Wow. Whoa. Really?
In transcribing I have learned that my vocal cues indicating that I am actively listening, while effective in real time, appear idiotic on paper! During my interview for the individual interview assignment I listened to a well-spoken, and quite loquacious, person tell the story of her life. There was little need to ask her questions, yet I wanted to affirm that I was listening. Wow, whoa and really seem to be my fall back words in such a situation.
I also came prepared with a protocol and only used the first question. We made it from A to Z without my having to return to ask for more information. So, it basically looks on paper as though I have left the room! :)
So...how does one communicate active listening without using nonsense words? Is it acceptable to just listen - when the story teller is offering a story that, without prompts, is answering your questions? And how much interjection is enough vs. too much?
This is harder than it appears, and twice as hard as it sounds!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Research Journal - Faith Reflection
Having completed my first interview for this course, I find myself reflecting on the nature of truth as I see it and as it may appear to someone else. Christians tend to believe in TRUTH that is immutable and eternal. For me, even as a Christian, truth is something personal, often situational, and subject to revision when confronted with facts that alter my perceptions. My capital letter Truths are few, deeply held, and articulated in the simplest terms - I believe in God because I see His work, I am in relationship with Christ because I KNOW Him - in ways that are found at the bleeding edge of the precipice of faith, you must leap in order to know and understand, and having leapt find Truth waiting there in a way that others rarely comprehend.
My understanding of truth and reality are often the reverse of the norm. Truth is the way that I see and make sense of the world. Outside and above that truth stands reality - a place where the verifiable, observable without interpretation occurrence exists. Twenty people may observe a Reality and each will bring his or her own truth to it. That they differ does not diminish the fact of their truth, nor does the difference alter the Reality.
With this lens, I must approach every answer in an interview with absolute belief in the truth of the statements presented to me. This is tough for a person who has seen darkness and has a layer of cynicism regarding motives. I have lived a great deal of my life with a parent who told pathological lies, yet have come to see the inherent truth in the wish that was father to those lies. A truly Great Story has much in it of truth, and as much of hope in what might be truth.
And now I have been presented with the gift of a wonderful personal Story. The teller of this tale has entrusted me with her memories and experiences. I am tempted to unravel the tale and look for places where, perhaps, what is remembered is more wish than fact, but I must honor the gift and preserve it intact.
My understanding of truth and reality are often the reverse of the norm. Truth is the way that I see and make sense of the world. Outside and above that truth stands reality - a place where the verifiable, observable without interpretation occurrence exists. Twenty people may observe a Reality and each will bring his or her own truth to it. That they differ does not diminish the fact of their truth, nor does the difference alter the Reality.
With this lens, I must approach every answer in an interview with absolute belief in the truth of the statements presented to me. This is tough for a person who has seen darkness and has a layer of cynicism regarding motives. I have lived a great deal of my life with a parent who told pathological lies, yet have come to see the inherent truth in the wish that was father to those lies. A truly Great Story has much in it of truth, and as much of hope in what might be truth.
And now I have been presented with the gift of a wonderful personal Story. The teller of this tale has entrusted me with her memories and experiences. I am tempted to unravel the tale and look for places where, perhaps, what is remembered is more wish than fact, but I must honor the gift and preserve it intact.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Reading Log #2 - Part 4
Reading Log, Nathan, Chap. 3
Summary:
Nathan expands on the theme of community and diversity begun near the end of chapter two, first reporting the stress placed upon community by the academy at large, then as it is encompassed by structured attempts within AnyU itself. Activities intended to boost community, such as freshman seminar, shared reading of a common book assignment, and dorm-initiated activities (movie night, talent show, etc.) are related - all of which are failures in their attempt to engender a shared experience and sense of community. The author ascribes these failures to a thwarted sense of autonomy on the part of the student and an over abundant "proliferation of choices" that are poorly attended and therefore expanded in an effort to garner more success - an ever widening circle of disenfranchisment that is self perpetuating in its desperate attempt to create unity.
