Week 3

Hello all, I hope this finds you well. Sorry for not updating the site earlier but it’s been a crazy week!

I’m looking forward to hearing about your interviews/oral histories.

A few notes on Oral history: Oral history is one of the youngest academic fields and one of the oldest forms of research. In many ways it’s about its about redefining (or expanding) who creates history as it privileges lived experience and broadens the ways in which “knowledge is produced”. Oral histories are always primary sources and how someone remembers something is an important part of the process. It’s very much about the relationship between the narrator and the interviewer. The narrator always has control of the interview during and after the process.

Oral history Association

Our first paper will be an essay on “How networked technology affects the human experience” So the primary focus of the interview should be about how digital technology has changed the narrators life. It would be interesting to get an array of perspectives on larger topics such as “democracy” as well as how it affects people individually.

In addition to uploading your audio recordings and transcripts to your own personal folders please upload all your coded transcripts and questions HERE.

Research Interview:

Write 8 -10 interview questions about networked technology. Questions should be open ended and written with the narrator in mind. Have an idea of what kind of responses you will get but remain flexible and willing to follow up when s/he/th say something that peaks your interest.

After introductions and getting permission to record the interview – establish the basics – name, age, city, etc.

If you use Zoom you can also get a transcript. Upload both the recording and the corrected transcript to your Google folder.

Here are a few sample questions: (but i’m looking forward to hearing what kind of things you asked)

What are the advantages to being networked and what is lost?

How has networked technology changed how we interact with each other?

How does it change how we think about society?

Tell me a story about …

Once you have completed the interview it’s time to transcribe it.

It’s fine if you already transcribe it but if you haven’t (and even if have) we will be using Descript – You get three free hours which should be plenty for our purposes. It actually looks amazing for podcasters too!

Here’s a very clear video on the topic: https://youtu.be/zXdDp5h2j_M

Coding the Interviews:

We will be using a limited version given the time constraints of an inductive method also called grounded theory.

The emergence of constructivist grounded theory

The reformation of grounded theory took a new turn in the 1990s when Kathy Charmaz, a former student of Strauss and Glaser, published an article that described a new approach to grounded theory. She described her new approach as constructivist grounded theory and explained how it differs from Glaser and Strauss’ methods.

Charmaz argued that neither data nor theories are discovered but are constructed through the researchers’ past and present experiences. Additionally, she described Strauss systematic coding frameworks as highly prescriptive and proposed a more flexible approach. In 2006, Charmaz published her book titled Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. This makes her work the third version of grounded theory.

Although three variations of grounded theory have evolved over time, it is important to note that they all have some familial resemblance and remain within the grounded theory family.

Constructing Grounded Theory: a practical guide through qualitative analysis

The grounded theory method is a cycle that oscillates between data collection and analysis. We will go through one cycle but will have access to each others data.