Participating in the field: a research experience in northern Greece.

Abstract

Fieldwork can provide many unexpected challenges for researchers. These challenges and how they are addressed will vary with specific situations and individual researchers; however, there seem to be similarities in some of the personal experiences a field researcher may confront. Understanding and learning from others' experiences in the field may be helpful in preparing to do similar research, particularly for those entering the field for the first time, and may provide some insight as to what they might encounter and experience. Reflecting on her experience from conducting research in a remote rural area in northern Greece, the author discusses the field research process, the role of the researcher, entry into the communities, and key lessons. Flexibility, adaptability, patience and open-mindedness proved to be integral to successfully carrying out research in the field.

Le travail sur le terrain peut presenter de nombreux defis imprevus pour les chercheurs. Ces defis, et la maniere dont on les aborde, varient en fonction des situations et des chercheurs particuliers. Cependant, il semble y avoir des similitudes entre certaines des experiences personnelles vecues par les chercheurs sur le terrain. Il peut donc etre utile aux chercheurs qui se preparent C effectuer des etudes semblables, et plus particulierement C ceux qui feront du travail sur le terrain pour la premiere fois, de comprendre les experiences d'autres chercheurs pour en profiter. A partir de ses reflexions sur son experience de recherche dans une region rurale eloignee du nord de la Grece, l'auteure presente son point de vue sur le processus de recherche sur le terrain, le rfle du chercheur, l'acces C la collectivite et les lecons cles C tirer de cette experience. Souplesse, facilite d'adaptation, patience et ouverture d'esprit se sont reveles etre des elements essentiels au succes de toute entreprise de recherche sur le terrain.

Keywords

Fieldwork, research experience, qualitative methods, Greece, rural Europe

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"I could tell you of my adventures--beginning from this

morning," said Alice a little timidly; "but it's no use going

back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."

--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll, 2000: 99)

Alice's experiences in Wonderland taught her how quickly and how much spending time in a new environment observing and listening to individuals holding different perspectives or worldviews can influence or change our own perspectives. My 'adventures,' discussed in this article, relate to field experiences in a remote rural area in northern Greece where I conducted research for my Master's thesis in the summer of 2001. Unlike Alice, I am now reflecting on my experiences in the field to explain some of the lessons learned from interacting with local people, surprises encountered in the field, and how my research was affected. My expectations and what I actually experienced in the field were not always synonymous. When I went to Greece, I was confronted with conceptual situations and field circumstances that had not been anticipated. I learned quickly that fieldwork requires flexibility, adaptability, patience, and open-mindedness.

Selecting a Topic

I began my Master's degree in Geography at the University of Waterloo with the intention of undertaking research related to stormwater sedimentation in the surrounding region; however, my research path altered in the second term of my first year as a result of a graduate course in human ecology. This course required each student to conduct a systems analysis on a case study area of his or her own choice. I decided this was as an opportunity to learn more about the biophysical and sociocultural nature of Greece, from which my family had immigrated to Canada in the 1940s and 1950s.

Being interested in wetlands, I began my investigation with a search for areas in Greece that had been designated Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance. From these Greek Ramsar wetlands, I chose Lake Mikri Prespa, a wetland located in the northwestern part of the country on the border of Albania and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), which I believed was close to where my mother's family had originated (Figure 1). This wetland site had the benefit of being located in a Greek National Park, which not only provided a clear boundary for my case study area, but also added what I thought was more significance and increased the potential availability of related literature. As I proceeded to work on the course assignment, I became engrossed in the complexity and fascinating components of the system I was attempting to describe. I very quickly came to the point where I knew that I did not want to end my research on the Prespa area with the completion of this class assignment. I realized that I wanted to investigate Prespa further for my thesis. Although I felt slightly intimidated and unsure of where this new path would lead, I initiated the process of finding a more appropriate supervisor for this type of research.

My preliminary literature review of Prespa National Park revealed a surprising number of English papers on the biophysical environment. There was also a fair amount of information on the history and development of the area, which appeared to allow the opportunity to tie all of the available information together. There seemed to be a gap, however, in the English literature concerning social interactions and relationships among different stakeholder groups. In addition, the majority of the English language literature appeared to have been produced by individuals associated with an environmental NGO based in the park.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

From the initial gathering of information discussed above, I identified my research problem as: "How are the current park practices and human-environment interactions affecting the natural and cultural values of Prespa National Park with consideration to the improvement of their preservation?" My research was to focus on examination of environmental protection, cultural preservation and tourism in the park, in consideration of linkages between the natural, social and economic components. Figure 2 provides a diagrammatic interpretation of the research problem. The relationships between the park and the three focus areas and their impacts were of primary concern, while the interrelationships among these focus areas were also to be considered. As a female researcher with family connections in the research area, I was also aware that gender considerations would be a factor in my research design.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Pre-departure activities included contacting family in Greece and the Prespa area and arranging for places to stay. Near the beginning of the research process, I discovered that my deceased maternal grandfather's village, Andartiko, was located in the Prespa municipality just outside the park's borders. My grandfather's sister still lived in the village and kindly offered me housing. My maternal grandmother decided to meet me in Greece in order to assist me with these family contacts. I made arrangements to conduct my fieldwork from June to September 2001.

This trip was to be my second experience in Greece. In the summer of 1989, I had spent five weeks in the southern Peloponnisos area where my paternal family originated. In addition, in February 2001, I had attempted to contact the environmental non-government organization (NGO) based in the park by email about my wishes to undertake social research in the area. I received a response a few months later in May 2001, suggesting they could not be of any assistance. I also spent the few months before my departure attempting to improve my Greek conversational skills by listening to Greek language tapes.

The Research Approach

A key aim of the field research in Prespa was to learn about the relationships between the park and its environmental, sociocultural, and touristic components. Due to the nature of the research and my lack of previous contact with the area, I concluded that qualitative field methods, such as participant observation and semi-structured interviews, would be the most appropriate and effective means for collecting information. I believed qualitative methods would provide the flexibility, adaptability, and interactivity to deal with any unforeseen circumstances in the field.

Criticism of positivism and the scientific method in the social sciences, especially in reference to research on women, has led to the development of alternative epistemologies and a focus on qualitative research methods (see Cook and Fonow, 1990; England, 1994; Gilbert, 1994; Kirsch, 1999; Lennie, 1999). Many of these methodologies reject the idea of an objective, value-free researcher and instead support more critical self-reflexivity during the research process (Fonow and Cook, 1991; Lennie, 1999). Nelson (1991) suggests reflection throughout the research process is essential as a number of factors associated with the complexity and change found in real situations can influence and alter the research's direction. The 'field' is constantly changing with researchers having to often deal with unexpected circumstances. England (1994) advocates a broader, less rigid perception of what constitutes the 'appropriate' method in order to allow researchers the flexibility to better meet the challenges of fieldwork.