Transcript Research Method Lab - University of Chicago

Research Method Lab
Participant Observation- Taking
Field Notes
Step One: Jottings
Jottings
• Taking jottings is a strategy used by researchers
to minimize the interruption of taking longer field
notes while in the classroom
• Think of jottings as impressions, using key words
and phrases to capture the essence of what you
are seeing
• A word or two written down while something is
happening is usually all you’ll need to jog your
memory
Jottings
• Every teacher/researcher will have his/her own
style of jottings- you’ll find yours with practice
• A good way to orient yourself to the note taking
process is to practice with your classroom setting
• Start by making a list of initial impressionsdetails like size, space, noise, colors, equipment,
movement, people in the space, etc.
Jottings
• While observing or taking jottings, be sure to only focus on
“how” or “what” NOT “why”
• Do not try to predict or guess the motivation of the people
you are observing
• If you only focus on your own judgments, you will interfere
with your ability to capture critical information
• The idea behind field notes is that collected over time, they
begin to contain certain patterns and themes that you can
analyze later on
• You may end up not using every single jotting in a fullfledged note
Jottings
• Example #1
• Jorge=at lunch
• Doesn’t make eye
contact
• Now only speaks
Spanish
• Example #2 (excerpt
from a conversation)
• Parents aren’t
answering phone
• Haven’t seen Mary for
a week
• Missing homework
grades
Jottings
• 1. Jot down details of what you
sense are key components of
observed scenes or interactions
• 2. Avoid making statements
characterizing what people do that
rely on generalizations (like calling
someone “inefficient”)
Jottings
• 3. Jot down concrete sensory details about
actions and talk, details that show rather than
tell about people’s behavior
• 4. Do not ignore emotions, but avoid the
temptation to identify motives or internal states
(anger can result from illness, sadness,
frustration, a power struggle, etc.)
• 5. Jot down sensory details which you could easily
forget but which you deem to be key observations
about the scene
Jottings
• 6. You can also write down unimportant
details as reminders (you won’t use these
in your finished notes, but they can help
you remember what happened
• 7. Jottings can be used to signal general
impressions and feelings, even if you are
unsure of their significance at the
moment-place these on the margins of
your paper
Step Two: Expand
Notes
Expand Notes
• Writing up your jottings into notes
requires a block of concentrated time
• An event that maybe took a few minutes to
happen and jot can take longer to write up
• The most ideal situation is when you can
write expanded notes later that same day
• One week is the maximum time to spend
between jottings and write-up
Expand Notes
• Stance includes how you identify with who you are
observing—Teachers tend to write more fully
about events they see as relevant
• Stance also includes your intended or likely
audience
• Teachers can shift stance from personal
observations to professional ones
• Some notes can include one’s own reactions while
other notes can be about how you adapted
curriculum to meet a student’s needs
Expand Notes
• Concentrate on remembering and getting
words on the page, not on editing or
revising
• The writing at this stage is going to seem
unpolished
• When you go back and edit the first draft
of your expanded notes, you can reflect on
what happened- is there anything missing,
is the note too judgmental or interpretive?