Nathan recounts an attempt to establish rules known as a "community living agreement" from among suggestions offered rather half-heartedly by the hall residents at the behest of the RA. She uses the "agreement" to which no one actually agreed, and including rules that could not be enforced, as exemplary of the current status of community in US institutions of higher education. She sees the University as a place where being in community depends upon private will and the decision to be included, rather than a place that by design or nature creates community on its own.
The exercise of free will is also seen in the way that dorms themselves are now constructed. Nathan reports that collective living arrangements have given way to condo-like arrangements that do not lend themselves to community in the same way as traditional, shared spaces have done in the past. Areas intended as social spaces are now used as retreats from the more noisy gatherings taking place in individual rooms, a reverse of the traditionally envisioned functions of both sites.
Personal networks form the basis of community at AnyU, networks that revolve around shared interests and are often formed before the student enters college or during the earliest weeks on campus. These networks differ person by person, and while they may share members, they are comprised of individuals central to the person describing them so that they form overlapping groups. It is interesting to note that Nathan seems to observe and remain a fringe member of dorm society - to the point that she must use interviews to completely understand the dynamic, rather than experiencing it firsthand, despite having gone "under cover" to do so.
Nathan uses some telling phrases in describing her study, phrases that illustrate the disconnect she has from the students she is studying. Statements such as "Students, I imagine, would see it..." and "in my day..." point out the place where Nathan exists within the freshman world - outside looking in, imagining rather than really experiencing anew, comparing past experience of the known with that of students who are truly seeing the university world for the first time.
Because she found student social networks tended to consist of members of the same ethnicity, despite NSSE findings to the contrary, Nathan undertook the last project described in this chapter, a mini-study of student dining. Her observations of student preferences for shared dining tables tended to corroborate her findings regarding diversity in the dorms - white students primarily socialized with white students, ethnic minorities with other ethnic minorities.
Reflection:
Certainly Nathan's age and life experience conspire to keep her a perpetual outsider, even as she struggles to understand and confront university life in new ways, but it is especially her prior knowledge, and constant comparison of, the university with which she is well-versed that keep her an observer/listener rather than an included participant. She cannot become invisible enough to reach into the student experience - she will remain a sort of novelty, perhaps even a mascot, an "Other" inside the walls. While students may find her amusing, and game for their activities, her very willingness to attend every event and embrace each new attempt at community building marks her as someone who is not part of the gang - and can never be.
I continue to see this book as fascinating, a good read, and offering a number of insights into what it feels like to be a new student - disoriented, uncomfortable, disenfranchised - that serve to underscore the divide between the university writ large and the student. For this reason alone it deserves its place on the academic shelf. However, it is, I think a book that has limitations that must be acknowledged and taken into account when putting its findings into practice.
Summary:
Nathan expands on the theme of community and diversity begun near the end of chapter two, first reporting the stress placed upon community by the academy at large, then as it is encompassed by structured attempts within AnyU itself. Activities intended to boost community, such as freshman seminar, shared reading of a common book assignment, and dorm-initiated activities (movie night, talent show, etc.) are related - all of which are failures in their attempt to engender a shared experience and sense of community. The author ascribes these failures to a thwarted sense of autonomy on the part of the student and an over abundant "proliferation of choices" that are poorly attended and therefore expanded in an effort to garner more success - an ever widening circle of disenfranchisment that is self perpetuating in its desperate attempt to create unity.
Nathan recounts an attempt to establish rules known as a "community living agreement" from among suggestions offered rather half-heartedly by the hall residents at the behest of the RA. She uses the "agreement" to which no one actually agreed, and including rules that could not be enforced, as exemplary of the current status of community in US institutions of higher education. She sees the University as a place where being in community depends upon private will and the decision to be included, rather than a place that by design or nature creates community on its own.
