52 a EARLY STEPS IN ANALYSIS

Valore should the tieldworker place most energy during

the next contact, and what kinds of information ingerid be
sought?

Making the form. The questions should be arranged on a

single sheet of papar (using more than both sides of one

sheet defeats the purpose), with space for the fieldworker's answers. Identifying information on the case, the
pmakular contact, the field-worker, and the date should be
indicated as well.
Entering the data. A contact summary sheet is usually best

filiad out as soon as written-up field notes have been reviewed and corrected. At that point you have a perspective
that combines immediacy with a reflective overview of
what went on in the contact. You can include your own
reflective remarks (sea Box 4.2), as well as questions to be
answered during the next contact.
Waiting until a contact has been coded thoroughly and
fully is probably too late. In addition, the process of coding
usually adds so many subsequent thoughts about the contact that summarizing what was originally in the notes may
get buried or distorted.
'Die data on a contact summary sheet are essentialty
phrases or sentences that the field-worker comiden to be
an answer to the form's questions after the complete writeup of the contact has been reviewed. It is helpful to take
notes while the write-up is being reviewed.
Figure 4.1 shows excerpts from an example. Note that
the second and fourth questions of this form indicate that
the field-worker started with a focused set of "target questions." Those are useful when your time is limitad. Information on each question s summarzed, and new target
questions are posad for the next visit. Some of these questions come from the background researchque,stions ("How
do users really perceive the innovation?"), and sorne are
provoked by data corrected during the visit (e.g., English
teacher Reilly's "fati from the chairmaraship"),
Using the resulte. The fiiIed-out sheet can be usad in sev-

era! ways: (a) to golde planning for the next contad., (b) to
suggest new or revisad ocies (sea sections B, C, and D,
following). (c) to help with coordination when more than
one field-worker is involved in the study, (d) to reorient
yourself to the contad when returning to the write-up, and
(e) tu help with further data analysis (the summary sheets
for a number of contacto can themselves be coded and
analyzed). Alt of diese uses are easier if the forms have
been enterad finto a computer database.
It is helpful to attach a copy of the surrarnary form to the
top paga of the write-up, so it's close to the data it summa

rizes. If you're working alone, it is very useful to sisare

copies of the filled-out form with your critican friend and

to build a case file including alt contad summary forms
for that case. Here, too, a computerized approach makes
life easier.
Varia tions
Contad summary sheets, as just notad, can be usad in a
more Systematic way by applying codeo to thent An excerpted illustration appears in Figure 4.2. Here the analyst
had a list of codeo (callad "themes" or"aspects") that were
applied to the "salient points" selected from the write-up.
New codas were also generated.
We have experimentad with doing a "first impressions"
contad summary iminediately after the contad arad before
the write-up, but we do not recommend it. There are risks
of (a) being overimpressed with vivid incidents and (b)
putting off the write-up, with the consequence of distortion
of memory. Like Lofland and Lofland (1984), we encourage doing write-ups no lates than the day after a field contad. It's a good rule, which we aren't always able to respeet.
Advice
The contact summary form looks rather simpleminded.
That is because it is. It's a rapid, practical way to do firstrun data reduction without losing any of die basic information (the write-up) to which it ratera. It captures thoughtful
impressions and reflections. It pullo together the data in the
"soft cornputer"the field-worker' s mindand makes
them available for further reflection and analysis not only
by the field-worker but siso by others.
Keep contad summary forms simple. Focas on the primary concepts, questions, and issues. You need an instrument that makes it easy todo a rapid retrieval asad synthesis
of what the contad was all about.
During the first uses of the roma, it's a good idea to have
someone else read the basic write-up and independently
fin out a summary form. In that way you can surface bias
or selectivity. You need to be elite to rely on suma -raerles, to
be reasonably sure they are a good capsule of the writeup,
Time Required
Hiling out a good contact swnsnary involves reading
and reviewing the write-up (typically, 3 or 4 minutes per
single-spaced page), plus leso than an hour to fill in the
form. If more time is needed, the form is probably too
complex or demanding.