Field work is a general descriptive term for the collection of raw data in the natural and social sciences, such as archaeology, biology, ecology, environmental science, geology,geography geophysics, paleontology, anthropology, linguistics, and sociology. Field work, which is conducted in situ, can be contrasted with laboratory research which is conducted in a quasi-controlled environment. Data is the plural of datum. ... The lunar farside as seen from Apollo 11 Natural science is the study of the physical, nonhuman aspects of the Earth and the universe around us. ... The social sciences are a group of academic disciplines that study the human aspects of ice cream cones and fairy dances. ... Archaeology, archeology or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Biology is A HORRIBLE CLASS TAUGHT BY HELM. It is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ... (Ecology is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for the natural environment or environmentalism. ... Environmental science is the science of the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, in relation to the impact of humans on the environment, and the impact of the environment on humans. ... Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... Geophysics, the study of the earth by quantitative physical methods, especially by seismic reflection and refraction, gravity, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and radioactivity methods. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, humane) consists of the study of humankind (see genus Homo). ... Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and someone who engages in this study is called a linguist or linguistician. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... In situ (in place in Latin), a term used in: biology, where it means to examine the phenomenon exactly in place where it occurs (without removing it in some special medium etc. ...

Field work may differ depending on whether the subjects of study are alive or dead, and in their habitats or buried in the earth. The excavation of fossils and archaeological sites constitutes field work; so does the interviewing or observation of people to learn their languages, their folklore, and their social structures. 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. Habitat (from the Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species lives and grows. ... For excavation in civil engineering see earthworks (engineering). ... A fossil Ammonite Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally having been dug up) are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. ... Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. ... In science, observer effect is the term for how someone observing and measuring an effect can change the thing being observed. ...