Use this skill whenever a user needs help designing fieldwork data collection instruments or protocols for qualitative or anthropological research. Triggers include: "interview guide," "interview protocol," "focus group guide," "observation protocol," "field notes," "field note template," "fieldwork protocol," "data collection instruments," "sampling strategy," "purposive sampling," "snowball sampling," "data management plan," "DMP," "transcription protocol," "researcher training," "pilot testing," "semi-structured interview," "life history interview," "key informant interview," or "participant observation protocol." Covers interview guides, focus group guides, observation protocols, field note systems, sampling and recruitment, training, pilot testing, and data management. Do NOT use for IRB protocol narratives (use irb-protocol skill), consent documents (use informed-consent skill), or methodology selection (use methodology-selection skill).
Design fieldwork data collection instruments, protocols, and processes for qualitative and anthropological research. This skill treats fieldwork instruments as both technical tools and relational practices: an interview guide is simultaneously a cognitive scaffold for the researcher and a conversational contract with the participant; an observation protocol is both a data capture system and a disciplinary lens that shapes what is noticed and what is missed. Good instruments balance structure with flexibility, providing enough scaffolding to ensure rigor and comparability across contexts while leaving enough space for the emergent, iterative, and relational dynamics that define ethnographic work.
Data collection design is inseparable from data management planning. Decisions about how data will be recorded, stored, transcribed, de-identified, and retained shape what can be collected and how it can be used. A beautifully designed interview guide loses its value if recordings are lost to poor backup practices, or if transcription choices strip context that the analysis depends on. This skill therefore covers the full arc from instrument design through data management, treating them as a single integrated system rather than separate concerns.
The skill also addresses the human infrastructure of fieldwork: training researchers to use instruments consistently without rigidly, building reflexivity into data collection practice, and planning pilot tests that improve instruments before the stakes are highest. Fieldwork quality depends as much on the preparation and adaptability of the researcher as on the design of the instruments themselves.
Cross-references: For full IRB protocol narratives, use the irb-protocol skill. For informed consent documents, use the informed-consent skill. For upstream decisions about which methods to use and why, use the methodology-selection skill. For research question development, use the research-question skill.
| Task | Reference |
|---|---|
| Protocol structure, sampling strategies, pilot testing, training and reflexivity | Read references/protocol-design-guide.md |
| Interview guides, focus group guides, observation protocols, field note systems | Read references/data-collection-methods-guide.md |
| Data storage, transcription, de-identification, backup, retention and destruction | Read references/data-management-guide.md |
Determine the entry point:
Before generating any content, collect these inputs:
Required:
Important but can be inferred: 5. Sampling approach. Purposive, snowball, theoretical, maximum variation, criterion, convenience, or other? If unspecified, recommend based on research questions, population characteristics, and epistemological stance. 6. Recording plans. Audio recording, video recording, handwritten notes, typed notes, photographs, or a combination? Recording decisions affect instrument design, consent requirements, and data management needs. 7. Data storage infrastructure. What tools and platforms are available? Institutional servers, encrypted cloud storage, local encrypted drives? Infrastructure affects data management plan design. 8. Team composition. Solo researcher or team? If a team, what is the experience level? Team size and experience affect training plan design and quality assurance protocols.
Helpful but not required:
references/data-collection-methods-guide.md alone when the
user needs help drafting a specific instrument: interview guide, focus group
guide, observation protocol, or field note template. This is the default
for instrument-drafting tasks.references/protocol-design-guide.md alone when the user needs
help with sampling strategy, recruitment planning, researcher training, or
pilot testing without also needing new instruments.references/data-management-guide.md alone when the user needs
a standalone data management plan covering storage, transcription,
de-identification, backup, and retention.Follow the protocol design process, adapting the sequence to the user's entry