More advanced field research courses include AO 287, Anthropology in Action, SO 402, Public Service and Nonprofit Organizations , SO 418, Social Services and the Community, and SO 422, The Sociology of Medicine . The major requirement for this class is a field research project that students must work on for the last ten weeks of the semester. Field projects generally require that students be at their field site 3-5 hours per week. A major part of course work are field notes students must write on their field experiences. Usually students must turn in five sets of field notes over the course of the semester with each set being at least five pages in length.
Instructors provide detailed critical comments on each paper.
This writing and the feedback you receive will be demanding, but it will also be extremely valuable. Reflective writing is critical to thinking deeply and finding real meaning in field experiences. Students are encouraged to be creative in finding and selecting field research projects. Some projects involve community studies. These are studies of a neighborhood or a town where students collect many kinds of information, sometimes in partnership with a local organization or church.