These prompts help you at every stage of an ethnographic field study — from preparing your observation guide to turning raw field notes into a structured stakeholder report. Copy the prompt, fill in the bracketed placeholders with your project details, and paste into your preferred AI assistant.
Field observation guide preparation
You are a senior UX researcher planning an ethnographic field study.
Context:
- Product/service: [describe your product or the domain you are studying]
- Research objective: [what you want to learn about users' real-world behavior]
- Target users: [who you will be observing and where]
- Visit length: [2-4 hours / full day]
Create a field observation guide that includes:
1. A checklist of what to observe (environment, tools, people, transitions, artifacts, workarounds)
2. Five to eight contextual interview questions to ask during natural breaks — each grounded in observable behavior, not hypotheticals
3. A photography shot list: specific things to photograph (workspace layout, tools in use, posted instructions, improvised solutions)
4. A debrief template to fill out immediately after each visit (top observations, surprises, emerging patterns, new questions)
Rules:
- Questions must reference what the researcher just observed ("I noticed you did X — can you tell me about that?")
- Include prompts for noting environmental context (noise, lighting, space layout, nearby people)
- Keep the guide to one page so it can be referenced quickly in the fieldField notes to thematic analysis
I conducted [N] ethnographic field visits studying [topic/domain]. Below are my field notes from these visits.
[Paste field notes or key observations]
Analyze this data:
1. Identify 5-8 recurring themes across visits. For each theme, provide: a one-sentence insight, supporting observations from at least two visits, and an implication for design.
2. List all workarounds and improvised solutions you find in the notes, grouped by the problem they solve.
3. Flag environmental factors (physical space, tools, social dynamics) that shaped user behavior.
4. Highlight contradictions: places where what users said differed from what was observed.
5. Identify 3 design opportunities — specific things the product team could change based on these observations.
6. Note gaps: what should we observe more closely in future visits?
Format insights as: "Observation: [what was seen across visits]. Implication: [what it means for the product]. Opportunity: [what to do about it]."Ethnographic research report for stakeholders
Based on the following ethnographic field study insights, write a report for product stakeholders.
[Paste your synthesized insights, key observations, and photos descriptions]
Structure:
1. Executive summary (3-4 sentences: where we went, what we studied, the single most important finding)
2. Study overview (participants, locations, visit format — keep it brief)
3. Key insights (5-8 insights, each with: one-sentence finding, supporting evidence from the field, design implication)
4. Environmental map: describe the physical and social context that matters for the product
5. Workarounds inventory: list user-created solutions and what they reveal about unmet needs
6. Recommendations: prioritized design opportunities (quick wins and strategic shifts)
7. Suggested next steps (what to research, prototype, or test next)
Tone: vivid and concrete. Use specific details from the field to make the findings feel real. No jargon. Stakeholders are product managers and designers who were not present during field visits.Screening and recruitment for field visits
I need to recruit participants for an ethnographic field study.
Context:
- Domain: [what you are studying]
- Research goal: [what you want to observe]
- Target users: [who you need to visit]
- Visit format: [home visit / workplace observation / shadowing]
Write:
1. A screening questionnaire (6-8 questions) that filters for behavioral criteria and willingness to be observed in their environment. Include at least one disqualifying question.
2. A recruitment outreach message (email or message) that explains what participation involves, sets expectations about the visit, and addresses common concerns (privacy, recording, what happens to the data).
3. A consent form outline covering: purpose of the study, what will be recorded (notes, photos, audio, video), how data will be stored and used, participant rights (stop at any time, request deletion).