Fieldwork and/or Travel

All students who intend to travel for research purposes, even locally off-campus, must follow the process steps listed below. In all cases, risk assessments will only be approved if the activity is conducted in a manner that complies with all local restrictions and regulations.

The final decision on risk assessment submissions lies with the School.

Conducting fieldwork

For PhD students, travel may be required to conduct research towards the thesis, as described in the research proposal reviewed and approved by the First Year Board. Any questions following the risk assessment submission will be addressed to the student and their supervisor.

Prior to conducting fieldwork, please ensure you follow the practical considerations and requirements you need to undertake as advised below. Note that you must have submitted all required documents in plenty of time for processing and approval before you book or depart for your fieldwork.

Important - if you intend to extend your approved fieldwork period, or re-visit your fieldwork site for an additional period, you must review the risk/insurance/leave of absence procedures again in advance of your new start date/extension start date. Please ensure you discuss with your supervisor if you also need to re-submit for ethics approval.

Emergency contacts

Your Supervisor(s) are your emergency contacts so ensure you have emergency contact details for them. Please note as staff continue under hybrid working conditions, the best channel to contact your supervisor may be Microsoft Teams. You can find information on how to initiate a Teams call here.

In the event of an emergency and you are unable to contact your supervisor(s) please contact:

During office hours

UK time 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday

Toni Jenkins:

via Microsoft Teams

Edinburgh Global:

+44 131 650 2257

Out of office hours

Edinburgh Global emergency number:

+44 131 650 2257

Ethics

You should have been through the ethics approval process as part of your First Year Board. Any concerns regarding ethics should be discussed with your Supervisors in the first instance.

You should research all the ethical requirements and data protection rules before you go. Speak to your supervisor/other students who have undertaken fieldwork in your area.

Travel Risk Assessment Form (fieldwork and conference travel)

Risk assessments for fieldwork or conference attendance must be submitted at least 3 weeks prior to the date of travel.

You must submit the relevant Leave of Absence form at the same time as you submit your risk assessment.

Both forms must be approved before you travel. Late applications submitted with less than 3 weeks notice may not be approved, and you are not permitted to travel without the approved documentation.

Leave of Absence for more than 30 days (see section below)
Short Leave of Absence (Power Apps form) (5- 30 days)

Submit your Travel Risk Assessment Form

Leave of absence request form (more than 30 days)

It is a University requirement that if you are away from Edinburgh for a month or more you must have a Leave of Absence recorded on your record. You must ensure your Leave of Absence dates match your fieldwork dates. However, if you are taking a holiday before or after your fieldwork, please don't include this on the LoA form. Only your fieldwork dates are relevant.

The request form must be submitted to the School's PGR Support Team (pgresearch.sps@ed.ac.uk) by your supervisor prior to your departure. Please ensure that you have read and understood all aspects on this form and that your supervisor has completed and submitted the request form before your departure.

Visa

Find out what visas/permits you require to conduct your research (live in the country) and apply for these in advance.

Travel/Medical insurance

You are encouraged to apply for university insurance for the duration of your travel.  Please note that insurance applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis and certain restrictions may render your application not eligible (further details can be found on the Insurance Office website). 

All decisions are made by the Insurance Office.  The application form can be found here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/finance/about/sections/insurance/travel-insurance/how-do-i-apply  

You will need to include a PDF copy of your risk assessment approval email in your application.

Foreign travel advice

Up to date travel advice is available from the UK Government website.

Useful fieldwork tips

This is in addition to the above and is a summary from a recent IAD fieldwork event. This is not an exhaustive list.

Paperwork

ensure you have all the correct visas/permits in order to conduct your research
be prepared for additional, unexpected bureaucracy - accept that your fieldwork may take longer than initially thought and build this into your planning
draft a timetable before you leave and include within it empty blocks of time.
always have some sort of fieldwork activity you can pick-up and put-down in case of cancellations etc
build in time for holidays
ensure you have all the relevant vaccinations etc.
create a check list of everything you need to do before you leave
organise insurance (see above)

Researching the field

learn about the culture of your field-site - even if you don't need to for fieldwork, try to learn some of the local language
ensure you know about any possible risks in your field. Is there likely to be protest / social unrest / fuel shortages etc. Look at the Foreign Travel Advice website for your country and check back regularly
make sure you have a general sense of the routines/timetables of your key informants and plan accordingly. Take note of religious/public holidays
if possible find a 'social' gatekeeper or contact who can help you orientate you on everyday issues in the field
book/find accommodation in advance and know where it is in relation to your field-site
check what the transport situation is like - will you need access to a car?
look carefully at the acknowledgements and methods sections of past work in your field
make contacts with organisations (NGOs etc.) in your field site. Even if they are not directly related to your research they may yield useful contacts
make sure you know where the nearest hospital / medical centre is
ensure you know where the nearest British Embassy or Consulate is in case of emergency

Communications and record keeping

figure out how often and how you will contact your supervisors before you leave. You are required to maintain contact with them so please ensure you respond to any attempts to contact, even if you do not have anything new to report at the time
tell as many people as possible about your proposed research. This can lead to some unexpected contacts
keep a research diary / keep a note for reflections
buy a local simcard for your phone (it will make communicating with research participants easier)

Other things to think about

how best to make contact with people in your field before you go
ensure that you take care of yourself - particularly if your research area is difficult / upsetting. Fieldwork is exhausting and can be draining
friends are important - particularly academic ones. Fieldwork can be lonely at times
think about doing test trials / interviews before you leave. Once you are in the field you may only get one chance so best to iron out any problems beforehand
think about using a contact at a local university
look into how to access libraries / archives etc. before you go and ensure you have all the necessary paperwork with you
take as many photographs as possible
you do not need to know everything in order to say something
the points at which you are surprised or confused tend also to be the points at which you learn something new. Challenges and problems can also be interesting data and useful to write about. Gaps where not much is happening with your research can be used for reflection and writing
there's always something you'll wish you could have done differently, both on a big scale and in interviews etc. Reflect on this but do not let it take over
be flexible

PhD Students