In-Depth Fieldnotes – The “I Did My Hair But Want You to Think I Didn’t Try” Hairdo

My last two blog posts detail and expand on fieldnotes I took while observing at a bookstore. In Post #2, I wrote a scene based on my encounter with a drama teacher who loved The Wizard of Oz and the musical Wicked. In this post, I’d like to take an even closer look at Drama Teacher, focusing primarily on … Continue reading →

Turning Jottings into Detailed Scenes

In my last post I took fieldnotes from my observations at a bookstore and transcribed them into full sentences. Now I’m taking it to the next level — writing my fieldnotes into scenes. For a look at my actual fieldnotes and translations, click here. Scene 1 : I was at an island table featuring Noteworthy … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →