Stories from the Field: A Guide to Navigating Fieldwork in Political Science

RAVI PERRY

▶ FIELDWORK LOCATION: OHIO, USA

When Barack Obama was preparing for the Democratic National Convention, where he would make history as the first black major party nominee for president, I was in Toledo and Dayton, Ohio, conducting field research for my dissertation. My research involved interviewing elected officials, area community members, campaign organizers, and the media. I wanted to capture their conception of how advocacy for policies and programs for blacks in majority white cities can be effective in producing substantive outcomes for black communities, as well as substantial crossover support of white liberals for black candidates (in this case, for mayor).

At that time, Ohio had five black mayors—one in each of its major cities—and each city was majority white. I traveled to Toledo and Dayton to conduct more than one hundred interviews of mayors, city officials, campaign staff, media personnel, and community leaders. Toledo is my hometown, so familiarity with the city was not a concern. Also, my niece was born and raised in Dayton, so my ability to navigate that city was not too difficult. These two facts became critically important later, when my comfort with my surroundings helped me navigate a personal crisis, the first inklings of which were documented in my field note journal:

It is 6 pm on Wednesday July 9, 2008 and I am here in thrilling Toledo, Ohio! I, again, had an excellent interview and I am constantly reassured of my project’s pending success. The more my name is thrown around lately, the more requests I get to apply for jobs (who knew?). I also went to the emergency room today. I was suffering from some kind of break out on the right side of my neck that spread to my shoulder, chest and back that I could not explain since none of my habits have changed.

I came down with an unexplained illness while conducting interviews in Toledo in June and July 2008. I was twenty-six years old. The sudden episode was immediately debilitating and required me to go to the emergency room where I was admitted. The staff there was also surprised to see such a young person in this condition. They attributed the outbreak to a combination of factors, all centering around stress.

Well, it’s shingles. Evidently it is common to get at some point that is random for anyone who has ever had chicken pox, which I have had. But, it may be induced by stress, over exhaustion, the sun, etc. So, I guess I need to take a few deep breaths!:)

Throughout this period of delay in the hospital, I was also courting the person who would later become my husband. My daily emails to him documented my field experience with shingles. I took extensive notes in my interviews, but I did not take further notes on my outbreak. In my emails, I described the pain, the concern, and the aspiration to complete the field research so I could begin my planned predoctoral fellowship in August 2008 in Rochester, New York. But to get there, I first needed to complete my interviews! I was frustrated and nervous and in severe pain:

I’m annoyed that [having shingles] means taking an additional 5 pills a day for the next ten days…. I was highly nervous last night as I read more about the condition as well and its potential effects. I am confident, though, that I caught it in time. It only has appeared on a small localized spot on the left (or right?) side of my body. A small rash on the bottom of my neck, shoulder blade/back, and chest. The meds appear to be working. I must admit, though, I was extremely uncomfortable last night and to add to the pain I had a moment where I was cold and shaking. So, I turned off the air. This occurrence has re-awakened my heightened emotional sensitivity to my health condition. I don’t like it and I’m not happy about it. It serves as a reminder of what I have. I am aggressively searching for a doctor to check on me while I’m here in Ohio and it has encouraged me to not even think about not setting up with one in Rochester once I arrive there.

As this email attests, I was concerned about multiple conditions—adding shingles to my preexisting conditions was just too much. This experience awakened me to the fact that I had no plan for doctor’s visits away from campus while in the field. Meanwhile, I found myself having to stop my interviews and reschedule appointments.

[The doctors had] me on Acyclovir (Zovirax) 800 mg orally five times daily for 10 days and Vicodin as needed. I’m 26 years old. This should not be happening.

These sudden symptoms revealed to me that I was not prepared for any health emergency.

After my Toledo experience, which ultimately delayed my interview schedule by over a week, I then traveled to Dayton to conduct the same kinds of interviews there. I was still reeling from the episode in Toledo with shingles. I was feeling better, but I was still in severe pain as I tried to complete my field research. Ultimately, I had to wait to see another doctor, so I went to Dayton to begin my second round of interviews.

I am feeling better. (I’m looking better too!) My shoulder area did begin to kill me when I was out earlier at church and people kept hitting me on my shoulder to say hello, though. Very painful. They say the sores go away within weeks, the pain can last longer though. I hope that isn’t the case. Hence, a pending doctor visit. I’m up now after a nap to do some writing and to organize some phone calling. I’m on my way to another interview. I think I am making progress on my goals for the day. I contacted my doctor whose next available appt. is 7/31. I am trying to get that pushed a week earlier; however, for now, that’s where it stands.

As fate would have it, I found myself in the hospital again battling a sudden kidney stone—this time in a city I didn’t know very well (except for some visits there to see my niece!). While confined to a hospital bed in Dayton due to a sudden severe pain, I vividly recall being annoyed that I received no calls of support from the guy I called a boyfriend at the time. (We were married a couple of years later, but we ultimately divorced.) I also vividly recall curling in a fetal position for hours while screaming loudly to absorb the excruciating pain—it didn’t help. It wasn’t shingles this time; it was a kidney stone that felt like the size of a boulder. Vicodin didn’t help much either, and the nurses kept telling me there was nothing they could do because “these kind of things just have to pass on their own,” not exactly a comforting message. After several days of the worst pain I have ever experienced, the kidney stone “passed,” and I was able to return to the field in Dayton to finish my interviews—slower, weaker, but present.

These experiences—shingles and kidney stones—taught me to have a personal plan of action to protect my health while on field research. Looking back on it now, I should have treated that field research like an international excursion to an unknown destination with all of the complexities that requires. That way, I would have planned for these episodes. At the same time, I don’t know if planning would have done much. I did nothing, per se, to cause both shingles and a kidney stone while conducting field research, but perhaps there was something I could have done to decrease the likelihood of an occurrence. Who knows?