Fieldwork, or
ethnographic research, involves observation of and interaction with the persons
or group being studied in the group's own environment, often for long periods of
time. Since fieldwork is a research process that gains shape and substance as
the study progresses, it is difficult, if not impossible, to specify detailed
contents and objectives in a protocol.
After gaining access
to the fieldwork setting, the ongoing demands of scientifically and morally
sound research involve gaining the approval and trust of the persons being
studied. These processes, as well as the research itself, involve complex,
continuing interactions between researcher and hosts that cannot be reduced to
an informed consent form. Thus, while the idea of consent is not inapplicable in
fieldwork, researchers need to adapt prevailing notions of acceptable protocols
and consent procedures to the realities of fieldwork.
