PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN FIELD WORK
- Language Barrier
-Inability to communicate due to the interviewer and the respondent not sharing the same language or respondents may be illiterate and thus unable to fill questionnaire.
The problems are:
- Data may not be collected
- Illiterate people may give wrong answers while attempting questionnaires
- An interpreter may have to be engages who would be paid which would raise costs.
- Answers may be distorted by the interpreter
- Hostility
Those being approached to give answers may become harsh due to feeling that their time is being wasted which would cause the field study to be unsuccessful.
- Dishonest Respondents
– Respondents giving wrong information due to suspicion fear of shame or superstition.
- Bad Weather
Raining heavily making it impossible to proceed with data collection and difficulty in movement.
Becoming very hot making participants uncomfortable and thus unable to proceed with data collection smoothly.
Becoming misty or foggy causing invisibility problems.
- Accidents in the Field
One may fall and get injured when walking on rugged areas.
Injuries may result when using tools to get samples by cutting using pangas or knives and digging using hoes.
- Attacks by Wild Animals
– Participants may encounter wild animals when carrying out the study in bushy areas e.g. snakes which may bite them, rhinos which may charge at them, etc.
- Inaccessibility
– physical barriers such as swamps, rivers without bridges, steep slopes and thick vegetation may hinder participants from reaching areas with vital information.
