Lecture 11 ARM

Question 1

Why do we need oral accounts in ethnography?

Answer 1

1. Because ethnography is based on observation - publicly observable
2. But not everything can be observed - so we must talk to people (front stage vs backstage) - interviews are backstage, explained events, potentially to explain what was observed in the participant observations. but people also perform in interviews!

Question 2

Types of oral accounts

Answer 2

1.Unsolicited accounts (H and A, 104) - happens to be witnessing, hearing without engaging or voluntary explanations
2. Accounts without or with less researcher influence - prsence triggered talking but not active engaged
3. Solicited by ethnographer - interviews, focus groups etc

Question 3

How are oral accounts used in anthropological research?

Answer 3

1. As sources of information
2. As social objects of analysis

Twofold approach, check again in H and A

Question 4

Triangulation (only qualitative)

Answer 4

Increasing the validity and credibility of your research by using different analytical approaches and data sources

For instance:
- interviews
- participant observation fieldnotes
- media/discourse analysis

Question 5

Types of interviews

Answer 5

1. Open ended conversations
2. Unstructured interviews
3. Semi-structured interviews
4. Structured interviews

Question 6

Steps of interview guide

Answer 6

1. identify - who you need to talk to
2. choose - an interview type
3. develop - interview questions
4. reformulate - revise or tweak guide based on previous interviews/data

Question 7

Selecting interviewees

Answer 7

1.Self-selection (not always best - can be too passionate and bring in a lot of bias, offloading a lot of issues in the moment etc)
2. Snowball sampling - getting social networks and new interviewees through your interviewees
3. Cold contacting - by email, phone, going there - just hit someone random up, not threads

Question 8

Techniques for asking questions

Answer 8

1. introductory questions
   tell me about..
2. follow-up questions
   taking something from a previous response
3. specifying questions
   can you specify, more details
4. probing questions
   going deeper - tell me about a time when..
5. role play or hypothetical questions
   difficult situations - if someone did something .. how would you response to …

Question 9

Techniques for asking questions

Answer 9

1. direct questions -
2. indirect questions
3. changing directions or redirect the interviewee - back on track
4. summarising or interpreting - making sure - they will always give you feedback, really good and also reassurance that you listen

Question 10

Transcription

Answer 10

Of the recording - listen closely.
Note main themes and topics and key moments of interview
Also changes in tones and emotional reactions etc

Question 11

Profile

Answer 11

• A narrative about the person interviewed, told in the words of the interviewee, and crafter by the researcher
• Turning what you learn from the interview into a story about the person you interviewed

A profile should
- Put the interviewee in context
- Clarify his or her intention
- Give a sense of process and time