Fieldwork for Human Geography

Richard Phillips is Professor in Human Geography at the University of Sheffield. Dr Jennifer Johns is Lecturer in Organization and Management at the University of Liverpool.

Introduction: Fieldwork for Human Geographers PART ONE: APPROACHING THE FIELD Getting the Most out of Fieldwork Justifying the Cost: Your Degree and Your Job Prospects Before You Go: Research Design and Preparation Ethics: Positioning Yourself and Encountering Others Working in Groups and Travelling Together PART TWO: METHODS AND CONTEXTS Reading the Landscape: Describing and Interpreting Field Sites Interviewing for Fieldwork Participant Observation and Participatory Geographies How to Be an Explorer: Rediscovering Your Curiosity

A highly readable and superbly fun guide to the why and how of doing fieldwork in human geography, this book offers very persuasive perspectives to its target audience - undergraduates who otherwise might just mourn about going into the "foreign" field or take the trip too lightly as a free/subsidized holiday. I recommend it highly to any geographer-wannabes and practicing-geographers. The latter group, including myself, might well rediscover the fun of doing geography Henry Yeung Professor of Economic Geography, National University of Singapore Fieldwork is the heart of most geographic endeavours to the extent that it stimulates our passions and pushes us to ask the pithy questions that build disciplinary knowledge. This book provides an excellent introduction to the art and science of fieldwork. It makes clear that fieldwork is not just about getting out of the classroom and gaining first-hand experience of places, it is about instilling passion about those places Stuart C. Aitken Professor, Department of Geography, San Diego State University This book is set to be an indispensible guide to fieldwork that will enrich the practice of geography in a myriad of different ways. In particular, the diverse materials presented here will encourage students and academics alike to pursue new approaches to their work and instil a greater understanding of the conceptual and methodological breadth of their discipline Professor Matthew Gandy Professor of Human Geography, University College London If fieldwork is an indispensable component of geographical education then this book is equally essential to making the most of fieldwork: at last, students have a guide to making the most of their journeys abroad or closer to home. At its best fieldwork is a formative experience in which learning about other places is a process of learning about oneself. This book gives students the tools to realise the full potential of what, for many, is the highlight of their geography degree. Fieldwork is about expanding your horizons while reflecting critically on your own place in the world; this book helps students get the most out of their travels - be they abroad or closer to home Noel Castree Professor of Geography, Manchester University Takes readers through the stages of planning, undertaking, analysing and reflecting on the fieldwork experience. It includes discussions of key issues such as ethics, health and safety, justifying the cost of fieldwork, working in groups, methods of field research and the transferable skills that fieldwork can help to develop. The text is engaging and suitably illustrated with a number of personal "postcards" from scholars who are well known for their fieldwork practice, as well as from recent graduates who reflect on their own experiences in the field... Fieldwork for Human Geography is far more grounded in the field than the more abstract discussions that typify many methods textbooks. There are examples, anecdotes and photographs, as well as more substantive reflections on working in various fieldwork situations. Times Higher Education