Symbioverse

As I move through what I know about Warm Data, I look towards designing a ‘template’ for a warm practice note.

This is something into which I can pour thoughts, reflections, results, evidences, workings and processes… from explorations either in the field, or in the studio. Though, it’s quite interesting to begin to embed this idea of the ‘field’ in St. Pierre’s conception of the ‘post-qualitative inquiry’. Drawing deeply from the writings of Deleuze, Guiattari, Derrida, Foucoult and Lyotard, – and in particular, Deleuze’s ‘ontology of immanence’ – this post-structuralist approach places the inquirer (the creator, the inventor) in a position ‘not to find, describe, interpret, and represent what is but “to bring into being that which does not yet exist” (Deleuze, 1968/1994, p. 147), which is, the new.’ (St. Pierre, 2018). This, according to St. Pierre, requires an orientation of trust in the experiments as well as the worlds in which they live. It is a refusal of the binary logics of the philosophical vs. the empirical but an awareness of both, from the beginning, at all times – one is essentially always “in the field”.

By it’s very nature, that which is warm, should be seeking a way to make room for possibilities.
A space for emergences to manifest, yet also for submergences to sink.

But to begin, I FIRST look at the characteristics of field notes, resource gathering and note-taking methodologies as per established discourses. Headings, thinkings and inklings from what constitutes a traditional field note, in the anthropological sense, might be:

1. Be accurate (you get ONE chance to observe a moment in time!)

2. Be organised (in a way that helps you to interpret data and extract insights later)

3. Be descriptive (use descriptive words, so that you don’t make things up later! e.g. the room was not just “comfortable”, but what makes it comfortable? Soft lighting? Ample seating?)

4. Focus on the research topic (to help avoid irrelevant information, have a purpose and plan ahead)

5. Record insights and thoughts (as separate section to decriptions, helps to ask questions and seek answers after the fact…)

When describing something:

• describe physical setting
• describe social environment
• patterns of interactions – frequency, verbal/non-verbal communication, collaborations, conflicts
• describe participants and their roles
• record quotes and comments
• describe your own impact on the setting

When reflecting:

• note ideas, impressions, thoughts / criticisms
• note unanswered questions
• clarify and / or correct mistakes from observation notes
• note insights about what was observed, and opinions on why certain things occured
• note ideas for future works

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Summary

Write a one paragraph summary or abstract of the events. Include analytic descriptions.

Date:

Site/location:

Activity (explain in detail):

Participants (list names):

Length of Observation:

Description and photograph

Write a detailed narrative of what you observed. Document specific words, phrases, summaries of conversations, and insider language.

If you can or would like, include a photograph. Tag the photo.

Questions/Things to follow up with and sketch

This is the interpretive part of your notes. Please make sure you relate the field observations to larger issues discussed in the field school or in the required readings. List additional questions about people, places, or behaviors at the site for future investigation.

“Analysis of what you learned in the setting regarding your guiding question and other related points. This is how you will make links between the details … and the larger things you are learning about how culture works in this context. What themes can you begin to identify regarding your guiding question? What questions do you have to help focus your observation on subsequent visits? Can you begin to draw preliminary connections or potential conclusions based on what you learned?”

Add a sketch of a detail that explains your observations.

Reflections

This includes your personal responses to fieldwork. “Reflection on what you learned of a personal nature. What was it like for you to be doing this research? What felt comfortable for you about being in this site and what felt uncomfortable? In what ways did you connect with informants, and in what ways didn’t you? While this is extremely important information, be especially careful to separate it from analysis.”