# Field Research

> Plan and execute field research outside the lab — on-site visits, ride-alongs, and in-context studies that capture real-world constraints. Use when lab or remote methods cannot access critical context, environment, or operational reality.

- Skill: `itsual/field-research` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add itsual/field-research`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/itsual/field-research/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: itsual (https://skillmd.com/u/itsual)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/itsual/field-research

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# Field Research

## Overview

Field research takes inquiry to the places where work and life happen. It prioritizes ecological validity and often combines observation, interviews, and artifact collection.

## When to Use

- On-site workplace or operational studies
- Home visits and in-context product use
- Ride-alongs and service shadowing
- Environments that remote methods cannot replicate

## Core Practices

- Plan access, safety, and logistics carefully
- Define what must be observed vs asked
- Capture photos/artifacts only with permission
- Minimize disruption to participants’ real work
- Debrief same day while details are fresh
- Synthesize environmental constraints into design implications

## Principles

- Field time is expensive — go with sharp questions
- Safety and respect outrank data completeness
- Context is the data, not background noise
- One site is not a universe — sample sites deliberately when possible

## Verification

- [ ] Access and ethics were planned
- [ ] Field notes capture environment and behavior
- [ ] Implications connect context to product/service decisions