarching admission that none are models for replication. Rather, at various stages in our careers and engagement with ethics, we acknowledge that progress is worthwhile, albeit challenging, and that proceeding forward collectively as biological anthropologists should be deliberate, reflexive, and compassionate for deceased individuals and their descendant communities, as well as among and between colleagues.

But where's the body? Bodies, time, money, and the political economy of post-pandemic field research

Since the pandemic, field work has been transformed by shifts in the political economy affecting the material conditions underpinning research. In this research note, a research team considers their challenges and learning in completing field studies conducted in 2022, including intensified strains on time, money, researchers’ bodies, and risks associated with illness and infection spread. We argue that a neoliberal “research super-hero” norm operates within the research community, rooted in a conception of high productivity that mingles uneasily, for many researchers, with feminist, anti-racist, and anti-colonial social justice aims and responsibilities. Our 2022 fieldwork experience led us to notice how this norm has circulated within our explicitly feminist research team and nudged us to challenge it, while raising questions about how a “research-worker” norm can best be supported.

Research Adaptivity in Times of Disruption: Zig-Zagging Your Way through the Field During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT This study reflects on the field research interruptions that occurred around the world with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on my experience of in-person and remote fieldwork with vulnerable populations and sensitive research topics during this time, I introduce a “zig-zagging approach” that can be used as a research adaptivity strategy in times of disruption. I argue that “zig-zagging your way through the field” is a legitimate strategy as long as researchers acknowledge that changing from in-person to remote fieldwork (and vice versa) will alter various aspects of their relationship with the field including;(1) perception of positionality and authenticity; (2) processes of trust building and security challenges; and (3) experience of ethnographic immersion and observation. I offer mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of change and also discuss aspects that cannot be mitigated when working with vulnerable populations or sensitive research topics. I conclude on why going back—and forth (i.e., zig-zagging)—should become a practical solution when all else fails.

Recreational Therapy Students’ Class Time Fieldwork Experiences: A Phenomenological Qualitative Analysis

With the recent call to advance fieldwork across recreational therapy (RT) curriculum, better understanding of the students’ perspectives on their processing, reflecting, and learning during fieldwork experiences is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this manuscript was to explore students’ reflections from class time fieldwork experience (CTFE) in a recreational therapy class when serving a community partner. Using a retrospective, phenomenological qualitative analysis of 111 RT students’ reflections, four themes and six subthemes emerged. Implications for educators for applying these findings to students’ CTFEs are detailed. Future research recommendations are discussed to advance best practice fieldwork for the profession.

Photovoice: Visualizing Student Experiences During an International Level I Fieldwork in Tanzania

Abstract Date Presented 03/23/24 Through use of Photovoice, results of this study illuminated students’ meaningful experiences and perceptions of learning during a short-term international fieldwork experience in Tanzania. Primary Author and Speaker: Brittany N. Saviers Additional Authors and Speakers: George C. Shirima

Navigating Credibility and Approachability in Conflict Zones: Insights from Fieldwork in Nigerian Communities Facing Eco-Violence

This article contributes to the literature by proposing an expanded “framework for credibility and approachability,” extending the framework’s applicability in conflict-affected societies. The credibility and approachability framework aids researchers in comprehending and evaluating their fieldwork experiences, enabling them to articulate their experiences clearly and insightfully. Drawing on the reflexive experiences of a diaspora-based researcher who used this framework to prepare for fieldwork in Nigeria, the article illustrates the framework’s components plus the added “bearability” component. The experiences were borne out of a study with 54 participants across focus groups in communities affected by eco-violence in the Nigerian Middle Belt. The researcher’s positionality of “betweenness” is also discussed, highlighting the complexities of conducting research as an academic “homecomer” in communities located in conflict-affected areas.

The ‘Secret Killings’ in Assam: Counterinsurgency and Censoring Perpetrator Information

In the late 1990s, a protracted armed conflict between the Indian government and the insurgent organization, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in the Northeast Indian state of Assam escalated to include ‘secret killings’ of family members, close aides, and sympathizers of ULFA among its many violent manifestations. The killers primarily targeted insurgents’ families to persuade their underground kin to surrender, and to create fear among community members who sympathized with the movement or sheltered its cadres. The 2007 report of the Justice K. N. Saikia Commission pointed out the role of the surrendered insurgents, and the state police behind the secret killings, where the army was kept in the loop in some cases. Surprisingly, over 300 people were killed between 1998 and 2001 under common circumstances but no one was convicted. This article describes the challenges I faced in conducting ethnographic fieldwork on this sensitive event, which continues to draw political and media attention in the region. I focus on the challenges of interviewing survivors, families of victims, and police officers about the secret killings in Assam. I particularly reflect on my fieldwork experience of what to ask, what to write and what to censor about my participants, and consider the ethical dimension of making those decisions. I argue that these decisions were often made spontaneously in response to emergent situations and my ethical principles. I let the responses of my participants guide me in the field, and did not carry any predetermined strategies to guide the interviews.

