Steve Talks About Fieldwork

Steve describes what it was like working with Ricky at Bankside hostel.

“It was often very busy when we were in the hostel. Things were happening all the time…there was lots of noise and commotion and sometimes fights between residents and other residents, or residents and staff. This made it very tense for everyone, particularly in the common areas such as the lounge and the dining room. I found it difficult on my own before Ricky got involved in the project, but with Ricky it was easier. There were two of us and I could be taking notes while Ricky was talking to people (it was almost impossible to do both on my own). Also we could bounce ideas off each other and talk about what we thought was going on. Other times we could split up, for example Ricky might be photographing the construction of the new bungalows just outside the hostel, while I was working inside with a resident.”

Working in a team can be an advantage, particularly in difficult or stressful situations where it would be more difficult for one person to cope. Two people can sometimes work more efficiently than one person alone and can divide up some of the fieldwork between them. It can be really useful to have another researcher with you when you do fieldwork, especially to talk and share ideas with.

“It wasn’t always good working in a team together in Bankside hostel. Sometimes having the two of us there was probably more distracting and disruptive for residents than if one of us had been in alone. It made it more difficult to try and fit in with whatever was going on…it sometimes distanced us from the residents in a way because we were a separate ‘group’ really. Ricky and I could rely on each other when we were in Bankside together which was good, but this sometimes kept us from being as absorbed in the atmosphere of the hostel as we might have liked. Although Ricky and I did split up at times whilst in the hostel, mostly we tried to do all of our fieldwork together. I think that at first I thought we should be doing everything together because otherwise it wouldn’t really be partnership research, but thinking about it now, sometimes it would have been better if we had spent more time working on our own. I think some residents would have been more comfortable working with either Ricky or myself on a one-to- one basis rather than together.”

Doing research in partnership doesn’t mean that every part of the research has to be done together with your partner(s). It may be worth thinking if there are times when it would be better for research partners to work on their own. There may be times when two or more people doing fieldwork will be distracting or make some research participants uncomfortable (such as in some interviews or during observations). It may not always be practical for research partners to work together doing fieldwork in the same location at the same time, and sometimes it might be a better use of time for partners to split up and work independently. Also, not everyone in a research partnership will always have the time or want to be involved in doing all of the fieldwork. For further discussion see Partnerships Questions and Challenges.

“Ricky worked well with residents and staff in the hostel and both of these groups seemed comfortable working with him. I think Ricky was able to strike a balance that allowed him to work with these two very different groups of people. I think it was certainly a bonus that Ricky is leaning disabled and from the local area, both of these factors helped him to relate to residents (and sometimes staff). Mostly though, I think Ricky was able to work well with residents because he didn’t patronize them. Unfortunately residents were often exposed to patronizing staff and visitors (such as some of the social workers who visited the hostel to do assessments on residents).”

“Ricky got on with certain residents better than I did and because of this, we were able to involve more people in the project and in the fieldwork than if I had been on my own. Ricky’s ability to work well with residents has something to do with his personality, but some of his skills in this area have been developed through practice, experience and training. Although I have had more experience and training as a researcher than Ricky, Ricky has had more experience and training than I have in supporting people with severe and profound learning disabilities. Having said that, some of the hostel residents seemed to relate better to me than to Ricky. I think it was a combination of both of our personalities, past experiences and training that helped Ricky and I in working with people to do the fieldwork at Bankside hostel.”