10.5: Analysis of Field Research Data

Learning Objectives

• Define analytic field notes and explain how they differ from descriptive field notes.

• Explain why making note of mundane details is a good idea.

• Describe the process by which field researchers analyze their data.

Field notes are data. Moving from having pages of data to presenting findings from a field study in a way that will make sense to others requires that those data be analyzed. The analysis of field research data is the focus here.

From Description to Analysis

Writing and analyzing field notes involves moving from description to analysis. Previously, the focus was on field notes that are mostly descriptive in nature. Here, the focus shifts to analytic field notes. Analytic field notes are notes that include the researcher’s impressions, theoretical connections, and interpretations of their observations. Analyzing field note data is an iterative process that occurs over time. It begins the moment a field researcher enters the site and continues as interactions happen, as the researcher writes up descriptive notes, and as they consider what those interactions mean within a broader sociological context.

Often, field notes will develop from a more descriptive state to an analytic state when the researcher exits a given observation period, messy jotted notes or audio recordings in hand, and sits at a computer to type up those notes into a readable format. Carefully paying attention while in the field is important; so too is what occurs immediately upon exiting the field. Field researchers typically spend several hours typing up and expanding field notes after each observation. This expansion phase is often where the formal analysis of field research data begins. Having time outside of the field to reflect upon thoughts about what has been seen and to attach tentative theoretical significance to those observations is crucial to developing robust qualitative analysis.

Once the analytic field notes have been written, the field researcher can begin to look for patterns across the notes by coding the data. This involves the iterative process of open and focused coding. As mentioned previously, it is important to note as much as possible while in the field and to record as much detail as can be recalled after leaving the field because a researcher never knows what might become theoretically important. Things that seem decidedly unimportant at the time may later reveal themselves to have profound relevance.

In field research, scholars are often surprised by the bits of data that turn out to hold analytic weight later on. For example, a researcher might include a number of direct quotes and descriptions of informal interactions with participants that they do not expect to be important but nevertheless jot down. Several of these quotes may eventually become the linchpin of the analysis. For instance, in her ethnographic study of elementary school classrooms, sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco observed countless mundane interactions between students and teachers. In her field notes, she recorded instances where middle-class students would casually approach a teacher's desk to ask for help correcting a minor mistake on a worksheet before officially handing it in (Calarco, 2018).

It might not occur to a researcher in the moment that this simple, everyday request was anything more than a student wanting a good grade. However, when reviewing these field notes analytically, Calarco realized that these mundane interactions represented something much larger. Middle-class students were actively utilizing their socialized behaviors to negotiate for advantages, treating teachers as accommodating resources. In contrast, working-class students rarely made these seemingly minor requests, often viewing teachers as authority figures who should not be bothered. Had the researcher not made a note of these casual desk interactions, which at the time seemed entirely routine, she may have missed a critical analytic point regarding how classroom behaviors subtly reproduce educational inequalities (Calarco, 2018).

Key Takeaways

• Analytic Focus: In analytic field notes, a researcher makes note of impressions, theoretical linkages, and interpretations of their observations rather than just the direct events.

• Mundane Details: Details that may seem unimportant or everyday in the moment may turn out to be deeply important during later analysis; it is therefore crucial that field researchers make note of these seemingly minor observations when conducting field research.