The Impact of the Internship Programme on Students in A Selected Public Higher Institution in The Eastern Cape, South Africa

It is important to note from the outset that the duty of preparing students for careers rests with the educational community. Internship before graduation appears to offer students experiential learning, better opportunities for employment and better knowledge of real work environments. The institutions benefit by obtaining more resources at a lower expense as well as a chance to assess whether the intern will fit in well with the team and the role. The majority of students graduate from university or college and struggle to find jobs due to lack of experience and exposure to the working environment. The study sought to assess the effect of internship on students in public institutions. The study used a qualitative research approach, through semi-structured interviews, and respondents were approached through purposive sampling technique. The results of the study show that internships are favourable to students, universities, organisations and result in more job offers and quicker employability of interns. It further states that internships involve some investigation into the characteristics of students who will be employed by institutions in future through internship programmes. Finally, the study revealed that internships provide better opportunities for graduates and unemployed students by exposing them to their chosen field, either in unpaid or paid internship programmes. The study recommends that universities must create more internships to ensure that students are equipped with skills and gain positive and required experience in field work.

초등 교사들의 초등임용 영어시험과 준비 경험에 대한 인식

This study aimed to explore the elementary teachers’ perceptions about preparing and taking the English Test for Elementary Teacher Certification Examination. This study also collected ideas from teachers for improving the test. To achieve the purpose of the study, 10 interviewees were selected. Their narrated experience of the test preparation and test taking was recorded in the form of in-depth interviews. The recorded data was analyzed according to the six-step processes of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) proposed by Smith et al(2009). The analysis led to the following findings: First, the 1st English test and preparation process was effective in some respects for those who had taken it, helping them to teach English and other subjects. However, the majority of interviewees also reported that the test preparation process was physically and mentally demanding. Because they could not obtain information easily, they had to purchase an internet lecture to prepare for the exam. Second, the 2nd test (English In-depth Interview, English demonstration lesson) and preparation process are designed to help teacher candidates prepare to teach English. However, when reflecting on their own elementary school fieldwork experience, some respondents felt that there was less of a connection between the fieldwork and the English demo-lesson in the test. In conclusion, the experience is meaningful to teachers, however there are gaps between the test and the fieldwork. So, we have to consider how to renovate the exam for a more reasonable teacher recruitment and training.

Real-World Experiences in Higher Education: Contributing to the Developing a Systems Thinking Paradigm

Background: Systems thinking has been proposed as a means to address complex and wicked problems. Systems thinking involves moving beyond looking at an issue from a static perspective and seeing interrelationships between parts and wholes. Students will be better prepared to handle the complexity of the world if they develop a systems thinking paradigm. Yet, little research exists on how individuals develop a systems thinking paradigm. Purpose: This phenomenological research study focuses on “What real-world experiences contribute to developing a systems thinking paradigm?” Methodology/Approach: Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 11 faculty affiliated with the University of Florida School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Data were coded using Colaizzi's seven-step approach. Findings/Conclusions: The essence of the study was that real-world experiences contribute to developing a systems thinking paradigm. Fieldwork, laboratory, and research experience develop the knowledge needed to understand the concept of complexity. Immersive academic experiences create opportunities for people to interact with others who have varying perspectives. Nonacademic work in the real world gives people a holistic view of the system. Implications: It is recommended that faculty focus on incorporating real-world experiences into their pedagogy and obtain support to create these opportunities.

Identifying potential LGBTQIA+ competencies for genetic counseling student training.

The LGBTQIA+ community faces considerable health disparities. Developing and integrating LGBTQIA+ competencies into healthcare provider training programs is one way to promote inclusive high-quality care to potentially improve this community's health. Currently, there are no established LGBTQIA+-specific competencies for genetic counseling graduate programs (GCPs), so training across GCPs likely varies. This qualitative focus group-based study aimed to explore current topics related to genetic counseling (GC) for LGBTQIA+ patients covered in North American GCPs, their learning objectives, and LGBTQIA+-specific competencies that GC students (GCSs) should achieve by graduation. Eligible participants were program leaders at ACGC-accredited GCPs and/or faculty who taught LGBTQIA+-related content in at least one GCP over the last 5 years. A semistructured interview guide was used to conduct virtual focus groups that were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and an inductive iterative approach that generated themes regarding what content is taught and what knowledge, attitudes, and skills GCSs should demonstrate as a result. Thirteen people participated, including nine LGBTQIA+ people. They represented 12 GCPs (22% of current GCPs) across the United States and Canada. Focus groups ran 73-90 min. Transcript analysis identified six themes, framed as learning objectives (LOs), and 24 subobjectives. These included recognizing the breadth of the LGBTQIA+ community and their lived experience with the healthcare system, demonstrating respect for and responding to patient identities to provide inclusive GC, employing strategies to mitigate social aspects that influence health care, and assessing personal biases and the impact of socialization. Participants used several teaching methods including didactic lectures, simulation, written activities, reflections, and fieldwork experiences. The six identified LOs may be a starting point for GCPs looking to develop or refine their LGBTQIA+ curricula. Competency-based education may enhance GCSs' abilities to provide inclusive GC to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Collaborative Partnerships During Fieldwork Experiences to Promote Evidence-Based Practices

AbstractIn early childhood education, implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) is crucial for enhancing children's developmental outcomes. While educator preparation program coursework often covers the content knowledge of EBPs, the application of this knowledge in fieldwork settings is limited. This results in infrequent implementation of EBPs in early childhood settings, highlighting the need for better strategies. One effective way to promote educators' implementation of EBPs is integrating the behavioral skills training (BST) model during fieldwork experiences. Incorporating BST into early childhood educator preparation programs can foster strong collaborative partnerships among team members, facilitating the identification and intentional use of EBPs to support individual children's learning and development. We describe this new collaborative partnership model in fieldwork experiences to demonstrate how preservice educators, in-service educators, and teacher educators play pivotal roles in influencing each other's performance. This collaborative effort aims to promote the implementation of EBPs that lead to the children's improved developmental outcomes.