The Fellowship Support Programme: Learning in the Field

'Now that I am doing my field research, I have come to understand how difficult it is to do good research. It is a continuous process of learning by doing. Three to four months may be the minimum time to stay in the field. My classmate and I always work together. There are so many kind people around us, we never feel lonely. At the same time, I can understand other friends' feelings of loneliness in the field. I think I am lucky and I appreciate all of this. Concerning the question of shortening the time in the field, I mainly considered the conflict between doing research and finding a job. Now I see that I need not worry about that at all. All of that is only wasting my time. I have confidence in dealing with the links between the two, and I will never give up my field research.' Master's student, COHD, 13 November 2006 'I think fieldwork is very meaningful. The long period in the village made me understand more about the reality of rural life. And the situation in the village is quite different from what I thought it would be. At the beginning of the survey, I missed some important information, so I need to do a deeper case study next time. I will be able to write about my major findings after I have summarised them. [...]