Phase 2: In-person qualitative research
In-person fieldwork has involved in-depth interviews with growers and workers and ethnographic (observational) research. Observational in-person research is very important to allow research findings to be contextualised in the physical and lived environments in which people carry out their daily lives. It allows researchers to engage with people who do not normally respond to internet-based methods of research. For this reason the researcher has travelled to five counties in the UK which produce high volumes of fruit and vegetables.
As part of this phase of the research we visited public events and trade shows hosted by the sector. The first of these was a visit to the British Leafy Salads Association Demonstration Day, held in Shropshire. Although the emphasis in this phase of the project is on place-based and in-person encounters, some follow up interviews will take place on-line, especially where the researcher has already met the participants in person. The survey results from phase one of the project informed the exact locations of observational research. This phase is now complete.
