Field
trips provide opportunities to students to observe study and explore the
organization or site to get a down to earth understanding of material learned
in the classroom. Students are expected to submit a field trip report after the
field report and present it in group. The group member will be allocated
accordingly and each group member needs to contribute and present the report.
Before Field Trip
Students need be aware about certain things visiting the
site/organization. Get information about the site/organization before hand from
secondary sources like books and internet.
During Field Trip
Clarify
the purpose of the field trip and subsequent report with your lecturer and read
any handouts and preliminary articles or textbook chapters before the actual
trip. This helps to alert you to major theoretical frameworks, or important
observations before you go. You will find it very hard to write a good report
if you omitted to collect critical data in the field, so waiting to think about
the aims, types of observations and possible implications till after the trip
is too late. If it is to be a group report, try to organize your group
beforehand so as to plan efficient data collection in the field. For example,
one person to take photographs, one to make sketch maps, two to take notes from
talks, etc.
Identifying the main issue
Ask
yourself what the lecturer setting the course hopes that you will get out of
the field trip. What major theories, methodology, techniques, and or practical
knowledge are being tested or illustrated? Your report should relate your field
observations to the main issues dealt with in the course as a whole. If you are
required to focus on only one aspect of the course in your final report,
although many are covered in the trip, try to identify two or three possible
focuses before you go, so you can predict what kind of information you should
be collecting, and do some pre-reading on those areas.
For
example, you can relate your topic with topics you have studied earlier like
HRM, Finance, Accounting, POM, etc. You can ask about their organization
structure (POM), staffing (HRM), capital structure (Finance), Accounting Method
used (Accounting) and so on. If you find confusion feel free to ask your
supervisor.
Taking notes in the field
This
can be difficult, so make sure that you have a clipboard; lots of paper (some
sheets partly formatted beforehand if you know the kind of data you have to
collect); some 3mm square graph paper to help sketching, graphing or mapping;
multiple pens and pencils, including colored pencils; rubber; sharpener; folder
for completed sheets; and plastic bag to put papers in if it is raining. You
may find a camera or use your Smartphone useful and write corresponding notes
on what you photographed, where it was and why it was important. Apart from
taking photos or making measurements, focus on looking and listening, and add
to notes between stops, or collaborate with a friend to make sure you get all
the information. Record place names, time and date, and names and titles (job
positions) of speakers (all accurately spelt). Use labeled sketches and plans
to record spatial and visual information, noting proportions and approximate
sizes of structures or map scales alongside. Remember to label tables with
column and row headings and graphs with axes and titles, and to include the
unit with all measurements.
Report format
The
field work can be written up in the introduction-activities done/results-conclusion
format.
Introduction
The
introduction should set out the purpose of the field work and usually
containing sub-sections which give relevant background information (location of
area, geology, topography, recent history etc). It will also be necessary to
review relevant literature on the topic. Try to incorporate field report
objective and particular methods used to collect the data. The next, chapters
first chapter should be followed by presentation of the data and then conclusion
and lesson learnt. For trips involving many locations, it may be easiest to organize
the background information, data, and interpretation by site, but then draw all
the sites together in a general discussion at the end. Do whichever involves
least repetition of information and makes the report easiest for the reader to
understand and follow. Use descriptive subheadings to make the information easy
to find.
Data presentation
Besides
the usual tables and graphs, data may include photos, diagrams, sketches, maps,
or interviews. To make a professional-looking job of your final report (and
allow easier editing) you may wish to learn how to use computer-based graphing
or drawing applications. However, neat hand-drawn diagrams are usually
acceptable. In either case make sure you provide all the relevant information –
full descriptive titles, scales, units of measurement, keys to colors and
shading, labels, and acknowledgment if the figure is based on a published
source.
Conclusions and Lesson Learnt
Depending on the purpose and format of your report, you may
have a separate conclusions section to summarize the major findings.
Field Report Format
Preliminary section:
- Title page
- Acknowledgements
- Table of contents (with reasonable details)
- List of tables and figures
- Executive summary (1/2 to 1 page)
Main body of the report:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Background (with brief literature review indicating the importance
Objective of the study (Major & specific: 3 to 5) The major objective of the study is to learn about organization setting at its natural state. The specific objectives are as follows: Methodology (Data collection procedure and time)
Background (with brief literature review indicating the importance
Objective of the study (Major & specific: 3 to 5) The major objective of the study is to learn about organization setting at its natural state. The specific objectives are as follows: Methodology (Data collection procedure and time)
Chapter 2: Analysis of Activities Done
This is important part of your field report. In this
chapter, you have to write all the activities you have done in the organization
during the field report.
Chapter 3: Summary and conclusions
· Summary of findings
(Summary of Chap. 1: Gen. Bkgd:1 para; Objectives: 1
para; Methodology: 1 para Chap. 2: Based on the analysis of data, the
major findings are summarized as under: minimum 10 findings)
· Conclusion (Only one or two para
stating: The major conclusion of this study is …The study also concludes that
…)
Supplementary section
· Bibliography (Use APA format for
citation and referencing)
· Books
· Newspapers
· Published documents
· Unpublished documents
- Appendix (Include raw data, questionnaire,
interview schedule)
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