I was revising my prospectus on Tuesday when it hit me: This isn't a prospectus anymore. It's a chapter. Sixty pages is a chapter. Imagine my surprise. So I promptly emailed my diss advisor: "I've decided to narrow my focus. I know you'll be happy."
He's happy. He's been telling me to focus for three years.
See, I bring so many assumptions to my research: that these women will undergo family challenges like I did, that they'll have their identities challenged in ways that connect to their college experience, that it's all struggle, struggle, struggle. Because that's my experience, and well, why wouldn't they?
I am still learning.
**sigh** What I am interested in finding out is how they conceive of this term "work," especially "hard work." I think the idea of what counts as "hard" work changes as we move through life. I'm interested in hearing how these women consider work, what counts as work, and who cares.
Now, though, since the interview process will start in earnest soon (I haven't yet contacted the participants, but I will tomorrow and Friday for introductions next week), I wonder if I shouldn't make private my thoughts about it. What do you think? It seems detrimental to my project to blog about it in such a public forum. Dr. Paulus?
I have established a Blackboard org site with a blog function, and I plan to blog along with my participants. Good idea? I'm interested in this idea of collaboration and co-construction of experience (not just the first-year experience, but the research and writing experience, which is one of the reasons I like looking at FYC classes).
Thoughts, anyone?
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About Me
- Casie Fedukovich
- Raleigh, NC, United States
- Assistant Professor. WPA. Writer. Teacher.
3 comments:
I am just learning about research, but my first thought was that your thoughts should be private about your dissertation or at least about what participants are saying. The whole IRB thing makes me nervous, even though their idenity would be unknown. Could someone possibly figure it out since you have a specific group of participants (students in a certain class here at the university)? I like the idea of you blogging with participants and co-constructing the experience. It makes sense to me, but remember I do not have enough knowledge or experience to make an informed opinion. But I'm definitely interested in what you decide to do.
Tammy has a good point about IRB, but I'd need more details about what you plan to do - tell me more about "blogging along with your participants." Is blogging part of the study? I see no problem with blogging openly about your reflections on the research process, what you are learning, etc. though I see how you may end up disclosing more about your participants than you'd be comfortable with..
Thanks, Dr. Paulus! I have created a Blackboard Org site with a blog function. I had planned to have them blog (with both guided prompts and "free-write" days) and to then start another blog myself that they could read and respond to. I hadn't gotten very far on the logistics when I realized that the study wasn't exactly as feasible as I had hoped because this WHOLE time, I've been presuming that the participants will be engaged, interested, and prompt. MMhm. If the study had a longer timeline or if I studied a population I could have contacted far enough in advance (since mine were all 17 and in high school, I couldn't talk to them until they were here at UT), I think the project would be do-able. As it is, I'm prepping my IRB for my secondary project (which I'm just as interested in) on working-class writing instructors.
But to get to the gist of the initial blog: I had worried that I might give away identifying characteristics of my participants on my blog, or that I might blog about something that I should have been processing in a less public environment (like my struggle with a protocol or my problems with interviewing). There's still some part of me that sees the researcher end as one of secrecy. I fear the transparency of a blog, but I really like it. I'm conflicted about how I might use the blog in my new project, if at all. (I do plan to keep recording my research process.)
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