Lifestyle of students

in St. PetersburgDr. Denis GruberDAAD - Lecturer for SociologyFaculty for SociologyState University of St. Petersburg

Targets• qualitative research with students (Diplom, Bachelor, Master)

who are able to speak and write in German or English• Theoretical approaches of lifestyle and practical investigation • Introduction and use of qualitative research methods

(interviews)• Data analysis and interpretation• Working with computer-assisted software: MAXqda• Language of interviews: Russian• Translation of specific parts of the interviews • Presentation of results at „German Week“ which takes place

in April 2009 in St. Petersburg• Publication of results supported by Centre for German and

European Studies St. Petersburg

• Lebensstil• „Ein Lebensstil ist demnach der regelmäßig

wiederkehrende Gesamtzusammenhang der Verhaltensweisen, Interaktionen, Meinungen, Wissensbestände und bewertenden Einstellungen eines Menschen“ (Hradil 1999, 42).

• Sozialmilieu

• „So fassen ‚soziale Milieus‘ Gruppen gleichgesinnter zusammen, die gemeinsame Werthaltungen und Mentalitäten aufweisen und auch die Art gemeinsam haben, ihre Beziehungen zu Mitmenschen einzurichten und ihre Umwelt in ähnlicher Weise zu sehen und zu gestalten“ (Hradil 1999, 41).

Focus group: University Students• Transition from home/school to University is a

significant life phase. • New social contexts and environments • construction of new relationship concerning to family• establishing networks with old friends and new friends

from university• Increased freedom from parental control can have a

strong effect on health behaviours (Borsari et al., 2007)

• Behaviours at University can develop into lifelong pattern (Škėmienė et al., 2007).

• What is lifestyle?• Which central topics do belong to lifestyle?- Education- Family- Friends- values- living conditions- Religion- consumption behaviour - accomodation / living habits- labour / work- political orientation- leisure- health and snack purchase- uncertain or great future- stress and pressure- media habit

Lifestyles of University Students- PROJECT OBJECTIVESPROJECT OBJECTIVES

What are the Most Bold and Daring Behavior?

Running around the campus

naked!

Bungee Jumping !Confident to be

themselves !

To be Rich !

Travel around other

Countries !

To become celebrities

University Students

• Transition from home/school to University is a significant life phase.

• New social contexts and environments • relationship to family and friends• Increased freedom from parental control can have a

strong effect on health behaviours• consumption of cigarettes and alcohol• Behaviours at University can develop into lifelong pattern:

political activities, learning by doing, internships (practice), success, new values, new contacts

Dr. Denis GruberState University of St. PetersburgFaculty for SociologyCentre for German and european Studies

The use of computer programs for comparative researches. The

program MAXqda

MAXqda: Introduction

1. Background Information2. Texts in MAXqda3. Codes in MAXqda4. Memo in MAXqda5. Visuable Tools

Case Study: Respondents• 43 interview partners• by ethnic background: 23 Russians; 20 Estonians• ethnic Russians by citizenship status: 12 Estonians,

5 Russians; 6 stateless • aim I: analysis of differences between Estonians

and Russians as well as in the ethnic Russian group• aim II: use of a computer program to analyze the

data

MAXqda• supports all users who perform

qualitative data analysis• helps to systematically evaluate and

interpret texts (interviews, protocols, field notices, focus groups, texts in the internet, etc.)

• a powerful tool for testing the theoretical conclusions of the analysis

Users of MAXqda-Software rather small research groups or personal use used in a wide range of academic and non-

academic disciplines, e.g. Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Public Health, Anthropology, Education, Marketing, Economics and Urban Planning

in last years increased use in universities, research institutes as well as Master, Diploma and dissertations

users by age: mostly newcomers in qualitative research

Overview of pivotal functionsworks with manuscripts in rich text format (.rtf).imports texts from the Internet using “drag-and-

drop” creates a hierarchical code (category) system with

up to ten levels selects and codes text segments and assigns codes

or sub-codes from the code system selects words or terms in the manuscript and insert

them automatically into the code system (”in-vivo-coding”)

keeps track of ideas and hypotheses by writing memos

Overview of pivotal functions• defines quantitative variables and uses them in

combination with texts and code words • exports the table of variables to statistical

programs or Excel • imports a table of variables from Excel or SPSS • allows to work together in teams and uses

special teamwork functions • Code Matrix and Code Relation Browser create

an overview of the coding distribution and show overlaps

Clearly structured main screen of MAXQDA

four main windows:1.The complete data set (“Text groups” window):

creates an overview of all the texts in the project2.The code- or category system (“Code system”

window): created codes and sub codes; shows the color of the codes

3.The single text (“Text Browser” window): one can mark text segments, attach codes or create memos

4.Performing basic and complex searches (“Retrieved Segments” window): allows to look at a selection of coded text segments (text retrieval)

2. Codes• definition of codes is organised by the

user, not automatically by the program!• code consists of the following information:- origin (text group, text name)- segment frontiers (begin of a segment and

end of a segment within the text)- includes subcodes and variables (which

are highlighting the relevance of text segments)

2. Creating Codes

• Code System is shown as a tree structure on the screen

• It looks like the file folder in Windows Explorer• plus or minus sign in front of the code name indicated

that a code contains subcodes• the order of the codes and subcodes in the Code

System can easily be changed with drag-and-drop function

3. Memos• Memos are a classical, central instrument of

qualitative text analysis• MAXQDA offers the researcher highly

effective and comfortable possibilities to create memos

• Memos can be assigned to a project, a text group, a whole text, text segments, and a code

3. Memos• the first option to create a memo concerns the

document System this memo contains information about the project

in which one can document the process of research, schedules, etc.

