Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Qualitative Research
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wolfinger, N. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

On writing fieldnotes: collection strategies and background expectancies

Nicholas H. Wolfinger

University of Utah, nick.wolfinger{at}fcs.utah.edu

Fieldnotes are a vital part of ethnographic research, yet little attention has been paid to the practical details of note-taking. Exactly how does an ethnographer decide what to write about? This article uses fieldnotes from various sources to show that, irrespective of any formal strategies for note-taking, researchers’ tacit knowledge and expectations often play a major role in determining which observations are worthy of annotation. A greater understanding of these dynamics could complement existing trends in reflexive ethnography by increasing insight into the note-taking process.

Key Words: ethnographic methods • field notes • qualitative methods

Qualitative Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, 85-93 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/1468794102002001640
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Feminist CriminologyHome page
T. Anderson, K. Daly, and L. Rapp
Clubbing Masculinities and Crime: A Qualitative Study of Philadelphia Nightclub Scenes
Feminist Criminology, October 1, 2009; 4(4): 302 - 332.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Clin Nurs ResHome page
A. M. Brotherton and B. Carter
Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Feeding in Nursing Homes: Relatives' Perceptions
Clin Nurs Res, November 1, 2007; 16(4): 350 - 369.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Qualitative ResearchHome page
A. H. Tjora
Writing small discoveries: an exploration of fresh observers' observations
Qualitative Research, November 1, 2006; 6(4): 429 - 451.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Qualitative ResearchHome page
L. Pettinger
Representing shop work: a dual ethnography
Qualitative Research, August 1, 2005; 5(3): 347 - 364.
[Abstract] [PDF]