11.27 Ethnography

We started class with a discussion of the short analysis projects.  You are on target in terms of forming research questions, and most of you are moving in the right direction in terms of using an analytic process to "show" your answer to that question.  I have posted your classmates' sample analysis essays (to the right) for you to think about as models. We reviewed the components of an introduction (state the research problem, connect to what others have written in a general way, state the problem's importance => set up what you will do in your essay), and we talked  about the difference between the lit-crit papers you have written for humanities course and the more "sciencey" genre of writing studies research.  This is not to say that some writing studies essays do not look very close to lit-crit essays.  In fact, many are written in the same forms as literature analysis.  I have focused on teaching the social-sciencey kind of analysis because you already have a strong basis in analyzing literature.  

The rest of tonight's class focused on ethnographic research.  We used ideas and practices from Robert Emerson's Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes as a basis for our discussion, and then took a look at the sample ethnographic writing and field notes (jottings) I presented as handouts.

Emerson set up his piece by noting that participation, observation, and writing are each components of ethnographic research - and that in practice these three components are essentially inseparable.  He notes that choices about how and what to observe will shape (and are shaped by) how we choose to participate, and that the writing necessary to put our observations in to language will influence both the experience of participating and of observing. 

We looked at the three examples of ethnographic description from Emerson's essay and noted his characterization of them as (respectively) focused on:

• physical descriptions of environment/elements of the experience
• moment by moment accounts of what happens (chronological)
• a shifting perspective that "spotlights" characters or scenes

These three different perspectives (and the many possible other perspectives that we began to list on the board) for turning experience into writing select for certain kinds of information and "reduce" or leave out other information.  Because experience is so rich and messy - it is inevitable that much will be left out.  The ethnographer's job is to document as much is as possible (or as is relevant to his/her purpose) from multiple perspectives so as to create a "thick description" of the cultural meanings associated with the people s/he is studying.  These perspectives will necessarily include the ethnographer's reflections on his or her feelings, assumptions, values, and beliefs and how those feelings etc influenced his/her observations & participation.

Emerson stressed that his definition of ethnography  and how it worked had 4 important implications for ethnographers.

1. What is observed is inseparable from assumptions about what is important and the way the world works
2. Fieldnotes should pay deep attention to the values and meanings of the people studied
3. On-the-spot fieldnotes are essential
4. Fieldnotes should detail interactional processes

We then looked at the sample write-up of an event by a student ethnographer in light of questions raised by Emerson's discussion of ethnography.

• which perspectives/approaches to observation did this ethnographer step into? 
• what did she document?  what did she leave out?
• what were her assumptions associated with this event - and how did those assumptions shape what she included/left out of her write up?

While this student ethnographer did an excellent job writing up her experience, our reflections on it revealed features of her perspective (assumptions about senior citizens, race - or maybe urban areas) that  shaped her perceptions.  She was aware of some of her assumptions - but only partially aware or even unaware of others, and as we talked we saw how her observations and participation and her writing = all three elements of ethnography, were interactively shaped by her perspective.  As ethnographers become more experienced - they dig deep into their perspectives and those of others - and part of ethnography is theorizing/thinking about how meanings are made across the gaps between self and other and between insiders and outsiders to any given culture. 

On the spot fieldnotes.  The rest of the class focused on taking field notes. We talked about how choices about what kind of event, and positioning within the event set you up to for different kinds of note taking experiences.  Observing a classroom taught by a teacher who does not require you to interact will result in notes that differ from what you can produce when you are a student in the class - and expected to have a larger participatory role.

We also talked about issues associated with how your participants might feel about you taking notes, whether and how to ask for permission, and how the note-taking process can be influenced by the level of "sharing" you establish with your community.

I directed you to Emerson's 5 recommendations for "how" to take jottings - and we looked at sample notes taken during a participatory event.  We noted the difference between what the note-taker wrote down during the event - and what she wrote after the note => her "headnotes."  Adding to your notes immediately after your experience - and writing them up as soon as possible after your observation contributes to strong documentation. Your at-the- time-of-the-event impressions are key to creating an accurate representation of the experience - and in some ways they are only available to you while you are "there." 

For next week:

Conduct your interview + create your transcript.  Bring your transcript to class so we can work on analyzing your data.  For this paper - you will not know what your essay is saying until you have spent some time working with your data.  

Email me your transcript as soon as it is available so I can be prepared to work with you.

During class we will talk through methods for analyzing transcripts - and you will work on exploring answers to your research question through analyzing your data.  

11.20 Introduction + literature review; creating transcripts

In class we analyzed the organization of the introduction & literature review for Glynda Hull's essay.Our analysis showed the following sequence of 'moves.'