The exercise of free will is also seen in the way that dorms themselves are now constructed. Nathan reports that collective living arrangements have given way to condo-like arrangements that do not lend themselves to community in the same way as traditional, shared spaces have done in the past. Areas intended as social spaces are now used as retreats from the more noisy gatherings taking place in individual rooms, a reverse of the traditionally envisioned functions of both sites.
Personal networks form the basis of community at AnyU, networks that revolve around shared interests and are often formed before the student enters college or during the earliest weeks on campus. These networks differ person by person, and while they may share members, they are comprised of individuals central to the person describing them so that they form overlapping groups. It is interesting to note that Nathan seems to observe and remain a fringe member of dorm society - to the point that she must use interviews to completely understand the dynamic, rather than experiencing it firsthand, despite having gone "under cover" to do so.
Nathan uses some telling phrases in describing her study, phrases that illustrate the disconnect she has from the students she is studying. Statements such as "Students, I imagine, would see it..." and "in my day..." point out the place where Nathan exists within the freshman world - outside looking in, imagining rather than really experiencing anew, comparing past experience of the known with that of students who are truly seeing the university world for the first time.
Because she found student social networks tended to consist of members of the same ethnicity, despite NSSE findings to the contrary, Nathan undertook the last project described in this chapter, a mini-study of student dining. Her observations of student preferences for shared dining tables tended to corroborate her findings regarding diversity in the dorms - white students primarily socialized with white students, ethnic minorities with other ethnic minorities.
Reflection:
Certainly Nathan's age and life experience conspire to keep her a perpetual outsider, even as she struggles to understand and confront university life in new ways, but it is especially her prior knowledge, and constant comparison of, the university with which she is well-versed that keep her an observer/listener rather than an included participant. She cannot become invisible enough to reach into the student experience - she will remain a sort of novelty, perhaps even a mascot, an "Other" inside the walls. While students may find her amusing, and game for their activities, her very willingness to attend every event and embrace each new attempt at community building marks her as someone who is not part of the gang - and can never be.
I continue to see this book as fascinating, a good read, and offering a number of insights into what it feels like to be a new student - disoriented, uncomfortable, disenfranchised - that serve to underscore the divide between the university writ large and the student. For this reason alone it deserves its place on the academic shelf. However, it is, I think a book that has limitations that must be acknowledged and taken into account when putting its findings into practice.
Reading Log #2 - Part 3
Reading Log, Creswell, Chap. 8
Summary:
Creswell describes data analysis in qualitative research as consisting of three interrelated steps: 1. Organizing/processing data for analysis, 2. reducing data into themes via coding, and 3. representing the data. He then presents three research strategies as illustrated by three researchers (one is a team of two) - Madison, Huberman & Miles, and Wolcott. The strategies used by the example authors are provided in table format, making it easier to see how each views and handles the research steps.
The author points out that the steps in qual. research are not distinct from one another, but require the researcher to continually re-evaluate data in a spiral that loops from data collection until it reaches a point at which an account of the study can be articulated. The spiral will look different for each approach to qualitative research, and for each study that is conducted.
Creswell spends a good deal of text explaining coding and classifying, and the various methods and views held by differing researchers. What emerges is a rather daunting picture of the miasma of detail and decision making that takes place while analyzing data.
Following coding and classifying, the author presents suggestions, examples and procedures for analysis and representation in each of the five approaches to qual. literature. These summaries provide an excellent map for studies in each of the approaches, including the types of coding and description that pertain to each.
Finally, Creswell describes the use of computer programs for the five approaches to qual. research and gives tips on selecting a program with which to work. He also supplies templates for use in coding in each of the five approaches used in the book.
Reflection:
Okay, um, OUCH! What Creswell has basically done is to "scare the caca out of me" (to quote a favorite movie - Murder by Death). I am very much drawn to qualitative research as a means to tell a story. But the hard decisions about meaning and themes, the sheer volume of data that Creswell describes are beyond daunting!
