It has taken me a while to get started with this coursework, but with October being a relatively slower month in the evenings, I should be able to get much more accomplished in the near future.
I was unable to access the Skinner article, so I'm starting my blog posts after reading the Ely article.
The part that resonated closest with me had to be the initial assignment for the students to observe a nearby eating establishment. The varying perceptions and the wide array of questions formed is quite impressive. The different perceptions by each student is very true to life in general. These students were in different places, but the same would have happened if they would have all observed the same thing. Our perceptions are, many times, formed based on our prior experiences. For instance, I'm sitting here watching the Bengals/Browns game. As a Bengals fan, I'm viewing this game as missed opportunities by the Bengals as opposed to superior play by the Browns. My friends who are Browns fans believe that Cleveland has been in control and are a better team today. Based on our previous biases, we have completely different views on the exact same game (Note: The Bengals just punted for the first time in overtime).
The other reason this assignment was interesting to me was because I feel like people do this on a daily basis anyways. The difference is that we do not consciously realize that. I do remember, however, playing a sort of game when I was younger. My friends and I had season passes to Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. We would regularly stand in line for rides and pick someone to focus on. We would then try to guess what that person was thinking. We would read their facial expressions, see who they were interacting with, and decide what we thought they were thinking. Most of the time we would make jokes, but the observations we made were similar to this assignment in the different restaurants.
After reading this article, it mostly opened my eyes to the fact that this type of research is done continuously. We are constantly observing and making decisions based on those observations. We don't always think about it or write it down, but the process is always happening.
As far as the area in which I'd like to conduct more research, I want to look at issues regarding socioeconomic status and race. I think there is a perception that sport participation is based on a person's race. I believe that a person's social and financial situation is more indicative of what sports a person will play. I think I can study this in youth athletics, recreational activities and professional athletics.
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Thanks for posting your observations on this article. I found the Ely chapter to be reassuring. It was helpful to me to see that other qualitative researchers had misgivings about going into the sites where they were doing research. That was the experience I had as well when I was doing an ethnography (studying the culture) on the Women's Tennis Team at Michigan State.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to suggest that you try to access the reading by Skinner and Edwards as well as the one by Theberge. If you can use key words to find them via the research databases, that would be good. Let me know if you have problems, and I will forward this information (as well as articles that are not accessible via the research databases) to Sherri Long.
The first assignment is to observe a scene from a distance, and take notes on what you are observing. Then you will need to do a write-up. I will post more details on the assignment. It basically entails "seeing without hearing." Later, you will be asked to observe by "hearing without seeing." The two complementary observations are to illustrate how much more helpful it is to use a combination of all sensory skills when observing.
Since we are talking about observation, I wondered if you could elaborate on the research you would like to conduct by thinking about how you would gather information about a person's socioeconomic status and race. While we typically think we can "assess" or "observe" someone's race, based upon external indicators, "seeing" does not always reveal the "truth." E.g., if you were to look at Derek Jeter, without knowing who he was, how would you know his "racial categorization?" Of course, ascertaining socioeconomic status is even more difficult to ascertain from looking. So, what are your ideas about how you would collect this information? What are the questions you want to ask about the relationship between socioeconomic status, race, and/or sport participation. Do you want to interview people, or do focus groups, or observe people in their natural settings (or you could do a combination)?
Think about using your blog entries as a forum to apply the readings to what you would like to do for your research. In the meantime, if you come across readings that seem to apply more to your research interests (as well as qualitative research), let me know and we can make substitutions.
Good start on this blog.