Ep#2 - Field Observation

In this episode, Dr Ben Garlick is joined in conversation by Dr Pauline Couper, Geographer and Associate Head of the School of Humanities, York St John University, to discuss the method of 'field observation', and its uses in geographical research. Reflecting on their own experiences of fieldworking and observing different environments, Ben and Pauline continue to explore the various practical and ethical considerations arising when seeking to gather, and draw from, observations for the purposes of geographical research. 

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings that flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: The chapters in the Key Methods in Geography textbook by Eric Laurier ('Chapter 11 - Participant & Non-Participant Observation') and Shelly Rayback ('Chapter 20 - Making Observations and Measurements in the Field') provide an excellent and accessible introduction to the various ways in which geographers of all stripes might deploy observational methods. Link: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Key_Methods_in_Geography/-WaZBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Key Reading #2: The chapter by Bruce Rhodes & David Wilson ('Chapter 3 - Observing our World') in the textbook Research Methods in Geography: A Critical Introduction, provides a detailed account of field observation, as well as some of the underlying assumptions / ideas that inform its practice, and the changing ways in which observation has been deployed in recent decades, to different ends. Link: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Research_Methods_in_Geography/gGU0wV9bUQgC?hl=en&gbpv=0

Further Reading: Alan Marvell & David Simm's article describing the use of fieldwork observations during a student trip to Barcelona demonstrates the variety of ways in which being able to witness geographical processes can enhance our understandings of key concepts and ideas, and the very making of landscapes and places themselves. Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00167487.2016.12093996

Further Reading: John Berger's essay 'Drawn to that Moment' elaborates the idea of drawings as records of one's perception of the world, rather than as the world itself. Always worth a read and suggests why sketching/drawing might offer an enhancement to observation. Link: https://www.spokesmanbooks.com/Spokesman/PDF/90Berger.pdf

(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick