This post is part of a Fieldwork Tips series.

Many of the things listed below take much longer than you expect. Make sure you allow enough time for everything to get through.

Paperwork

  • Check your passport expiry date. For many places your passport needs to be valid for 6 months beyond your trip end date.
  • Sort out visas and work permits.
  • If you are planning on taking samples out of the country check the procedures required to do so - it might well be that you will need signatures of people who won’t be coming to the field site with you!
  • Check whether you need any extra immunisations. Even if there is nothing special you need it might be wise to double check how recent was your last tetanus shot.
  • Make copies of your important documents, like your passport, visas, permits, flight itineraries, addresses, embassy/consulate address and phone number etc. Photocopies are good, but emailing scans to yourself is a great back up - you might lose the physical copies if all your belongings get stolen or damaged, so soft copies can be life savers.
  • Check with your university whether there is any extra paperwork on their end. For mine I need to fill out paperwork for the travel insurance, fieldwork insurance and file for leave of absence.
  • Bring maps, I like to have several on a different scale, with the important places marked.
  • Bring some passport photos, those can come in handy when you need to gain access to places or sometimes even when you buy a sim card.
  • Insurance - travel, medical and gadget. Make sure you are fully covered and don’t rely on standard travel insurance - most of them don’t cover “extreme” activities by default. I use extreme sports insurance to make sure I’m better covered. Also don’t rely on your university’s insurance - it won’t cover your personal belongings.
  • Ethical approval, if you need it for your project, can take months!

The human element

  • Make sure your friends/parents/partner/colleagues/bosses are aware of where you are going, how long you will be gone and how you can be reached. This might involve email, phone or Skype - you might have to have “meetings” at a pre-arranged days and times.
  • Get to know your team if you can and ask them for advice. Ask what the typical day looks like, what their schedules are, whether there are any rotas (cooking, cleaning, data digitisation etc.). Ask if there is anything they’d like you to bring for them - there might be things they can’t get out there and they miss (I was asked for cheddar!)
  • Make links in the country, especially if you won’t have a team on the ground. It is incredibly helpful and reassuring to have someone there. There might be group email lists that you can join in advance or even clubs, e.g. Hash House Harriers.
  • If you can, arrange for someone to meet you at the airport (or at least find out how much a taxi should cost, have numbers of some good taxi drivers). It is such a relief to have someone help you when you get off the plane after a long haul flights!

Action plan & budget

Have an action plan and budget. Plans might not work out, but I think that going through the planning is an essential exercise. Set yourself some deadlines, make sure you are accountable to someone else too, e.g. let your supervisors know when they should expect to hear from you. Make a list of tasks that need to be accomplished, this way even when you are tired and in a haze things won’t slip your mind.

Budget will help you avoid disasters, but remember to budget for unexpected events - you might need to extend your stay or flee if a natural disaster strikes!