Disasters in Field Research

Gillian H. Ice is associate professor of social medicine and director of global health at Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Health Sciences and Professions. Darna L. Dufour is professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Nancy J. Stevens is professor of functional morphology and vertebrate paleontology at Ohio University.

Highly engaging [and] accessible to a broad range of readers with varying degrees of fieldwork expertise. Disasters in Field Research is an indispensable primer. . . .[It sheds] light on aspects of field research that are often only discussed through anecdotes or private conversations between advisor and advisee. . . .While the target audience for the text is professional scientists, graduate, and undergraduate students, the demographic that would benefit most from this book are students in field methods courses across a range of disciplines and early-career field workers. Disasters in Field Research may also serve as an indispensable tool to guide and organize feasible and logistically-sound research proposals and would therefore make an excellent required text for courses geared toward grant writing. . . .Even the most seasoned field research can appreciate the book’s overarching sentiment that even though one can never be fully prepared for the challenges they will encounter in the field, there is virtue in being flexible, patient, having a sense of humor, and expecting the unexpected.

• List of Boxes and Figures1—Introduction2—Oh, the Permission, Permits, and Approvals You Will Need: Research PermissionsPermissions to Study the LivingPermission to do Research in Host Country: VisasPermissions from Host Country InstitutionsPermission from the Local CommunityAnd . . . Consent from the Subjects ThemselvesEven Research on Inanimate Objects Requires PermitsPermits, Permits, and More PermitsSuggestions and Strategies3—“And you may ask yourself—Well . . . how did I get here?”: Fieldwork LogisticsPermission to Enter the CountryGetting to the Field DestinationLocal TransportMoneyWhere Do You Stay?CommunicationsTransporting Equipment and Data to and from the FieldSuggestions and Strategies4—My Equipment Is Possessed and the Dog Ate My Notebook: Managing Equipment and DataIs the Equipment “Field Friendly”?Recording Data in the FieldGood to Know Before You GoKeeping Everything WorkingSuggestions and Strategies5—Where Have They All Gone?: Participant Recruitment and RetentionSamplingHabituation of Animal SubjectsRecruitment of Human ParticipantsGatekeepersLocal InsightsPolitics and HistoryRetention of SubjectsSuggestions and Strategies6—I’m Not a Witch: Cultural Misunderstandings in the FieldLanguageCultural NormsSuspicions of Outsiders or GovernmentResearch MisunderstandingsSensitive TopicsGender IssuesDiffering Expectations of Researcher and SubjectsAvoiding Cultural MishapsSuggestions and Strategies7—I’m in the Middle of a War Zone: Safety and SecurityThe Fluid Nature of RiskTheft and Interpersonal ViolenceFieldwork in Conflict Zones and Other Dangerous PlacesPerceptions and SuspicionsWhy Work in Dangerous Places?Suggestions and Strategies8—What Do I Do When Struck by Lightning? Maintaining Health in the FieldWhy Be Concerned about Your Health?Travelers’ DiarrheaFebrile IllnessVector-Borne InfectionsOther Infectious DiseasesThe ExoticsSkin ProblemsHealth Risks: Large FaunaHealth Risks: Human-Induced Accidents/InjuriesHealth Risks: EnvironmentalMental Health in the FieldThe Problems You Bring with YouSuggestions and Strategies9—Is Fieldwork for Me?: Assessing Your Inclination for FieldworkAn Interest in Travel and AdventureGritTolerance of AmbiguityBeing OK with Being AwayAbility to Accept the Way Things AreFamilyIntellectual Challenges and SatisfactionsCamping—Literally and FigurativelyFoodGoing Alone or Taking a TeamHow Long Do I Keep Working?Suggestions and StrategiesIndexAbout the Authors