Introduction
starts with an example
explains what the example in terms of the essay's focus
states what the essay will do ( what the essay is about in general)
re-states what the essay will show in terms of the specific content of the essay's discussion
States why discussion of this content is importnat
Point by point discussion of what the essay will do (how she will analyze/study the content)
detailed statement of the importance of this kind of analysis/study

Literature review
Set up the material she is reviewing + why
- Hull points out why the sources she is reviewing are relevant/important to her research question.  Your reasons may include the following:

• similar topic
• similar problem
• widely cited as the authority on your topic

point out the importance of how/what your work adds to the study of this topic
- identify/define specialized language

For her discussion of the particular references, Hull discussed one idea at a time.  She introduced the idea, provides quotes from the literature, and then discussed what the quote show with respect to her focus.

In this part of your literature review, you can organize your discussion in terms of the points made by other researchers, by the points you will make, or by researcher.  As you discuss what other researchers have written, include a discussion of what your project will add.

In our overall discussion we pointed out the the form for writing studies research essays is different from the form used in literary criticism (the kind of writing you have done for your lit courses.)  Forms for writing studies essays borrow from scientific essay - but are not exactly the same.  You can review the essays we read on commenting and Writing about writing - or look at a journal like Computers and Composition (which has clear headings) or Composition Studies.  

Creating transcripts.
We talked through the mechanical process of creating a transcript => listening to your audio recording, typing what you hear into a document and marking where you are in the audio record on your written record so you can go back and forth between the two.  We also discussed how as you transcribe, you will make decisions about  what features you will record. For example, what was said, who said what,  laughing, long pauses => what ever else you choose) and what you will not. I suggested making some notes on your interview protocol to help yourself out with recognizing terms that won't be immediately obvious within the flow of conversation (names for places, people, slang, unusual words, etc.

We then looked at the sample posted to the right and talked about the process of creating a transcript. Transcripts area a written record of what was said in your interview = but they are never a complete representation of what happened.  What you choose to represent in your transcript and how you arrange that representation on the page will depend on the different purposes for your projects. As we talked through the different representations in the sample, we noted that we could "see" patterns in what was happening more clearly depending on the way the talk was presented on the page. 

Catch up:
Turn in your Final Short Analysis paper as an attachment sent to the course email so I can grade it and we can talk about them in class on 11.27.  The idea is that you will get some experience analyzing data + using the forms for writing for writing studies essays.

Get started on your interviews + transcribing if you are that far along. If you want me to take another look at your interview protocol - I can look through it Monday.  

Turn in your permission form if you have not done so already.

Up-date the post for the introduction + literature review (Blog 19) 

For next class:
Read: writing ethnographic fieldnotes, p. 1-13
Blog 20: Reflect on your introduction/literature review in terms of the following prompts.

1.  What are the strengths your writing for the introduction?  What do you need to add as you continue to write your essay? 
What are the strengths of your writing for the review of the literature?  What will you need to continue to work on?

2. What is the research problem identified in your introduction?  How do you point out what your research project will contribute toward resolving this "problem"?  In other words, what have you written about  the importance of your project for writing studies?

3. What have other researchers found out about your topic that is relevant to your research project?

4.  How do you connect findings from question 3 to the purpose of your project?

5.  What is your plan for finishing/revising your introduction and literature review?

6.  What feedback do you want from me?

In class we will talk about the short analysis projects, catch up with anything you need to know or work out in terms of interviewing + transcribing, and we will talk about & practice ethnographic methods.

Have a great Thanksgiving and see you next week.

11.13 Short Analysis workshop + Interview practice

A revised course calendar is posted to the right.  As with the original calendar - it gives an overview of where we are going and when things are due - but you will need to check with this blog to get the up-to-date details.  We will do our best to get through the remaining material in a resonable way.

Short analysis projects:  In class we looked at sample short analysis projects from the other section -and from our section.  We developed a rubric (pasted below) to assess how well the writer was doing and what s/he needed to work on.

If the project is worth a total of 100 points, the work for the following five qualities would be evaluated as follows:

1.    Quality of the research question= relevant to the data, critical (not yes or no) (25)

2.    Clear identification of features that can answer the research question (needs to define these features) (20)

3.    (show analysis)Builds an answer to the research question by discussing relationships between features within the data (20)

4.    State what the analysis shows (20)

5.    Uses forms for research essays (15)

We talked through one sample paper using the rubric, and then we used the rubric as a way to develop feedback for what you needed to work on for your drafts.  

Interview protocols.  During the last part of class I handed out an excerpt from a research methods text on how to prepare for interviews (extra copies are in my mailbox).  We talked through the suggestions - and you "tested" what you had so far to see how your draft protocol was working.

For next class:
We will work on the introduction and literature review section for your research essay. I passed out the introduction to Gynda Hull's essay (extra copies in my mailbox) as a sample introduction.  Post what ever you can on your blog so you have something to work with.  We will talk through the sample - and then workshop your writing.
We will also talk about how to transcribe your interview tapes.

If you have not turned in the informed consent form - turn it in as soon as possible.

Read: Excerpt from "Hearing other voices" by Glynda Hull

Blog 18: Introduction + literature review = draft writing so far
Blog 19: Final Short analysis

I will be catching up on blogs -and will provide comments for everything up to Blog 17 by the end of the weekend.

