Fieldwork and/or Travel

Ensure you are up-to-date with the University's travel advice prior to your departure.

For non-fieldwork/non-research travel, eg. conference, please also click here

Fieldwork

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 research is conducted in a manner that complies with all local restrictions and regulations.

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.

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

Conducting fieldwork

Prior to conducting fieldwork during the course of your PhD, please ensure you follow the practical considerations and requirements you need to undertake as advised below. The list below is not exhaustive and if you have any additional tips that you think should be included, please send them to the PGR Support Team at pgresearch.sps@ed.ac.uk.

Please ensure you have submitted all required documents below 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)

Fieldwork

Travel outside of Edinburgh for fieldwork purposes requires submission of the Travel Plan and Risk Assessment (RA1) form to the Deputy/Director of PGR Programmes (sps.dpgr@ed.ac.uk) at least two weeks prior to the date of travel. This must be sent from your University email address and must be approved before you depart. You do not need to also complete Fieldwork Assessment Form FA1. Please copy the PGR Support team into your email (pgresearch.sps@ed.ac.uk).

Although it may not be requested, please ensure to complete the sections "Reasons for Travel" and "Total duration of trip" in Part 1 of the RA1 form.

We recommend you use the University's free travel insurance where applicable.

Conference Travel

Travel outside of Edinburgh for conference attendance requires submission of the Travel Plan and Risk Assessment (RA1) form to the Student Development Office (ssps.student-development@ed.ac.uk) at least two weeks prior to the date of travel. This must be sent from your University email address and must be approved before you depart.

*If your approved period of travel is for 5 to 30 days, please ensure you have submitted a Short-term Leave of Absence request before departure.

We recommend you use the University's free travel insurance where applicable.

Leave of absence request form

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

If you are conducting fieldwork overseas you must obtain travel/medical insurance for the duration.

Anyone who requires travel insurance should complete the online application form. All fields must be completed in order for the application to be confirmed, including a travel risk assessment if required.

The system will generate an email confirming that the application is being processed and will be confirmed within two working days. It is therefore essential that travel insurance is arranged well before the departure date.

The confirmation email will provide the emergency medical contact number, a link back to your application and links to various websites which will provide information on travel. No further documentation is sent out by the University.

We advise you to ensure you have applied for the University’s free-of-charge travel insurance. However, If you have your own insurance you need to check with the University's Insurance Office that it provides sufficient cover.

Foreign travel advice

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

Prior to travel, all students must read the Go Abroad Policy.

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