How to Write Field Notes for Anthropology

Conduct research and gather background information on the cultural group you will be studying and writing about. Formulate a topic to focus your research. Always carry a pen and small notebook in your pocket. Unobtrusively take it out and jot down your impressions as you actively participate in social interactions or functions. Put into words general ideas and thematic outlines to be developed into more involved field notes.

Contemporaneously write down the salient features of whatever social event or happening you are observing. Record the names of the main players in your observations. Write short descriptions to refresh your memory for later writings.
Take brief head notes of the high points of your observations, transcribing the key phrases or words of conversations and dialogues. Record data immediately following a significant event while it's still fresh in your mind.

Inform the locals of your intentions. Let them know you are conducting anthropological research and taking field notes to build trust and avoid suspicion. Write quickly so you don't miss out on what's happening before you. Capture the immediacy of the the action. Record the scene as it unfolds without lengthy descriptions. Write longer accounts out of sight of the participants or after you are through engaging with individuals.

Take regular breaks during the day to record your observations and thoughts in more detail. Add more detail to transcriptions of interviews. Organize and refine your jottings and short notes into descriptive and chronologically ordered field notes. Write detailed descriptions of the people, noting their attitudes, clothing, hairstyles, body language and other mannerisms.

In the evening, when you are out of the field, interpret and analyze your observations of the day. Using your notes of the day, write about insights you have gained. Add context to the field notes. Include family histories, historical information and scientific perspective to the notes in preparation for writing your ethnography, which is your final journal of your fieldwork.