11.6 permission forms and interview protocols

Short analysis projects:  Most of you have attended conference on the short analysis project. A complete draft suitable for workshopping is due, posted on your blog, for November 13.  

General suggestions  based on earlier drafts posted by both sections of ENG 3029 are as follows :

• Set up your essay with a clear statement of your research question.  State the purpose of your essay (what you will show) with respect to that question.
• Make sure to define your codes and categories.  Break down large categories in terms of particular codes.  For example, if you are analzying comments in terms of "positive" and "negative" comments, identify the features (assign codes) for what is positive and negative. For negative, you might code comments as direct fault-finding; unexplained corrections, unclear demands for change, etc.  Give examples from the data to help define your codes and categories
• Present your analysis in a way that illustrates what the codes and categories show about your research question => for most of you, developing a table that illustrated patterns between your codes and categories and a central feature relevant to your research question would be a good idea.  For example, for an analysis of how positive comments cause (or not) students to revise their work, you might have a table that displays comments you ranked as causing lots, some, and no change along the left side of the table, and then characterizes them by codes/categories for positive/negative features.  This table should give a visual display of what categories correspond with willingness to revise.
• Discuss patterns among the  relationships between codes and categories and the focus of your research question (e.g. how features of the punchline contribute to the "funniness" of shaggy dog stories; or how the features of a comment's complexity contribute to whether students will respond to that comment; etc)
• Use your conclusion to re-state and develop a discussion of what the patterns you identified in your analysis mean.  Also state what questions remain unanswered, and what additional questions your analysis might raise

Distributing + collecting informed consent forms from your subjects.  We walked through how to distribute + collect the informed consent forms.  I handed out copies with my signature.  You are required to use two copies of the form for each participant: one for the participant, and one that you will turn in to me => so that means you will need to make additional copies of the one form I provided.  Make sure to fill in your contact information in all three places.  Also, when you present the form for signing - talk through each section, and be sure to make clear that the interviews will be audio recorded.  We will talk about the "debriefing" forms that you will distribute when your interview is complete next class.  Do not collect data until after we have worked on your interview protocols.  .  

Designing interview protocols.  We spent the most of class talking about interview protocols (the set of questions you will use to guide your interview) and theories for conducting interviews and for designing questions.

We began by talking about general practices for conducting an interview that included the following suggestions..

Beginning questions should set up the purpose of the interview, get the participant oriented to the interviewing process, and establish your persona (about 10 minutes)  These questions should be "easy."
Provide an opportunity for an overall story about the interview's focus near the beginning of the interview. This story can set up "themes" or reveal the participants general orientation to your focus.
Many interviews are organized chronologically.
Allow participants multiple opportunities to answer the same or similar questions from multiple perspectives.
Ask primarily open questions, though changing-up with yes/no questions can allow participants to access their memories from different orientations.
The interviewer's primary task is to direct the participant's attention to the focus; at the same time, do not assume that "off-topic" answers are always off-topic (follow up with = can you tell me more, or what do you mean. . .) 
Choose respectful, non-confrontational language

You then read through Hawisher & Selfe's interview protocol from Literate Lives in the Information Age and described how it was "built,"  and whether or how you could use their organization as a pattern for your interview.

Most of you seemed to have lots of ideas for how to develop your protocols. .

For next class:
BRING COMPLETED PERMISSION FORMS.

Read: Review Gee, Chapters1-8 = these chapters provide lots of tools and ideas for asking questions of the data you will collect for your projects.
Blog 16: Post your draft interview protocol
Blog 17: Post your draft short analysis.  Also send your short analysis project to the course email as an attachment. 

During class you will workshop your short analysis projects, we will take a look at your interview protocols, and  we will review Gee by applying using some of the tools he identifies = particular the ideas associated with "figured worlds" and context.  

11.5 After the storm

I hope all of you are safe and well.  I feel pretty lucky my house didn't get crunched by a tree or flooded so that's good.  I don't have power or internet.  I am here at an internet cafe so this is going to be a short post, but I wanted to give you a heads up - and let you know that ENG 3029 will be here waiting for you when you get back.

When we meet (this Tuesday or next - depending on Kean and whether or not you can get to campus) we will talk over how to put things together for the rest of the term.  

I have not had a chance to do any more on your drafts for the short analysis (no internet) but will be able to work on that as soon as school opens (Kean will certainly get power before me - I live in an urban forest => or used to.  Lots of trees/power lines down).  

I am expecting to pare back on readings and to focus on finishing your projects (lots of workshops).  I am thinking we will finish Gee (because you will need to apply his methods for your projects), and read the Coach Bombay article as an introduction to ethnography.  The rest will pretty much be focused on supporting you in collecting and analyzing your data, and on writing and revising your papers.  

I will be on campus as soon as  school opens..  If you can't attend class and you let me know and I will try to be in touch with you.

I am sending  all my thoughts and nonsectarian prayers your way.  Take care and be safe.