Part of the challenge that this type of research represents to me is in the decision making. I tend, as an Activator, to make snap decisions and act upon them. In qualitative research this is obviously not the preferred or recommended way to proceed. I must discipline myself in order to make decisions about codes, themes, models in order to do meaningful research. But thinking at this level sometimes creates indecision in me, a second-guessing regarding what I really know and how I know it.
I also tend to be a bit of a last minute thinker and when I plan it is at a gut level - understanding only when the pressure is on what is really needed for a successful outcome. This semester is going to really task my ability to focus and plan ahead. This is not a bad thing - I love a challenge!
Summary:
Creswell describes data analysis in qualitative research as consisting of three interrelated steps: 1. Organizing/processing data for analysis, 2. reducing data into themes via coding, and 3. representing the data. He then presents three research strategies as illustrated by three researchers (one is a team of two) - Madison, Huberman & Miles, and Wolcott. The strategies used by the example authors are provided in table format, making it easier to see how each views and handles the research steps.
The author points out that the steps in qual. research are not distinct from one another, but require the researcher to continually re-evaluate data in a spiral that loops from data collection until it reaches a point at which an account of the study can be articulated. The spiral will look different for each approach to qualitative research, and for each study that is conducted.
Creswell spends a good deal of text explaining coding and classifying, and the various methods and views held by differing researchers. What emerges is a rather daunting picture of the miasma of detail and decision making that takes place while analyzing data.
Following coding and classifying, the author presents suggestions, examples and procedures for analysis and representation in each of the five approaches to qual. literature. These summaries provide an excellent map for studies in each of the approaches, including the types of coding and description that pertain to each.
Finally, Creswell describes the use of computer programs for the five approaches to qual. research and gives tips on selecting a program with which to work. He also supplies templates for use in coding in each of the five approaches used in the book.
Reflection:
Okay, um, OUCH! What Creswell has basically done is to "scare the caca out of me" (to quote a favorite movie - Murder by Death). I am very much drawn to qualitative research as a means to tell a story. But the hard decisions about meaning and themes, the sheer volume of data that Creswell describes are beyond daunting!
Part of the challenge that this type of research represents to me is in the decision making. I tend, as an Activator, to make snap decisions and act upon them. In qualitative research this is obviously not the preferred or recommended way to proceed. I must discipline myself in order to make decisions about codes, themes, models in order to do meaningful research. But thinking at this level sometimes creates indecision in me, a second-guessing regarding what I really know and how I know it.
I also tend to be a bit of a last minute thinker and when I plan it is at a gut level - understanding only when the pressure is on what is really needed for a successful outcome. This semester is going to really task my ability to focus and plan ahead. This is not a bad thing - I love a challenge!
Reading Log #2 - Part 2
Reading Log, Nathan, Chap. 2
Summary:
The author describes her dorm room, residence hall, and its occupants in this chapter. Along with the descriptions of such items as door decorations and bulletin board flyers, she recounts "mandatory" meetings, encounters with hall mates, and the chaotic schedule being kept by most residents of her hall.
Themes emerging from Nathan's experiences in the dorm and the first weeks of classes include:
Differences in ways that time was spent -students appeared to be studying and socializing less than past studies indicate, while more time was spent working and volunteering.
The "over-optioned" public university system - options available to students, and how they chose to deal with those options, have two implications: 1. there is little that is automatically shared by people attending the same university and 2. despite the emphasis placed on creating community, the options given and differing lifestyles that ensue are barriers to campus community.
Reflection:
I begin to see some of the methodological problems with Nathan's study. She does not fit into the typical image of a traditional 18-22 year old student and does not share their need to prepare for a future in which clubs and volunteering are seen as essential. She is attempting to go undercover, but she cannot truly "pass" as a typical college student.
