field research: observation & interview busn 364 – week 14_1 Özge can
TRANSCRIPT
FIELD RESEARCH: OBSERVATION & INTERVIEW
BUSN 364 – Week 14_1Özge Can
Kitchen Stories, 2003
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_dlKx3peJk
What is Field Research?
Involves direct, face-to-face social interaction with “real people” in a natural social setting
Requires directly talking with, and observing the people being studied
Ethnography => Field research that emphasizes providing a very detailed description of a different culture from the viewpoint of an insider for better understanding
What is Field Research?
It is appropriate when we want to learn about, understand, or describe a group of interacting people on a particular location or setting
Helps to answer questions such as: “How do people do Y in a social
world?” “What is the social world of X
like?”
What is Field Research?
As a method, it is more like an umbrella of activity beneath which any technique may be used (e.g. observation, interview, content analysis)
Both requires “insider” and “outsider” viewpoints: “Fieldwork means involvement and
detachment, both loyalty and betrayal, both openness and secrecy, and most likely, both love and hate.” Van Maanen, 1982
Examples of Field Research Sites/Topics:
Small-scale settings: Passengers in an airplane, laundromats,
social movement organizations, television stations, waiting rooms
Community settings: Small towns, urban ethnic communities,
working-class neighborhoods Children’s activities:
Playgrounds, youth in schools, summer camps, little football leagues
Examples of Field Research Sites/Topics:
Occupations: Artistis, door-to-door salespersons, factory
workers, medical students, police officers, restaurant chefs, taxi drivers
Deviance and criminal activity: Cults, drug dealers and addicts, street gangs,
homeless people Medical setting and events:
Emergency rooms, pregnancy and abortion, support groups for particular illnesses (e.g. cancer, alzheimer)
What Does Field Researcher Do?
What Does Field Researcher Do?
Steps in Field Research:
1. Prepare to enter the field2. Choose site/gain access3. Apply strategies4. Maintaining Relations in the Field5. Gather and Record Data6. Exit field site
1) Prepare to Enter the Field
Be flexible No clearly laid-out, preset, fixed steps
Organize yourself Skills for careful looking and listening, short-term
memory, and regular writing Defocus
Empty your mind of assumptions and prejudgements; begin with a broad view; fresh, highly aware, curious
Be self-aware Know yourself and reflect on your personal
experiences
2) Choosing a Site and Gaining Access
Select a site– Richness of data– Unfamiliarity– Suitability
Deal with gatekeepers
Enter and gain access
Assume a social role
Adopt a level of involvement Complete observer => the researcher is behind
a one-way mirror or taking on an “invisible role” Observer- participant => the researcher is
known from the beginning but has limited contact. Complete participant => the researcher acts as
a member of the group (going native)
Decision on the type of observation Overt (open, undisguised) versus covert (hidden,
disguised)
2) Choosing a Site and Gaining Access
3) Apply Strategies
Negotiate Access, type of
relationship and contact
Normalize research in the eyes of the
members of field Decide on
disclosure How much to reveal
about yourself Focus and sample
Assume the attitude of strangeness Mentally adjusting to
“see”, overcome “blindness” to familiar
Cope with stress “marginal” status of
the researcher Loneliness and
isolation
3) Apply Strategies
Focusing and Sampling:
4) Maintaining Relations in the Field
Adjust and adapt Use charm and build trust Perform small favors Avoid conflicts Appear interested Be the acceptable incompetent
5) Gather and Record Data
Absorb and experience The researcher is the instrument for measuring
field data Watch and listen
Pay close attention, watch and listen carefully; be patient, alert and focused
Record data Field research data is in the form of detailed
notes taken One must keep notes and organize them Respect to private life and protect confidentiality
5) Gather and Record Data
What to Observe in the Field? Physical surrounding and the context What people do/say (explicit knowledge)
Observe people and their speeches and actions, noting each observable physical characteristics, apperance and behavior
How and why people do/say something (tacit knowledge)How it is said, what is really meant and
impliedConstantly making inferences
5) Gather and Record Data
Types of field notes: Jotted notes Direct observation notes Inference notes Analytic memos Personal notes Interview notes Maps, diagrams, artifacts
6) Exiting the Field Site
Project reaches a natural end; little new is being learned or external factors force it to end
Exiting Exit process depends on the field Exit strategy: Quick exit or slow withdraw
Emotionally painful For researcher and field members
Ethical Issues in Field Research
Covert research What kind of observation: Covert or
Overt? Confidentiality Involvement with illegal behavior Publishing field reports
Interview
A structured conversation and interaction between two persons with the explicit purpose of one person obtaining specific information from the other.
There are two roles: Interviewer Interviewee (or respondent)
Task of Being an Interviewer: Ensure respondent’s time and privacy Achieve cooperation and build rapport to obtain
information Explain the purpose of the research and their
role as an interviewer Try to reduce fear, suspicion, and etc. so that
respondent feels comfortable to reveal info Monitor the pace and direction as well as the
content of the questions and the scope of the answers
Be nonjudgmental; do not reveal personal opinions
Stages of Interview:
Introduction and entry Securing cooperation from the
respondent Asking questions and accurate recording
of answers Going at a comfortable pace and
maintaining interest Listening and writing carefully; recording
what is said without correction, comments, summarizing or paraphrasing
Stages of Interview
Should know when and how to use a probe => A follow-up question asked by the interviwer
to elicit an appropriate response when a respondent’s asnwer is unclear or incomplete
Major type of probes: A 3-5 second pause Nonverbal communication (tilt of head, eye contact..) Repeating the question or repeating the reply and
pause Asking a neutral question “Any other reasons?” “Could
you explain more for me?” “How do you mean that?”
Two Types of Interviews:
I. Structured (Survey) Interviews Directive, formal, standard, closed-ended = Survey interview
II. Unstructured (Field) Interviews In-depth, nondirective, informal,
ethnopgraphic, open-ended = Field interview
I. Structured Interviews
It has a clear beginning and end The same standard questions are asked
of all respondents in the same sequence The interviewer appears neutral at all
times Always one respondent alone Interviewer asks questions and tries to
obtain direct and honest answers from the respondent
Probes are rare
I. Structured Interviews
Only the respondent reveals feelings and opinions
Social context is largely ignored Interviewer controls the topic, direction
and pace Interviewer attempts to maintain a
consistently warm but serious and objective tone
II. Unstructured Interviews
Interviewer’s presence Informal and nondirective Sharing of experience Member’s perspective “Speech event” like a friendly
conversation Markers [“a passing reference made by
a respondent to an important event or feeling state”]
II. Unstructured Interviews
The beginnign and end are not clear The questions and the order in which they are
asked are tailored to specific people and situations
Encourages detailed responses and elaborations It is more likely a conversational exchange Open-ended questions and probes are common The social context as an important part of the
interview Adjusted to respondent’s norms and language use
Categories of Interview Bias
1. Errors by the respondent (forgetting, embrassment, misunderstanding and lying because of the presence of others
2. Unintentional errors by the interviewer (omiting question, misreading questions, recording the wrong answer, misunderstanding the respondents)
3. Intentional subversion of the interviewer (e.g. purposeful alteration of answering)
4. Failure to probe or to probe in the right way
5. Influence due to the interviewer expectations