To gain access to a group or setting, a field researcher may have to obtain their permission.

The primary method of organizing field notes into meaningful units of information.

A field researcher’s primary means of recording observations while in the observational setting.

Position adopted by a participant observer that determines how he or she relates to others in the group or setting.

A detailed record of field observations.

Type of research in which the researcher actively takes part in the group or setting under study.

Type of research that uses explicit plans and preset categories for recording observations.

May present serious ethical problems when the setting is private.

For in-depth interviews, the counterpart of an interview schedule in survey research.

An adjunct to field observation that can be a major source of data in the field.

The integrated set of concepts and ideas that emerge from the analysis of field data.

Gathering information in the field that is relevant to a working hypothesis.

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