Writing up in Qual fieldwork

This is a superb article on writing down, and up, in fieldwork. It covers:
* writing and theorising
* audience
* Framing and opening
* Shape
* Tone and readability
* Voice and person
http://www.infed.org/research/write_up.htm

Writing when researching is such a personal experience. Reading around, I am particularly interested in the idea of writing *as* fieldwork. Malinowski has been often cited as the man who revolutionised ethnography by keeping detailed and personal fieldnotes. It is argued that in his writings he incorporated three elements: Fieldwork data, information about the research process, and theoretical assumptions. (see http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=138193 )

Writing is a form of interwoven personal artistry and fact and it is at the discretion of the author which dominates. Personally, I have to write for myself, in my voice, in order to feel that my thoughts are being successfully trasnferred to paper. This leads to rambling and all sorts! It works though, I often put down my journal having realised something/solved a riddle that I would not have without the writing process.

It is also useful to remember that writing down while 'in the field' is really hard - there are a lot of observations that you should probably make but are so much part of the everyday they are overlooked. Hopefully, when home, the contrast between then and now would make such oversights more apparent. (see http://research.edu.uea.ac.uk/events/researchstudentseminarannarobinsonpantethnographyandparticipantobservation)
x J