Temporary Transience and Qualitative Research: Methodological Lessons from Fieldwork with Independent Travelers and Seasonal Workers

Abstract

Fieldwork with independent travelers and seasonal workers raises specific methodological considerations that result from the temporary transience of both communities. In this paper the authors bring together their experiences of the ways in which this transience both enabled and challenged various aspects of data collection, including integrating themselves into the participant network, locating participants and arranging interviews, adhering to ethical standards, and withdrawing from their data collection, as well as participants’ perceptions of their research projects.