FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research [Paperback]

Bonnie Stone Sunstein (Author), Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312438419 | ISBN-13: 978-0312438418 | Publication Date: September 19, 2006 | Edition: Third Edition

FieldWorking, Bonnie Stone Sunstein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater's acclaimed textbook, is an engaging guide to the fundamentals of ethnographic study, complete with practical help for research and writing. Emphasizing civic responsibility and community engagement, FieldWorking incorporates examples by professionals writers such as Mark Singer, Pico Iyer, Joan Didion, and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as student research projects on topics as diverse as a local truck stop, dinner clubs, blogging, and a horse sales barn, to help students identify and define their own subcultures and communities. Because students are connected to their research, FieldWorking's ethnographic approach makes projects fascinating and empowering for all students as they learn to observe, listen, interpret, analyze, and write about the people and artifacts around them.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Designed to fill the gap between reading about the process of fieldwork and actually engaging in the process and "writing up" the results, this innovative text presents specific methods and models -- and offers hands-on practice -- for carrying out all phases of field-based research. In considering the research process, FieldWorking addresses the reading, writing, listening, and speaking techniques and strategies necessary for understanding, interpreting, and presenting the lives and surroundings of others through their eyes -- not just one's own. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Key Benefit: Designed to fill the gap between reading about the process of fieldwork and actually engaging in the process and “writing up” the results. Key Topics: This innovative book presents specific methods and models — and offers hands-on practice — for carrying out all phases of field-based research. In considering the research process, FieldWorking addresses the reading, writing, listening, and speaking techniques and strategies necessary for understanding, interpreting, and presenting the lives and surroundings of others through their eyes — not just one's own. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; Third Edition edition (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312438419
• ISBN-13: 978-0312438418
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly helpful, October 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research (Paperback)

I have used this book for some time with a range of undergraduates at UC Berkeley. Several of my colleagues use it as well. It is a very helpful, practical introduction to real-world research, the most useful book we have found on the subject. It helps students and researchers understand the processes of interviewing, making field notes, and collecting and recording data. The style is very accessible. Students who have found it useful for other classes include those studying sociology, anthropology, fiction, advanced nonfiction, and ethnic studies.

Read in combination with some complex books of ethnography, including Clifford Geertz, for example, it can provide the structure to help students understand the concept of fieldwork.

I highly recommend taking a look at this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Writing can be taught!, October 30, 2006

By 

Maria Tom - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research (Paperback)

I was lucky enough to have access to this edition of the book through Brown's library and later purchased it when I discovered just how good it was. The title might be somewhat misleading because most people won't immediately think that it applies to their work. My particular use of it is as a nonfiction writer, and this book presents good ideas for how to gather information, take notes, and write about the subject. The writing assignments are helpful and more specific than others that I've seen. I like the way the book can be used by both students and teachers or individuals outside of academia. I could also see the assignments being altered slightly for other fields entirely, which is undoubtedly the reason the book is entitled Field Working rather than Field Writing or some other such name. For example, an art historian can benefit from the free writing exercises and force herself to write without self-editing in order to get out some ideas. One good point made was that so much time is spent not writing that it can become a habit. Also, note-taking is almost never taught (in high school or college unless by a tutor). There are several different methods of notetaking presented in this book, all with the awareness that the notetaker may need to review the notes months or even years later. I could have used such knowledge in my college years even for science lectures.

I do think that even high schoolers could benefit from this book. If that were the case, I think it would be best if the writing samples and assignments were separated into a teacher's manual while the figures of such things as the actual fieldnotes could be left in. More aggressive marketing could probably place this book as a regular textbook in high school courses or introductory classes for Freshmen in college.

5.0 out of 5 stars Praxis Makes Perfect!, September 25, 2011

By 

demarychase "drmarylou" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research (Paperback)

This title serves not only as a unique view on the art and craft of fieldworking, but allows the reader an insider's view of the data-gathering, analysis and writing processes the field demands. Readers will learn about methods and models, as well as gain insights on hands-on practice. Besides providing a useful handbook for researchers, Sunstein and Strater offer up a very good read for all of us interested in ethnographic methods.