Example of "Outfield Notes" during fieldwork at an Edmonton coffee shop

Day 6

Friday February 19, 2010

11:00 am

When I first entered the coffee shop this morning the music was again barely audible. It seemed to be a jazzy combination of marimba and brass. I would almost classify it as “muzak.” I took a seat in one of the large chairs by the window so that I had a good view of most of the shop. Initially there were 4 women and 1 man in line. The first hour that I was there it seemed that men would rarely stay in the shop and would take their orders to go. Many ordered sandwiches and there seemed to be a soup and sandwich lunch deal. 3 individual women in their mid-thirties sat around me. One read a book while the two others were doing work on their computers. To my left a group of 3 women seemed to be having a social lunch meeting and often laughed together during their conversation. 4 others sat at various places in the shop doing work or talking on their phones. The 3 baristas rarely spoke except when they needed assistance with certain orders. 1 of them worked on the right of the counter preparing sandwiches and soup orders, 1 worked at the register preparing drinks and 1 seemed to fill in when the others needed assistance.

At around 12:15 the music was turned on a little louder and continued to fluctuate in volume for the rest of the time that I was there. It was consistently mellow but I had the impression that the baristas turned it up once the lunch rush had passed on at around 12:00. At 12:30 a new song came on that was much louder than before and included a pulsating beat. Numerous people including the group of three meeting in front of me made faces showing their displeasure. A worker came out of the back and said, “This is only one song,” as if to say that the volume only applied to that one song. At about 12:30 one of the baristas went on break and sat at a table next to the counter. She bobbed her head to the music playing on her iPod. At 12:35 the music was turned up too loud again and was quickly corrected by one of the baristas who ran into the back to turn it down.