Further, Nathan gleans much of what she writes about through interviews with the other students. She can observe some of what is happening in their lives, but has to rely a great deal on the outcomes of these interviews. Her observations are necessarily colored by her own perspective, which is somewhat removed from the students' stage of life. She also brings with her a knowledge of the expected outcomes of university life - and while she acknowledges this bias, she has enough background to be looking for very specific things in relation to college life, rather than simply observing and reporting her findings. I realize this is part of what must happen anytime an outsider attempts to learn about a group of people, but I wonder if more of the background knowledge should come later rather than sooner. Is it better to go somewhat unprepared and then to compare findings to what is in the literature? Is that even possible in most cases?
Summary:
The author describes her dorm room, residence hall, and its occupants in this chapter. Along with the descriptions of such items as door decorations and bulletin board flyers, she recounts "mandatory" meetings, encounters with hall mates, and the chaotic schedule being kept by most residents of her hall.
Themes emerging from Nathan's experiences in the dorm and the first weeks of classes include:
Differences in ways that time was spent -students appeared to be studying and socializing less than past studies indicate, while more time was spent working and volunteering.
The "over-optioned" public university system - options available to students, and how they chose to deal with those options, have two implications: 1. there is little that is automatically shared by people attending the same university and 2. despite the emphasis placed on creating community, the options given and differing lifestyles that ensue are barriers to campus community.
Reflection:
I begin to see some of the methodological problems with Nathan's study. She does not fit into the typical image of a traditional 18-22 year old student and does not share their need to prepare for a future in which clubs and volunteering are seen as essential. She is attempting to go undercover, but she cannot truly "pass" as a typical college student.
Further, Nathan gleans much of what she writes about through interviews with the other students. She can observe some of what is happening in their lives, but has to rely a great deal on the outcomes of these interviews. Her observations are necessarily colored by her own perspective, which is somewhat removed from the students' stage of life. She also brings with her a knowledge of the expected outcomes of university life - and while she acknowledges this bias, she has enough background to be looking for very specific things in relation to college life, rather than simply observing and reporting her findings. I realize this is part of what must happen anytime an outsider attempts to learn about a group of people, but I wonder if more of the background knowledge should come later rather than sooner. Is it better to go somewhat unprepared and then to compare findings to what is in the literature? Is that even possible in most cases?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Reading Log #2 - Part 1
Reading Log: Nathan, Chap. 1
Summary:
The author, a 50+ year old professor of Anthropology, describes her growing realization of a disconnect between herself and her students. This realization eventually grows into the idea for an ethnography wherein the author anonymously enrolls as a freshman at her own university and begins the process of chronicling what it is like to be a student. She moves into the dorms, takes a full load of classes (at first), eats in the caf, and takes part in a multiplicity of activities - all while maintaining a very large-scale research agenda.
Reflection:
How much do I love this book? This sounds so much like suck-up talk, but the truth is that the writing is engaging, the topic completely appropriate to my life (hello - 45 year old librarian and mother takes on the PhD), and basically is the best guide to the world of ethnography a neophyte could find.
Nathan begins with some questions about the ethics of posing as a member of the culture under study, of writing under an assumed name, and of whether choices she made surrounding her "undercover" identity are tantamount to lying. I wanted to skip to the Afterword just to see how she answers her questions, justifies her choices, but I did not because I want to let the story unfold without that additional baggage. Still, there are potholes here that must pertain to every study a qualitative researcher might choose to undertake. How much of us is too much, too little, when we make ourselves a part of what we study in this way?
I must admit to having read few (maybe no) ethnographic books. Libraries are not typically the land of ethnography and so my professional reading is likely to avoid them. So far in my PhD course work they have been inappropriate as well, since most of what we do, and the direction in which we are pointed, is biased toward the quantitative. With that in mind, it is easy to see why my research design paper was put together in a way that did not make sense to a qualitative researcher and engendered comments about placement of information, sparse details, etc. What a difference reading this book is making in how I see myself writing about the research for this class!
