This class focused on field work methods and in particular some forms of data collection techniques, such as interviews. One useful tip was that it is important to have an ongoing relationship with your case organization and interviewees rather than a one-off relationship. For example, it is important that the organization benefits from your study and gets something out of it. Like anything, I think that every exchange needs to be reciprocal and while the research is gaining valuable output from the case organization, the organization needs to also gain something valuable. If you are conducting action research, perhaps the benefits to the organization involved are more obvious. Apart from offering a summarised version of the results from the interviews, I think it is important to find some other benefits for the organization. In particular, organizations may gain academic contacts and these contacts could be used for consulting work, given that academics also provide some consulting services to practitioners in the public and private sectors.
In terms of interviews, I think that there are different types of benefits with all types of interviews, including, structured interviews, semi-structured interviews and unstructured interviews. An important point that I learnt was that while it is important to have some structure when conducting interviews so that the interview has some focus and consistency across different interviews, it is also important to have some room for interviews to express their own thoughts and add there own comments. Often interviewees may provide interviews with important sources of data where emergent issues may be revealed that are relevant to the broader research issue. As a result, it is important not to stop interviewees to quickly when they are telling a story because the hook at the end may be what you are looking for and be very important. Sometimes it is the information that is unexpected that is the most significant. I think this is important element or characteristic about research. You are a researcher if you are discovering or learning about things that you do not know about - the unexpected element - if you already knew everything or had a fair idea at the beginning you would not be a researcher.
I think that another important point when conducting interviews is that just because it is an interview (questions and answers) does not mean that there are not other data collection approaches occurring at the same time. For example, during an interview - especially if there are two interviewer that alternate - one asking the questions and the other making observational notes and later both can write reflective/analytical memos - observation can occur during interviews. I think that observation is important because it is well known that with humans words and language account for only a small proportion of communication. Other forms of more subtle forms of communication that occurs during an interview includes body language and non-verbal cues that one research could take notes on while the other research conducts the interview. Also, other external factors, such as the environment, the room where the interview takes place, noise, size, temperature and time, may all play a role in the potential responses obtained.
Body language may include various elements. For example, even they way that they present themselves, are they punctual, are they happy to do the interview, do they want to be there and give their time or are they in a rush, are they motivated and enthusiastic when you ask the question or do they hesitate when questions are asked.
Also, I discovered that during an interview, interviewees may write some notes or, for example, draw diagrams and provide documents to the interviewer and these are all forms of data that the researcher can potentially use.
When conducting interviews it is important to bear in mind that there may be potential interviewer bias and response bias, where respondents may give the answer that the researcher is looking for so it is important to keep these points in mind when conducting interviews. Also, interviewees may be untruthful in their responses and lie. However, even if you discover that they have lied, possibly when conducting data triangulation techniques, it is important to understand the source and why they lied because this still provides important data for your study. Also, it is important to make sure that interviewees understand the questions that you are asking which means that both the interviewer and the interviewee need to be fluent in the language that is being spoken in the interview.
Based on my readings, I found that quotes or verbatim in published articles often includes the umms and arhs and ..., which apparently all contain some form of meaning. Therefore, when transcribing interviews it is important to include everything however it may take several hours to transcribe a one hour interview. In this class I also learnt various technologies that can be used to record interviews.
Apart from using projective techniques in interviews, I was reading about mirroring. Mirroring is where you use the words and phrases that the interviewees use in order to construct a later question or comment. I think that mirroring would be quite useful in interviews because you are using their language, which is not foreign to them, and as a result, the interviewee may be more comfortable.
Focus groups are group interviews and I have not really seen focus groups in papers in my field. Recently, I participated in the ANU CBE Alumni focus group session. Participating in a focus group has helped me to better understand what focus groups are about. Basically, the purpose of the focus group was to get collective views on a certain topic of interest - this involved gaining insights into the communication style, events, alumni support and fundraising. The focus group provided the opportunity to shed light on what works and what requires attention as well as to better understand the needs of alumni. I found the open exchange very beneficial as I enjoyed the fact that it as a group interview. There were 6 of us alumni and 3 interviewers (1 main interviewer). The focus group was digitally recorded and enjoyed the opportunity to actively participate myself but also hear what other participants had to see, which I guess you don't get if you have a one-on-one interview.
The focus group ended on a really good note as the interviewers indicated that the welcomed our feedback on the style, delivery and usefulness of the exercise. They also gave us the opportunity to contact them further if we had anymore ideas in coming days, weeks, months or even years. I found this focus group to be mutually beneficial. Obviously, we were promised a summarised version of the findings after they were analysed.
No comments:
Post a Comment