Fieldwork among Women in Nepal: A Female Researcher Revisits Her Experience

Abstract

In this paper, I argue, based on in-depth interviews with 75 rural women from 25 households in Nepal nearly eight years ago, that a reflection on fieldwork helps a researcher to critically review and critically appreciate one’s own work and to identify challenges that can be helpful not only to the researcher but also other researchers. I describe three distinct stages of my fieldwork. The first one relates to the image I held regarding rural women’s life and society as well as the information generation techniques I thought I ought to utilize before I actually went to the field. The second stage relates to the learning I gained during the fieldwork regarding rural women’s life and society and the manner in which I actually went about generating information. The third stage relates to how I now reflect back on the lives women lead in rural areas as well as the techniques I utilized to generate information. In the concluding section, I attempt to identify the gains I made while I traversed through the three different stages of research.

A methodology to compile multi-hazard interrelationships in a data-scarce setting: an application to Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

“…Many researchers have emphasised that when we work with individuals and communities, we must be aware of the contradictions of conducting fieldwork that centres equity and social justice in contexts where structural power imbalances exist between the researcher and those individuals and communities being researched (Subedi, 2006;Ozkazanc-Pan, 2012;Manning, 2018;Wolf, 2018). Throughout this study, we were reflexive about our positionalities, how our "Otherness" contributes towards power relations (Subedi, 2006;Mishra, 2018), and how we could minimise these effects in our research. Further discussion of positionality is presented in Sect.…”

Mapping the Landscape of Data Collection: A Reflection on the Dynamics of Fieldwork in Qualitative Research

“…For instance, Markham (2013) states that "fieldwork is often used as a method of engaging with the phenomenon to gather information/data or to analyze practices in situ" (p. 435). Arguably, making data in qualitative fieldwork is influenced by several factors such as local culture, researcher identity, hierarchy, power relations, and gender matching between the researcher and the participants (Mishra, 2018;Punch, 2012;Subedi, 2023;Subedi & Gaulee, 2023). Likewise, the researcher enters the field with feelings, aspirations, and assumptions concerning their embodiment in the fieldwork.…”

“…While the role of gender in qualitative fieldwork is much discussed in the Western setting, it is minimally addressed in the non-Western context. Considering the literature in Nepal is rare in the role of gender matching during fieldwork, a few studies (Mishra, 2018;Subedi, 2023;Subedi & Gaulee, 2023) discussed the role of complex gender dynamics during the in-depth interview. While interviewing the female teacher, I realized that the extra layer of gendered complexity was negatively influenced.…”

“…During the initial days of my PhD fieldwork, I navigated the fieldwork literature for the comprehensive guide for carrying out the field activities, but I found it appropriate to fulfill my needs. Although a number of literature (Ghimire, 2021;Mahato et al, 2022;Mishra, 2018;Rai, 2020;Rana et al, 2019;Subedi & Gaulee, 2023) discusses various aspects of doing qualitative fieldwork, they do not offer the comprehensive guidelines covering the major practical concerns. There is a paucity of comprehensive practical knowledge about how researchers can effectively tackle the specific and contextual challenges that may emerge during fieldwork.…”

“…Notably, novice researchers face challenges in qualitative fieldwork where reflective insights could help them plan and implement their fieldwork. For instance, Mishra (2018) states the importance of "a reflection on fieldwork helps a researcher to review critically and critically appreciate one's work and to identify challenges that can be helpful not only to the researcher but also to other researchers" (p. 27). In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic changes the conventional understanding of data collection from physical presence in the field to working from home (Flannery et al, 2023;Lobe et al, 2020).…”