Definition of Field Research

The investigation Scientific is the process of analysis and understanding of a reality and the problems that exist in it. For an investigation to be considered rigorous it must employ the scientific method. The most common and commonly used is the hypothetical deductive method.

The method used is what gives validity and reliability to the research. The investigation has diversity of approaches: theoretical, practical, applied, etc. And one of the most original investigations is field research. Consists in analyze a situation in the real place where the investigated facts take place. The scientist who carries out this type of research may belong to the human sciences ( anthropology, archeology, ethnography... ) or at natural Sciences (zoology, botany, meteorology... ).

In both cases the researcher is situated in the natural environment, working on the real terrain, not in a laboratory or from a theoretical perspective.

In field research, the scientist directly experiences a reality, we could say that he touches it with his hands. In this way you can collect data not distorted by an unreal situation. An example will serve as clarification. A zoologist studies chimpanzees that have always lived in captivity. He analyzes his behavior and draws some conclusions. This case is not strictly a field research model. It would be if the zoologist studied chimpanzees in a specific jungle, in their natural habitat. The data you extract would be fully real and, consequently, the conclusions would be more valid. This idea of ​​verification in the real scenario where the studied events occur is applicable to any scientific circumstance where reality communicates more information than a laboratory or a theoretical model of analysis.

A famous example of field research is that of the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski in the Trobiand Islands, located in Papua New Guinea, at the beginning of the 20th century. In these islands, he spent a few years living with the natives to get to know their culture first-hand and in depth (language, traditions, rituals, social rules, etc.). His work is considered a paradigm within field research. In fact, Malinowski used a concept to define his research focus: the participant observer.