Structure and Writing Style

How you choose to format your field report is determined by the research problem, the
theoretical perspective that is driving your analysis, the observations that you make, and/or
specific guidelines established by your professor. Since field reports do not have a standard
format, it is worthwhile to determine from your professor what the preferred organization
should be before you begin to write. Note that field reports should be written in the past
tense. With this in mind, most field reports in the social sciences include the following
elements:
I. Introduction

The introduction should describe the research problem, the specific objectives of your
research, and the important theories or concepts underpinning your field study. The
introduction should describe the nature of the organization or setting where you are
conducting the observation, what type of observations you have conducted, what your focus
was, when you observed, and the methods you used for collecting the data. You should also
include a review of pertinent literature related to the research problem, particularly if similar
methods were used in prior studies. Conclude your introduction with a statement about how
the rest of the paper is organized.

II. Description of Activities

Your readers only knowledge and understanding of what happened will come from the
description section of your report because they have not been witness to the situation,
people, or events that you are writing about. Given this, it is crucial that you provide
sufficient details to place the analysis that will follow into proper context; don't make the
mistake of providing a description without context. The description section of a field report is
similar to a well written piece of journalism. Therefore, a helpful approach to systematically
describing the varying aspects of an observed situation is to answer the "Five W’s of
Investigative Reporting." These are:

 What -- describe what you observed. Note the temporal, physical, and social
boundaries you imposed to limit the observations you made. What were your
general impressions of the situation you were observing. For example, as a student
teacher, what is your impression of the application of iPads as a learning device in a
history class; as a cultural anthropologist, what is your impression of women's
participation in a Native American religious ritual?

 Where -- provide background information about the setting of your observation and,
if necessary, note important material objects that are present that help contextualize
the observation [e.g., arrangement of computers in relation to student engagement
with the teacher].

 When -- record factual data about the day and the beginning and ending time of
each observation. Note that it may also be necessary to include background
information or key events which impact upon the situation you were observing [e.g.,
observing the ability of teachers to re-engage students after coming back from an
unannounced fire drill].
  Who -- note background and demographic information about the individuals being
observed e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, and/or any other variables relevant to your
study]. Record who is doing what and saying what, as well as, who is not doing or
saying what. If relevant, be sure to record who was missing from the observation.

 Why -- why were you doing this? Describe the reasons for selecting particular
situations to observe. Note why something happened. Also note why you may have
included or excluded certain information.

III. Interpretation and Analysis

Always place the analysis and interpretations of your field observations within the larger
context of the theories and issues you described in the introduction. Part of your
responsibility in analyzing the data is to determine which observations are worthy of
comment and interpretation, and which observations are more general in nature. It is your
theoretical framework that allows you to make these decisions. You need to demonstrate to
the reader that you are looking at the situation through the eyes of an informed viewer, not
as a lay person.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when analyzing your observations:

 What is the meaning of what you have observed?

 Why do you think what you observed happened? What evidence do you have for
your reasoning?

 What events or behaviors were typical or widespread? If appropriate, what was

unusual or out of ordinary? How were they distributed among categories of people?

 Do you see any connections or patterns in what you observed?

 Why did the people you observed proceed with an action in the way that they did?
What are the implications of this?

 Did the stated or implicit objectives of what you were observing match what was
achieved?

 What were the relative merits of the behaviors you observed?

 What were the strengths and weaknesses of the observations you recorded?

 Do you see connections between what you observed and the findings of similar
studies identified from your review of the literature?

 How do your observations fit into the larger context of professional practice? In what
ways have your observations possibly changed or affirmed your perceptions of
professional practice?

 Have you learned anything from what you observed?

NOTE: Only base your interpretations on what you have actually observed. Do not speculate
or manipulate your observational data to fit into your study's theoretical framework.

IV. Conclusion and Recommendations

The conclusion should briefly recap of the entire study, reiterating the importance or
significance of your observations. Avoid including any new information. You should also state
any recommendations you may have. Be sure to describe any unanticipated problems you
encountered and note the limitations of your study. The conclusion should not be more than
two or three paragraphs.

V. Appendix
This is where you would place information that is not essential to explaining your findings,
but that supports your analysis [especially repetitive or lengthy information], that validates
your conclusions, or that contextualizes a related point that helps the reader understand the
overall report. Examples of information that could be included in an appendix are
figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, pictures, maps, drawings, or, if applicable,
transcripts of interviews. There is no limit to what can be included in the appendix or its
format [e.g., a DVD recording of the observation site], provided that it is relevant to the
study's purpose and reference is made to it in the report. If information is placed in more
than one appendix ["appendices"], the order in which they are organized is dictated by the
order they were first mentioned in the text of the report.

VI. References
List all sources that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your field
report. Note that field reports generally do not include further readings or an extended
bibliography. However, consult with your professor concerning what your list of sources
should be included. Be sure to write them in the preferred citation style of your discipline
[i.e., APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.].

Which section should I write first?

It can be helpful to write up sections as you go along. This means that you write about what
you've done while it's still fresh in your mind and you can see more easily if there are any
gaps that might need additional research to fill them. In addition, you don't end up with a
large piece of writing to do in one go - that can be overwhelming.

Here is a suggested order for writing the main sections:

1. Methods and Data/Results/Activities: As a rough guide, the more factual the section, the
earlier you should write it. So sections describing ‘what you did and what you found’ are
likely to be written first.

2. Introduction and Literature Survey: Sections that explain or expand on the purpose of the
research should be next. What questions are you seeking to answer, how did they arise, why
are they worth investigating? These will help you to see how to interpret and analyse your
findings.

3. Discussion: Once you’ve established the questions your research is seeking to answer, you
will be able to see how your results contribute to the answers and what kind of answers they
point to. Write this early enough that you still have time to fill any gaps you find.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations: These should follow logically from your Discussion.
They should state your conclusions and recommendations clearly and simply.

5. Abstract/Executive Summary: Once the main body is finished you can write a succinct and
accurate summary of the main features.

Source:

http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/fieldreport
http://www.grimsby.ac.uk/documents/quality/skills/Structure-of-Reports-Learnhigher.pdf