Experience as a Personal Guide Book

Upper Campus, University of the Philippines Los Baños

Gathering data in the field is an entirely new experience for me. I might have read something about it before, yes, but doing the actual activity itself is a different matter altogether. My unforgettable experiences? No doubt, I could go on and on probably produce several pages about it, but I would only focus and the ones that had imprinted on me a more profound impact. After all, at the end of the day, it’s not the scribbles and notes in your paper that matter, but the change that happened to you brought about by what you experienced.

I met new people, and that alone is already a wonderful and unique experience for me. Not being a sociable person, I don’t tend to be really conversational to strangers. But somehow, I can say that during the interview and the field work itself, I was able to come out of my shell, even if a little. I am hoping DEVC 11 will help me achieve that goal. Second is, it was my first time ever to step inside a government institution (PCAMRD-DOST and ERDB-DENR) and the air inside was not how I expected it to be. It was rather like an academic edifice – with so much knowledge pouring, many bustling activities and scientific pursuits. It was a nice and comfortable place to be in.

While in the field, I’ve had some moments of realizations and contemplations. When approaching complete strangers to interrogate them, be it a worker or the head, we must always maintain proper decorum and showcase utmost respect as much as possible. They are spending a few minutes of their precious time to help us, and we should be very grateful for that effort. That being the case, we should immediately state our point directly and waste no time; but, of course, we must do that in a proper way. There’s no use rushing and pressuring them. The second of two things that I’ve realized is this: be an effective listener. We’re asking them a series of questions and explanations. We had better listen well.

On the other hand, what didn’t work well, or wouldn’t, for that matter? Don’t ask simple questions. Ask questions that would provide an intelligent and thoughtful answer. We must have prepared thoroughly before approaching them – that is, research whatever is researchable about them to be able to formulate meaningful inquiries. There are two things that I would do in the future, especially if I were to make an expert interview. First, as I’ve said, research. Second is, to prepare a few questions beforehand as not to burden myself in thinking of a question at the time of the interview.

Let’s move on to the next phase of the activity, which is gathering data and information about the news topic. When I did my research, I wrote the possible keywords regarding my topic that I could think of, so it would be easier to locate data in the four sources (printed, internet, online database and offline database). Also, I tried to broaden the things that I would seek, but of course, not to the point that such information would be too vague it’s useless. I would make sure that there is a relationship to my topic. (Like what I did on mine: I considered soil erosion, my topic being flooding.)

This is only the first step towards mass media writing. Before, I thought this whole activity would be easy. But of course I was mistaken. It doesn’t only require a person to be persevering, but very patient and articulate as well. Indeed, as Ma’am Mia had said, comfort is not a priority. We must not think of ourselves. We must think of the people we involved in this situation, such as the interviews. We must even sacrifice a little, for best results.