fieldstexts

Fieldstexts is a term used in field-based research to describe textual records produced during fieldwork. It encompasses field notes, diaries, interview transcripts, observational logs, informal memos, reflective journals, and descriptive descriptions authored in or about the field. Transcripts may be created from audio or video recordings and can include language notes, translations, and annotation metadata. The scope often extends to written materials such as maps with descriptive text, protocol descriptions, and preliminary analyses recorded in situ. Fieldstexts serve as primary sources that document context, participants’ voices, environmental conditions, and researcher observations.

Fieldstexts are characterized by immediacy and subjectivity; they capture how situations were experienced and interpreted by researchers and participants at the moment of observation. They typically include metadata such as date, location, methodology, and researcher identity, and may be multilingual or contain code-switching. To be usable for analysis, fieldstexts are routinely cleaned, transcribed, translated, and encoded with coding schemes or ontologies. Researchers organize fieldstexts with standardized conventions, version control, and secure storage; ethical considerations include consent, anonymity, and the management of sensitive information.

In analysis, fieldstexts are integrated with other data sources, enabling qualitative methods such as thematic coding, discourse analysis, or narrative inquiry. Preservation and access require metadata standards, durable formats, and migration strategies to ensure long-term usability. See also field notes, ethnography, qualitative research, and corpus linguistics.