ABSTRACT
This chapter describes three aspects of fieldnotes in anthropological research: how they are produced; how they affect relationships in the field; and how they can be implemented to improve research transparency. While fieldnotes are often co-produced by researchers and assistant(s), assistants’ contributions to anthropological publications are widely underexposed to the extent of plagiarism. Many anthropologists have presented their publications as their own work and—apart from stingy acknowledgements—obscured their assistants’ substantial inputs. Writing fieldnotes together is often the result of creative companionship between researcher and assistant (or co-researcher), but also contributes to that relationship. As such, we propose friendship as a tool for fieldwork. Given the need for greater transparency in connecting fieldnotes with publications, we also present a new (digital) way of providing readers with direct access to fieldnotes that are the basis of claims and conclusions made in the final publication. Both authors, one junior and the other retired, share their experiences conducting fieldwork in Malawi and in Ghana, respectively. By merging a narrative of fieldwork that took place almost 50 years ago with one of five years ago we explore changes that have occurred in anthropological reflection on field relationships and fieldnotes.
