Week 7: Fieldwork in the Field of Information

Fieldwork in the realm of information will probably be in libraries and online for the most part.  I don't think that means the researcher isn't 'getting their hands dirty', maybe it's just a different kind of dirt.  

I haven't had any research experience beyond proposal writing, but I do have extensive experience working in the public library system as well as with people who have special needs, including autism.  My observations at work are what led me to my research question because I noticed a discrepancy in services and use for a particular population.  I can't speak to settings of academic libraries, but in public libraries there are plenty of observable behaviours, interactions and patterns for fieldworkers to absorb.  

It's not helpful to apply a hierarchy of 'realness' to fieldwork because what is relevant to one researcher will inevitably be irrelevant to another.  The sentiment behind the challenges to go outside of the library and get your hands dirty, I think, is really about stepping outside of the literature to immerse yourself in your research question.  That can be done in libraries and in virtual spaces for information researchers, and it's just as valuable fieldwork as the dusty anthropologists sitting in the wilderness.