March 14th Meeting Minutes - Fieldwork

Women in Science Meeting 

March 14th, 2012

Topic: Fieldwork 

I. Introductions

-Student panelists 

-Maria Padilla:

• Campus Climate and Compliance Office
• Importance of talking and bringing up issues early after they arise; preventative action

II. How to set up field work/connections for field sites

-Apply for fellowships early

-Fulbright

-Moorea/other Berkeley stations

-GSIing Moorea course

-Write lots of emails

-Look at authors of papers you’re interested in

-Government sources

-Talk to museums to access field notes

-Talk to groups that work where you want to to get your foot in the door

-Go on a training trip/field course to get started and make connections

III. How to pick a field site

(Much more after the jump!)
- Talk to your professors/post-docs/older grad students

- Go to the field with older grad students

- Pick sites based on field station availability

- Consider language barriers

- Places you have family or other connections

-Advice for starting from scratch:

• Call and email a lot
• Apply for permits
• Contact authors of papers on fieldwork in the countries you want to work in (look at acknowledgments); ask for contact information for on-site sources
• Publish contact people in your dissertation for future generations

 IV. Financial Resources for Fieldwork

-       - Look for taxon-specific organizations

-       - Apply for lots of small grants

-       - Museum grants

-       - Domestic: national parks, reserves, national monuments, governmental agencies, etc.

-       - Lewis and Clark – for fieldwork

-       - UC Mexus (spelling?) – for Mexico only

-       - EAPSI – Pacific Rim

-       - Pacific Rim Grant (NSF)

-       - Women’s Grants : PEO grants?

V. Field Assistants

-       A. Hiring Field Assistants

•       If you can afford it, bring an undergraduate/assistant even if they don’t do that much; important for support (emotional, logistics, safety, companionship, outlet)
•        It gets lonely to be a female foreigner in an unfamiliar country alone
•        Volunteer vs. paid
•        Local vs. bringing an assistant with you : consider cultural differences for hiring local assistants
•        Interpersonal issues with field assistants:
•        Friend or partner as a field assistant?

 B. How to choose a field assistant

•        Pick an undergrad that you know and have worked with
•        Be careful hiring friends that you don’t have scientific/academic experience with
•        Close friend or partner?

VI. Problems Solving

-       A. Problems that come up

•        Permit delays
•        Lack of field station
•        Collaborators/ownership of collection material
•        Sample collection
•        Problems getting along with field assistants

-        B. Field Assistant Issues

•         How to maintain boundaries?
•       Not taking advantage of field assistants (especially if they’re not being paid); giving them free time, taking days off,
•        You’re not their parent and can't be responsible for them in free time (be careful about drinking), but while they're doing your field work it's important to be very aware of safety

C. Safety/Legal Issues 

•        UC waiver system!
•        Your own waiver sheet, too? (mention any safety issues)
•        UC Berkeley travel insurance!
•        Get emergency contact information and medical insurance provider
•        Discuss any problems with other people; don’t feel you must handle it by yourself
•        What happens if a field assistant gets hurt?  Even with waivers, there’s risk and liability.