Field work is a general descriptive term for the collection of raw data. The term is mainly used in the natural and social sciences studies. It is more technically known to scientific methodologists as field research. In survey research, field work refers to face-to-face or telephone interviewing. Face-to-face interview can be defined as a method of administering a questionnaire that involves face to face interaction with the participant.

There are two types of face to face interviews which is the unstructured face to face interview and the structured face to face interview. While telephone interview is an interview conducted over the telephone.

The interviewing or observation of people to learn their languages, folklore, and social structures constitutes field work. Especially when humans themselves are the subject of study, protocols must be devised to reduce the risk of observer bias and the acquisition of too theoretical or idealized explanations of the actual workings of a culture.