• the second option to assign memos is concerning to text groups or even single texts

helps to explain the origin of the text, personal information, important meta information (like the atmosphere during the interview or spatial conditions), etc.

3. Memos• Memo Managercontains all memos which have been created in

form of a tableshowing in the mask!

4. Search menu

• one can search for specific words, parts of words, or strings of words with the help of the lexical search function

• The search procedures refer to• • the texts,

• the memos or• the coded segments, that are presently in the Retrieved Segments window

4. Search menu

• search can be limited to the activated texts

5. MAXqda – Visible Tools

• Text comparision • Code-Matrix-Browser• Code-Relations-Browser

Text Comparision

Code-Matrix-Browser

single knots of the matrix symbolize by their size and colour how many codes and subcodes are defined in the single texts

the bigger the knot in the column the more segments exist in the single category

the name of the text, the name of the code (as well as subcodes) and the number of coded segments is shown

example: activation of interviews 3,4,8,9, 39

Subpoints for research

• Work• Leisure• Family and friends• Living conditions• Education future

Work• I. Do you have any working experience ?• II. Why do you work? / Why don't you work ? • III. (flexible questions concerning 1st working place)• 1. How did you find your first working place ?• 2. Do you still work there? If no, where do you work

now ?• IV. How do you manage to combine work with study ? •• V. Future - Work• 1. What do you expect from the future? • 2. Do you expect your contemporary study to be in

connection with your future career?

Leisure

• (exclude the term "free time")• 1. How do you spend your time apart from the

university? • 2. Imagine you have a free day. What would

you do ?• 3. What did you do last weekend ?• 4. Remember your hobbies in the last several

years. What has happened to them ?

Family and Friends• whom do you see as your near people, please describe them• what are your relations to them, please describe the background of your

relations• have there been any changes since the study time began?• please describe your present common practices• how do you communicate and spend time with your near people?

Living conditions

• where and with whom do you live ? (describe the place)

• are you satisfied with your living conditions?• how do the relations with people who are

living near to you are influencing your life?• Which advantages, disadvantages and

opportunities do you see in the location of your accommodation?

Education• Attitude to the process of getting education• Positive and negative sides in the process of education• Communication with people, studying together• Communication with professors• Participation in different educational activities and activities,

connected with the educational process (researches, conferences, student government and so on) Attitude to this kind of activities

• Educational stress and pressure

• Who did decide about study?• How much time do they spend at home to prepare for

seminars and lectures (self-study)

Future

• Professional expectations• Family expectations• Fear for future (economical fears, ecological

fears, political fears, fear for loneliness)

ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ

• Как вы стали студентом этого факультета? Что повлияло на вас?

• Подвопрос: кто принимал решение о месте обучения? • Как вы организуете свое обучение на факультете

(распределяете время, какие места посещаете и т.д.)• Какова ваша стратегия сдачи экзаменов и зачетов? • Что еще помимо обучения на факультете вы можете

отнести к своему образованию и почему? • Как вы связываете ваше образование с вашим будущим?

(уточнить, что имеется в виду ВСЕ образование, перечисленное в вопросе 4)

РАБОТА• 1. Работаете ли вы сейчас? • 1.1. Если да - расскажите, пожалуйста, почему и где вы

работаете, что вы там делаете. • 1.2. Если нет – почему? • 1.1. – каков предыдущий опыт работы? • 1.2. есть ли у вас опыт работы?• Если есть – какой опыт? • 2. Как вы искали работу?• 3. если человек работает/работал – как вы

совмещаете/совмещали работу и учебу?• 4. сколько часов в неделю вы работаете в течение семестра?

СВОБОДНОЕ ВРЕМЯ

• как вы проводите время вне университетских занятий? • Представьте, что у вас свободный день. Что бы вы делали? • что вы делали на прошлых выходных? Были ли это типичные

выходные? Если нет, опишите типичные выходные. • Если человек работает на выходных – спросить, когда его

выходные дни. • принимаете ли вы участие в мероприятиях в рамках университета,

которые не связаны напрямую с лекциями и семинарами по учебному плану (напр., научная работа, профсоюз)

• расскажите про ваши хобби. Изменились ли они с момента поступления в университет?

ПЕРВЫЙ КРУГ

• ваши близкие люди – это кто?Пожалуйста, опишите ваши отношения с ними. • ваши близкие люди – это кто?• ваши отношения с ними как-то изменились с момента

поступления в университет?• как вы общаетесь и проводите время со своими

близкими?

УСЛОВИЯ ПРОЖИВАНИЯ

• где и с кем вы живете? (опишите место)• удовлетворены ли вы вашими условиями проживания? • как влияют на вас, вашу жизнь люди, живущие с вами

вместе?• какие достоинства, недостатки, возможности вы видите в

месторасположении вашего жилья?