Data Collection and Analysis - The Fear of 'THE UNKOWN'

 Conducting Interviews and Preconceived Opinions and Thoughts....

 

Through Module Three I have been undertaking interviews as a method of my research inquiry, what I have discovered is this concept of 'the unknown'. I think that throughout day-to-day life we all have this familiar concern, whether it is not wanting to do something because you are not sure of how it is going to turn out it is something that we do not expect, change seems daunting! This is exactly what I have been discovering after undertaking my interviews. Conducting interviews can be overwhelming, understanding that is imperative to remain completely impartial, one thing that seemed much more difficult at the time. The fact is your research is completely objective and it is an area YOU are researching because YOU feel it is important, therefore, you are going to have your own preconceived thoughts and opinions that you bring to the table. There is a certain expectation you put on yourself of what you are hoping to gain from the interview or what you are wanting to hear. I learnt that any assumptions you have need to be completely set aside because the data you collect may be entirely different to what you first thought, potentially leading to a new way of thinking, new thoughts, other theories you may want to investigate. A healthy scepticism is important, author of Transforming Qualitative Data, Harry F. Wolcott explains, 'If you can maintain a healthy scepticism toward description, analysis, and interpretation as facets of research, extend it to the whole research ethos as well' (Wolcott, pg. 38, 1994).

When analysing data, bare this in mind....

Transforming Qualitative Data - Harry F. Wolcott

'There are additional terms whose counterparts do not necessarily belong with "analysis." If interpretive results can sometimes be creative, speculative, conjectural, fresh, surprising, unpredictable, imaginative, inspirational, and insightful, that does not mean that analytical findings invariably are uncreative, unimaginative, uninspiring, unsurprising, or lacking in insight" (Wolcott, pg. 23, 1994)

 

Ethical Considerations....

After conducting my interviews, I learnt the importance of taking into consideration people’s feelings on the subject I was discussing, the environment and surroundings, the language that I used. I noticed that the subject I discussed brought up sensitive issues and evoked experiences and feelings, therefore with that in mind, I had to be cautious and careful with the choice of wording and ensuring I created a safe and comfortable atmosphere, so my interviewee felt safe to share with no pressure.