Expand Notes
• Imagining an interested reader who wishes to
know more encourages longer and more vividly
detailed notes
• The process of turning a jotting into a note
involves what to include as much as what to leave
out
• In general, it doesn’t hurt to include more detailsthis way you’ll have more material to use when it
comes to the editing and write-up stages
• See handout for sample jottings turned into an
expanded note
Expand Notes
• First person- this is the “I” telling the
story, from the perspective of the
teacher/researcher
• This is effective for the researcher who
also works in the setting they are
observing
• See handout for sample first person note
Expand Notes
• Third person is used for describing what others
are doing and saying
• You can also combine this point of view with the
first person
• The focused third person limits the descriptions
to what those observed, saw, did, and said
• Using a focused third person gives the reader a
sense of only what the student saw
Expand Notes
• Real Time Descriptions- the writer seeks
to characterize events using only what is
known at certain points as the event
unfolds
• Basically, you structure the note as if you
are encountering the event for the first
time
• See handout for example
Expand Notes
• End point descriptions- the writer makes full use
of what they came to know when they witnessed
the event
• If a teacher describes the first day of class,
then an end point perspective would list all of the
students’ names, even if he/she wouldn’t know
everyone’s names until later in the class meeting
• This is basically the storytelling mode of writing
Step Three: Analysis
Analysis
• At this stage, you will have collected many
expanded field notes
• Now it is time to do a systematic reexamination
of what has been written and to identify themes
• Rereading is recommended until you can no longer
think of new ideas, themes, or issues
• It also helps to read through your notes as if they
were written by a stranger
Analysis
• The coding process begins with the
researcher mentally asking questions of
specific pieces of the field note data
• The secret of coding lies in turning
answers to these questions into a word or
short phrase that best captures an overall
theme
Analysis
• Some helpful questions that lead to coding
include:
• What are people doing? What are they trying to
accomplish?
• How, exactly, do they do this? What specific
means/strategies do they use?
• How do members talk about, characterize, and
understand what is going on? What assumptions
are they making?
• What do I see going on here? What did I learn
from these notes? Why did I include them?
Analysis
• These questions give priority to processes rather
than causes or internal psychological motives
• You want to ask questions that identify what is
occurring and in what order, rather than “why”
questions that ask about causes
• These questions focus on practical concerns which
means paying attention to patterns that emerge
from the mundane rather than the dramatic
Analysis
• Open coding- the idea is not to use
pre-established categories, but to
write down any category that comes
to mind
• You can always go back and limit the
focus to just the categories you see
repeating
Analysis
• Memos- notes to one’s self that concern
why you chose a particular theme or
category- this can help you narrow down
your codes
• Themes- you want to select themes that
can also relate to other apparent themesthis will make your write-up easier
Analysis
• Focused coding- after you have done an
open coding and identified potential
themes, re-read your notes, using the new
codes you have created, based on these
themes
• For example, you might have had 20
different codes for a field note, but only 5
relate to your research themes- these 5
codes would be the ones you use
throughout the rest of your analysis
Step Four: Write-up
Write-up
• Selecting field note excerpts is not a simple
matter of finding the most interesting examples
to use in your write-up
• The themes you selected in the coding stage will
help you to organize your write-up
• You can then begin to isolate excerpts from your
field notes that demonstrate examples of these
themes
Write-up
• The more detailed and vivid your
field notes, the easier it will be to let
them speak for themselves by using
them as block quotes
• An excerpt provides a starting place
for collecting a body of excerpts
bearing on a common theme
Write-up
• Integrative strategy- weaves together
interpretation and excerpt, typically
written as a single paragraph
• Field notes and ideas are then merged into
a single, flowing text written as a single
voice
• The integrative strategy is well-suited for
longer, continuous field notes
• See handout for example
Write-up
• Excerpt strategy- visually marks field notes
excerpts off from accompanying commentary,
usually by intending or italicizing
• The excerpt style lets readers see for
themselves the situation presented in the writeup
• See handout for example
• Note that the author begins with an analytic
point, then orients the reader before setting up
the situation for the excerpt, which follows
• The author then ends with analytic commentary
Write-up
• When writing an excerptcommentary, the researcher must
closely examine his/her strategies to
check whether idea and description
reinforce each other
• Your job is to convince the reader
that your interpretation is justified
Write-up
• Editing is the last necessary step of the field
note process
• When editing, the researcher has to consider
length and relevance
• Excerpts should not ramble on- if you must use a
super-long excerpt, divide it into shorter
paragraphs and intersperse with commentary
• Keep in mind the importance of relevance- are
your edited excerpts related to your themes and
ultimately your research goals?
• See handout for example of an edited note