On the Doing of Fieldnotes in Ethnography

Abstract

Field notes form the basis for writing observation protocols and thus play a key role in the creation of empirical data in the ethnographic research process. In contrast to this central function, however, the creation of field notes and their processing into observation protocols is rarely addressed. In our article, we examine the ethnographic writing of field notes as a materially bound, social, and locally situated practice. To this end, we draw on our own empirical data from an ethnographic research project in which we accompanied students and their homework at school, at home, and in transit between the two. In a first step, we consider the specific modalities of note-taking within different field contexts. In a second step, we focus on the materiality of the practice of note-taking in the field and contrast it with the various writing tools used, such as laptops, pen and paper, and smartphones, in order to reveal differences, limitations, and potentials. We conclude with a reflection on the doing of fieldnotes.