A field research checklist
Traditional Crafts Documentation
A research-based checklist for systematic documentation of traditional crafts.
Work through seven research parameters, one pointer at a time. Mark what you have collected, keep field notes and evidence beside each question, and see at a glance what is still missing before the next field visit.
- Product Attributes4 of 5 collected
- Making Process2 of 5 collected
- Material Ecology1 of 5 collected
- Artisan Profile and Knowledge Systems0 of 5 collected
- + 3 more parameters
Field note: names of two hand tools still to confirm with the senior artisan.
What information do I need to collect?
Every parameter lists its research pointers, in order, with a description where one is configured.
What have I already collected?
Each pointer carries its own status, notes and evidence, with who last changed it and when.
What is still missing?
Filter to pending pointers, or open the Pending Information Report to plan the next visit.
The research framework
Seven parameters, one checklist
The framework is fixed at seven parameters. The detailed pointers under each are configured by administrators and versioned, so a record always keeps the wording it was started with.
- 01
Product Attributes
What is made: the products, their form, and how they are recognised.
- 02
Making Process
How it is made, step by step, with which tools and skills.
- 03
Material Ecology
Where the materials come from and how their availability is changing.
- 04
Artisan Profile and Knowledge Systems
Who makes it, and how the knowledge is held and passed on.
- 05
Socio Cultural Landscape
The craft's place in community life, ritual and identity.
- 06
Post Production
What happens after making: finishing, pricing, selling, reaching buyers.
- 07
External Support System
Schemes, institutions and organisations around the craft.
- Pointers are added, reworded and reordered in Settings, then published as a new version.
Every pointer has its own status
- Not Yet Collected
- No information collected yet.
- Partially Collected
- Some information, more research needed.
- Collected
- The required information is collected.
- Not Applicable
- Not relevant to this craft or context.
Completion counts only what is collected, out of the pointers that apply: Collected ÷ (Total − Not Applicable). Partial work is shown, but never counted as done.
How it works
From first visit to finished record
- 1
Open the checklist
Start a documentation record for a craft. It opens on the seven parameters and the current checklist version.
- 2
Collect and track
Work pointer by pointer: set the status, write field notes in any language, attach photographs and documents.
- 3
Organise
Map what you collected into Identification, Documentation and Further Action, without typing anything twice.
- 4
Review and export
Check what is outstanding, mark the record ready for review, and save the reports as PDF.
Documentation outputs
Collected once, organised three ways
Outputs are views over the checklist, not more questionnaires. Every organised entry links back to the pointer it came from, and editing a summary never overwrites the original field notes.
Identification
- Craft identity and local names
- Crafted products
- Geography and map location
- Associated community
- Research metadata
Documentation
- Tangible
- Products, materials, tools, workspaces
- Intangible
- Knowledge, skills, techniques, oral history
- Operational
- Workflow, sourcing, labour, markets
Further Action
- What has been done
- What needs to be done
- Research follow-ups from gaps
- Stays editable after completion
Every pointer with its status, notes and completion statistics.
Identification, documentation, further action and sources.
Only what is still missing, ready for the next field visit.
Built for fieldwork
Careful with research data
Drafts that survive bad connections
Edits save automatically. "All changes saved" appears only once the server confirms; a failed save keeps your work and retries.
Versions that never relabel research
Each record keeps the checklist version it began with. Status changes are kept as history, with who made them.
Evidence stays private
Uploads are never made public. Photographs appear in reports only where consent is recorded.
Locations kept approximate
The craft map shows rounded positions, coarser for stakeholders, so sensitive places are not pinpointed.
Who it is for
One record, several people
Researchers, institutions, government and NGO teams work on the same records, each seeing what their role allows. Permissions are checked on the server for every request.
- Researchers
- Start documentation, collect and track, prepare outputs.
- Reviewers
- Check collected information, ask for clarification, approve records.
- Stakeholders
- Read completed summaries and follow further action.
- Administrators
- Manage accounts and publish checklist versions.
Pick up where you left off.
Your checklists open at the pointer you were last working on.