Practice Jotting Ethnographic Fieldnotes

In order to write better fieldnotes when conducting research on female fitness and bodybuilding, I practiced my observation skills in a bookstore. I spent a couple hours interacting with customers, observing the layout, and jotting ethnographic fieldnotes in my teeny Moleskine notebook. I’d like to think I’m observant, but rarely do I focus on the act of observing. I’m not too experienced with carrying around a pen and my Moleskine. I needed the practice.

Below I’ve taken cruddy cell phone pictures of my fieldnotes and expanded the jottings into full sentences:

Translation:

The bookstore is relatively empty by 7:25pm at night. I wonder if I would’ve gotten more out of this observation by coming earlier, perhaps in the afternoon. I make a beeline for the kid’s section because it’s the only section with people in it. A girl, about seven or eight years old with a messy ponytail, bends over to read a book on one of the lower shelves. She pages through it while sitting in a squat position. I look at a row of books a few feet from her and run my fingers over a book’s spine. I pull it out and examine the cover. The little girl notices me and walks away.

I walk through the aisles of the bookstore and find myself at the same island table as a tall woman with blonde hair curled just so, but still loose enough to appear laid back. She’s wearing a red coat and a blue paisley dress. She’s done up and looks nice. In her hands is a copy of Paul Simpson’s A Brief Guide to Oz. I ask her if she’s a fan of The Wizard of Oz, and she lights up. She tells me she’s read every book about Oz she can get her hands on. I ask her about the musical Wicked, and she gushes that she’s seen it in its first season on Broadway. Being a fan of Wicked myself, I discuss the musical with her. She asks me if I’ve read the book Wicked is based on, and I tell her no. I have to, she tells me, even though its different from the musical. Her students weren’t fans of the book. She says she’s taken her drama class to see it. Upon further inquiry I find that she’s a drama teacher at a school a half hour away.

Translation:

Once I end my conversation with the woman, I note that people are much  more enthusiastic when they are engaged in a conversation about their interests.

I walk to the Fiction & Literature section. Two college-aged boys look at the books in the same aisle as me. They don’t seem to be searching so much as glazing over the selection. I think their minds are elsewhere. They appear annoyed as they aimlessly scan over book titles. When the guys notice me in the same aisle, they move to the next aisle. I get the idea that they do not want to be around me. 

The bookstore is completely empty by 7:40pm. There is no one left to follow. I jot down the title of a new Jeannette Walls book for my own interest. Aisles that appear to be empty all the time are Business, Cookbooks, Audio, and Religion. I haven’t seen anyone in those aisles all night.

Two college-aged girls walk into the bookstore and circle the island tables before heading farther back into the store. They are both on cell phones and giggle a lot. They barely look at any books. I note that customers tend to hover around the island tables before dispersing, something the bookstore has figured out. That’s why the islands are there in the first place, I assume.

The music over the PA system plays a horrible cover of the song “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down, a song from the Wicked soundtrack, and a lengthy song from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Translation:

As the night wears on, people seem to be entering the bookstore on a specific mission, leaving as quick as they enter, rather than wandering the aisles and picking up numerous books.

Just as I jot that observation, a girl and a guy walk from the cafe to the first island table, circle it twice like vultures or flies attracted to a light, and then head to the Bargain Books section. The girl points out a cookbook and must crack a joke, because the guy laughs. They move on to Fiction & Literature.

The bookstore is picking up momentum again. The lull is over, and people are entering the bookstore once again. Three friends (two guys and one girl) hang out in the Graphic Novel section. One of them asks, “Should we ask where it is?” Another says, “It’s next to the Avengers!” I  stand about five feet away from them, paging through a Walking Dead comic. The girl sighs and asks, “Are you two ready to go?”

I head back to the island tables and pick up a random book. I read the back cover. Because people tend to come to these book stands first, I stand there and wait, appearing to browse. I count the islands. There are six.

The woman with the blonde hair, red coat, and paisley dress comes up to me, excited. “Do you hear it?” she asks, pointing upward. “They’re playing Wicked!”