Summary:
The author, a 50+ year old professor of Anthropology, describes her growing realization of a disconnect between herself and her students. This realization eventually grows into the idea for an ethnography wherein the author anonymously enrolls as a freshman at her own university and begins the process of chronicling what it is like to be a student. She moves into the dorms, takes a full load of classes (at first), eats in the caf, and takes part in a multiplicity of activities - all while maintaining a very large-scale research agenda.
Reflection:
How much do I love this book? This sounds so much like suck-up talk, but the truth is that the writing is engaging, the topic completely appropriate to my life (hello - 45 year old librarian and mother takes on the PhD), and basically is the best guide to the world of ethnography a neophyte could find.
Nathan begins with some questions about the ethics of posing as a member of the culture under study, of writing under an assumed name, and of whether choices she made surrounding her "undercover" identity are tantamount to lying. I wanted to skip to the Afterword just to see how she answers her questions, justifies her choices, but I did not because I want to let the story unfold without that additional baggage. Still, there are potholes here that must pertain to every study a qualitative researcher might choose to undertake. How much of us is too much, too little, when we make ourselves a part of what we study in this way?
I must admit to having read few (maybe no) ethnographic books. Libraries are not typically the land of ethnography and so my professional reading is likely to avoid them. So far in my PhD course work they have been inappropriate as well, since most of what we do, and the direction in which we are pointed, is biased toward the quantitative. With that in mind, it is easy to see why my research design paper was put together in a way that did not make sense to a qualitative researcher and engendered comments about placement of information, sparse details, etc. What a difference reading this book is making in how I see myself writing about the research for this class!
Research Journal - Methodological Memo
Aack! So, first I found out that my institution believes I need an IRB for pretty much everything I am doing this semester that involves talking to students. Nothing I can't handle, except that as part of the IRB proposal I need to submit my protocols for the interviews. Ahem.
I didn't actually have a protocol ready for my HED 742 project, but thought it wouldn't be very difficult to pull one together. Wrong! There are a million ways to ask any question, and the answers will be just as varied depending on which way the question is posed. I am beginning to see what an art it is to form a question that allows for a full response, and that does not tip my hand by telling the participant exactly what I am hoping to hear. That said, it is also quite difficult to make a "generic" sort of open ended question interesting enough to ellicit a rich response.
I also see how much reading I need to do in order to be informed enough to know what to expect in the way of responses and what to ask that will help the students to understand, not what I want them to say, but sort of how I want them to think around the topics we will be exploring. But I want my reading to inform and not dictate to my study, if that makes sense. How do I read without coming to conclusions that may not apply to my study population, and yet still read enough to create thoughtful, nuanced questions?!
I am also concerned that I might not get enough data to really shore up a grounded theory. At what point is it acceptable to change from one methodology to another? Might I get enough data for a phenomenology rather than a grounded theory? When will I know? How late into the game can I make a shift if it looks like it is necessary?
I didn't actually have a protocol ready for my HED 742 project, but thought it wouldn't be very difficult to pull one together. Wrong! There are a million ways to ask any question, and the answers will be just as varied depending on which way the question is posed. I am beginning to see what an art it is to form a question that allows for a full response, and that does not tip my hand by telling the participant exactly what I am hoping to hear. That said, it is also quite difficult to make a "generic" sort of open ended question interesting enough to ellicit a rich response.
I also see how much reading I need to do in order to be informed enough to know what to expect in the way of responses and what to ask that will help the students to understand, not what I want them to say, but sort of how I want them to think around the topics we will be exploring. But I want my reading to inform and not dictate to my study, if that makes sense. How do I read without coming to conclusions that may not apply to my study population, and yet still read enough to create thoughtful, nuanced questions?!
I am also concerned that I might not get enough data to really shore up a grounded theory. At what point is it acceptable to change from one methodology to another? Might I get enough data for a phenomenology rather than a grounded theory? When will I know? How late into the game can I make a shift if it looks like it is necessary?
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