Critical Review: Barz, ch 13

I'm very thankful that I was able to experience taking fieldnotes before reading this chapter.  The issues of how the fieldnotes affect our final opinion of our research seems particularly relevant, for obvious reason.  I think that before this reading, I had seen fieldnotes as a very specific kind of document, similar to the notes one takes during class.  However, I really enjoyed reading about the different kinds of documents--such as letters home--that Barz included in his catalogue of fieldnotes.  It was striking to me that some things he never intended to note wound up being a large part of his final research.  For example, the picture where he did not realize his writing supplies were so prominent.  His ability to have such dynamic aspects of his work be fieldnotes was very beneficial, I think, in ensuring that the his research was as faithful to the experience as possible, not just to his perception of the experience.  His point on the affects of fieldnotes upon our final research is certainly valid, and it makes me wonder how if we should take our fieldnotes with this in mind, or just take them in a way that seems appropriate at the time, and then try to allow our research to take the shape the notes seem to suggest.  

Discussion question:  Should we keep our research in mind when taking fieldnotes?  Or should we try to 'forget' any aspect of our ultimate aim when taking notes of any kind, just take them as we become inspired by the situation, and trust that even if we cannot see any pattern at the time, they will form a coherent whole when we look them over from our desks at home?