Guide to Oral History Interviews and Qualitative Fieldwork: Fieldwork 101: Where to Begin

Fieldwork as a Practice and not a Prescription 

Fieldwork isn't a fixed method. It's a living, adaptive practice. Every ethnographer brings their own unique approach. 

James Clifford (1986) talks about ethnography as a "series of partial truths." There is no totalizing, objective view, only situated experiences. 

If you’ve ever listened to someone talk about their community, their culture, or their sense of identity with genuine curiosity, then you’ve already taken a step into fieldwork. This guide just gives you a few tools to help shape that process. Adapt as needed.

Core Principles

1. Fieldnotes are Not Just for the Field

• Use jottings (short notes, keywords, sketches, sensations) in the moment or immediately after.
• Later, when you have time and the experience still feels vivid, write expanded reflections. These should build on your jottings and make your headnotes—your mental notes—visible and explicit, drawing out themes, patterns, theories, and issues (see Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw, Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, 2011).
• Include both what happened and how you felt. What questions came up? What meanings, themes, issues, problems, etc. emerged? 
• Pay attention to discomfort--what makes us uneasy can be a key to a generative insight.

• You can write poetry, sketch or draw (see Taussig, 2011), or make art based on what you see. You can jot cryptic notes that only you understand, or invent your own system of shorthand or symbols. You could even create a cipher that no one else could decode. These are your fieldnotes. They help you capture moments and make sense of them later, sometimes in surprising ways.

  I recommend handwriting your notes when possible, since the physical act of writing can help you remember and reflect. But using an electronic device is also completely valid, especially if that’s what helps you keep up with the pace of events. This is your fieldwork. Find what works for you.

2. Pay Attention to the Backstage

• Not all insight happens during the formal ritual, rehearsal, or interview. Pay close attention to "backstage conversations" (Goffman, 1959) before and after performances, over meals, in moments of shared vulnerability.
• These interactions often contain the emotional or political subtext that shapes the experience.
• Ask: What isn't being said out loud? How are power, gender, memory, or care being navigated in gesture, silence, or non-verbal cues?

3. Don't Always Record. Be Present First

• Audio and video are powerful, but they can also interrupt intimacy or sacredness. You don't need to document everything. Often, presence is the data.
• When you do record, be explicit about your intentions and boundaries. Let consent be an ongoing conversation, not a one-time form. Ongoing, verbal consent is important. It's about being clear on what you're doing with the project and how you'll be using people's data.

4. Say "Yes!"

• When someone invites you to an event—whether it’s a wedding reception, a family celebration, or a neighborhood gathering—go if you can. You might feel awkward or out of place at first, but you’ll be okay. These are the moments where fieldwork truly comes alive.

  I’ve found myself explaining to puzzled state officials that “ethnomusicology,” “folklore,” and “ethnographic research” are legitimate fields of study—not covers for intelligence work. I’ve also had to clarify to dancers that I’m not exactly a journalist. These moments of misrecognition and negotiation are not failures—they’re great fodder for ethnography. They remind us that fieldwork is relational, full of surprises, and often a bit messy. Embrace that.

What to Track in Your Notes 

See the tab in this LibGuide on Analyzing Transcriptions for ideas for coding your notes, as the same techniques apply. You can evolve your own coding system as themes emerge. Coding can also stem from insider expressions or something that comes directly from your research participants themselves. For example, if you hear something like "We call this XYZ." If XYZ comes up more than once, that's a clue that it could be a good code to use in indexing or organizing your materials.

You don't need to over-code. Just notice patterns and tag when something feels significant or layered. Coding can also happen after you get home and have had time to digest everything.

Your Voice 

If you consider yourself an insider to the group or community you’re studying (often referred to as holding an emic perspective), this is not a flaw—it’s a methodological strength. Your lived experience can offer nuanced insights that outsiders may overlook. At the same time, it's important to remain reflexive. Exploring literature on autoethnography can help you critically engage with your own position and document how your identity and understanding evolve through fieldwork—not just what you observe in others.

If you're seen as an outsider (or taking an etic perspective), that too carries advantages. You may be better positioned to question assumptions that insiders take for granted, and participants often share openly with someone who stands apart from their immediate context (see Portelli 2011). In many cases, fieldworkers have accessed perspectives or stories that an insider might not be able to elicit.

Keep in mind that insider/outsider is not a fixed binary--it’s a fluid spectrum. Your relationship to the field site may shift over time, and overlap with others' experiences in unexpected ways. The key is to remain attuned to how your position shapes the knowledge you co-create in the field.

Suggested Readings/References 

• Clifford, J. (1986). Introduction: Partial Truths. In Writing Culture, ed. Clifford & Marcus.
• Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. (2000). Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity: Researcher as Subject. In The Handbook of Qualitative Research.
• Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
• Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday.
• Portelli, A. (2011). They say in Harlan County: An oral history. Oxford University Press.
• Taussig, Michael (2011). I Swear I Saw This: Drawings in Fieldwork Notebooks, Namely My Own. University of Chicago Press.

Final Thoughts 

Fieldwork is a messy and slow, often emotional process. It can also be quite beautiful because of this messiness. Trust your instincts, but also give yourself time to shape and revisit your materials. Think of this guide and the resources pointed out here as a compass, not a map. 

You already carry a lot of wisdom and know where to find it. This is just a toolkit for catching it. Good luck!