Outtakes: Surviving Our Livelihoods

Welcome to our inaugural edition of Outtakes. Last fall we put out a call to researchers to share unusual situations, surprises, and unexpected challenges that they have encountered in conducting research but which may be out of place in a standard research report. The three stories told here provide lessons from the field—reminders and considerations for researchers in many contexts.

In sticking to our zombie theme for Volume 16, I have to admit that I have not caught “Zombie Fever”; I do not even particularly like to see the commercials on television that advertise zombie shows. Whenever I encounter an image of a zombie I never quite know how to react—with horror or with laughter? But should I ever encounter a real zombie, according to a recent blog posted by real estate company Estately,¹ I would be likely to survive the confrontation.