The problems faced depend on the nature of the topic. The problems should not include personal problems but the geographical difficulties, which hindered the information to be obtained. Some of the common problems are:-

1.      Data may not be available or information about the area studied may be scanty.

2.      There is general lack of co-operation from the respondents in the field or respondents are unwilling to respond to the questions asked.

3.      Faulty or false information given by dishonest respondents. The data will contain a lot of inaccuracies.

4.      Some respondents may be ignorant / illiterate and may boy understand the questions. If they attempt to provide answers, they may give wrong information.

5.      Some people in the field may be hostile to carrying out the study. Those approached to give information may be unwilling to do so.

6.      Sometimes, one may not understand the language spoken (language barrier). This could present problems in administering a questionnaire or conducting an oral interview.

7.      Inaccessibility of some areas vital information because of physical barriers such as swamps, steep slopes, deep valleys, thick vegetation, rivers and muddy areas.

8.      While in the field, weather can change and become very hot, making it uncomfortable. Heavy and sudden rains can interrupt the study making it impossible to continue. Foggy or misty weather causes visibility problems.

9.      A lot of noise, e.g. in the market place or factory interferes with data collection during interviews or recording etc.

In an examination, the above problems encountered in the field should be illustrated i.e. the information missed because of facing a particular problem in the field, must be brought out as evidence