ABSTRACT
Doing fieldwork abroad carries with it inherent risks. Unlike work at home in sometimes sheltered campus environments, there is much more uncertainty to deal with on a daily basis, there are different cultural and safety codes to comprehend, and there are usually a great many new stimuli to process simultaneously, to the point where sometimes one’s guard is down. Although we caution against the oft-mistaken belief that fieldwork abroad is intrinsically more dangerous than one’s day-to-day existence back home, it is essential to recognize that one’s familiarity with the risks is typically much less and with less habituation often comes more vulnerability. In this chapter we address security concerns from two different angles to help you anticipate and reduce the risks you run. First, and more importantly, we discuss how to ensure the fieldworker’s personal security. Second, we offer some guidance on maintaining security of data and equipment in the field research process itself.
