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  • CAREER COLUMN

Fieldwork: how to gain access to research participants

It took experience and emotional investment to improve my ability to get close to research participants. Here’s how I did it, says Anna Lena Bercht.
  1. Anna Lena Bercht

    1. Anna Lena Bercht is a postdoctoral researcher in human geography at Kiel University in Germany.

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I remember February 2011, when, in the Chinese megacity of Guangzhou, an older man finally overcame his scepticism about being interviewed and invited me to sit down next to him on a stone bench under a shady tree. I held my notebook on my lap, and we sat on either side of a translator and talked about his life and world for more than two hours. It was one of the most informative and revealing interviews that I had done during my fieldwork in the city.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00295-8

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged.

References

  1. Bercht, A. L. Erdkunde 67, 63–74 (2013).

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  2. Bercht, A. L. Glob. Environ. Change 70, 102326 (2021).

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