Fieldwork Diary Entry (April 5, 2014)

The constant stalling of my fieldwork is frustrating and stressful. It has been a month since I first established field sites but have still not been out into the field. The reason again is sickness.

I was supposed to attend NLNL on Tuesday April 1 but fell ill again. I think the notion that small children prevent their parents from going out dancing has been truly verified in my case as I keep picking up viruses from my three year old.

Feeling very much like an armchair theorist at the minute except I don't know what really what my theory is.

I also feel apprehensive at the thought of going out dancing as it has been a long time since I did so. I am also knackered before I’ve even begun.  On the plus side, there is a lot of good will towards my project from my friends which I intend to make full use of when asking for survey participants. I think my friends will be pleased when my degree is finished so that I stop asking them to fill in surveys and questionnaires (perhaps).

So far I have recruited three research participants. I am beginning to think that my initial approach of taking the same research participants to several field sites may not be feasible, due to people's availability. Also I have realised that some of the field sites, ie NLNL, I would like to go to on my own.  My current list of field sites are:

• No Light No Lycra - Hackney
• Shiftless Shuffle - Aldgate
• Po Na Na - Wimbledon
• The Watershed - Wimbledon
• I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet - Hither Green, South East London
• Monski Mouse Baby Disco - Southbank

The last two sites are new additions. I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet is a monthly event set up by a lady in her 40s who realised that there wasn't any dance events which catered to people of her age and interests. On the website, she states:

It's a fact of life that most clubs are geared towards 18-30's but that shouldn't mean that the rest of us have to sit on the sofa in our slippers on a Saturday night or start wearing head to toe beige. I decided to start Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet! after a disappointing attempt to go dancing with friends. After queuing in the rain for one West End club we decided to call it a night before even getting through the door. At Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet! you can buy your ticket in advance. There's no one deciding if you are cool enough to get in. Dress-up, dress down - the choice is yours.

Monski Mouse Baby Disco is a toddler event which I am taking my daughter and friends to. However I have decided to combine work and life and use the event as a field site, primarily to see how the parents of the children dance. I suspect many will cut loose in order to keep up with their children. Apart from these, I will consider any other event I attend where every day dance occurs, a field site.

One highlight is that my survey* is ready to be sent out to one hundred of my nearest and dearest. I have requested for people to forward it on to their friends and will also post it on Facebook as well as the Dance Industry Professionals group on LinkedIn. Below is the begging email that accompanies it:

Dear Friends,

Would you be able to help me with my dissertation research by filling the below survey online? 

 http://bit.ly/1jNwBmM

My dissertation topic is looking at why you guys (and by that I mean Joe Public) dance the way you do when you're on some sort of a dance floor ( even if that dance floor is your own kitchen at 2am after several bottles of wine with your mates)

I am not looking at trained dancing, but the moves the average person off the street pull when you are out dancing.

All data is anonymous and I would really appreciate if you could spare some time to fill it in. Please also forward the link to anyone you know who might be interested in filling it in. The more data, the better.

I am dragging myself (literally) to the finish line for this degree so please help me get to the end!

I hope you are all well and dancing (even just a little) in your everyday life.

It is quite a long survey containing 20 questions, all of which require more than yes and no answers. What I learned from my last fieldwork experience is that a survey tends to be a lot more relevant if you send it out towards the end of your research process. By that time, you have clearer idea of what questions to ask. I cannot afford the luxury of waiting though, as I need to use the survey data as part of driving the research direction.

*The results of my survey can be read in the summary here