The term “field study” encompasses a category of activities that can include contextual inquiry, on-site interviews, simple observations, and ethnography. During a field study, a researcher visits end users in their own environments (e.g., home or workplace) and observes them while they are going about their daily tasks. Field studies can last anywhere from a couple of hours to several days to even longer depending on the goals and resources of your study. Using this technique, a UX professional gains a better understanding of the environment and context. By observing users in their own environment, you can capture information that affects the use of a product (e.g., interruptions, distractions, other task demands) and additional context that cannot be captured or replicated in a lab environment. Field studies can be used at any point during the product development life cycle but are typically most beneficial during the conceptual stage.
