30 Apr WHERE IS IT IN THE WEBERIAN GROWTH CYCLE
and everything else pertinent to your investigation.
You can expect to spend as much or more time writing up your notes
As that which you will spend observing or interviewing.
Analytical Hunches. You should put into your field notes any analytical hunches you have about what is going on in the group or social setting you are observing. This might include such things as the function of beliefs or rituals for members, the sociological type of the group (denomination, sect or cult?), an application of conversion theory (or theories of cult formation) to an understanding of your group. Develop a way to code analytical speculations in your text for easy reference later — use brackets, use different colors of ink, underline, or indent.
Personal Reactions. Field notes should also include your personal feelings about your experience of observing or interviewing. It is important not to ignore feelings of attraction to the group, or disgust, or embarrassing moments. Rather than pretending that these feelings do not exist, they should be placed in your field notes as a way of gaining perspective on them. Again, develop a code for distinguishing observations of an emotional nature from your running description of the group.
Interviewing
In qualitative research, interviews are conversational, and do not elicit the structured fixed choice responses of quantitative questionnaires. Your interview should have a structure, of course, but keep your eyes open for unexpected, interesting data on the group. Be willing to deviate from your prepared questions, if it seems advantageous. Record the interview if you can, but remember to ask permission first. Ask if your interviewee minds being quoted by name in your field study: “Is it okay for me to cite you by name, or would you prefer to be anonymous? Either way is fine with me.”
Your methodological text (the Miller bok) has useful guidelines for the interviewing process, but several further points should be kept in mind:
1. Do not try to impress the interviewee with how intelligent you are, how sophisticated your vocabulary is, or what great insight you have into his or her group. Avoid using jargon learned in this class. Be “naive,” open and teachable, seeking to understand how the world appears to those you are studying and how they make religious sense of it. Do not let your views of reality intrude into the field setting or you will distort that setting, making your study results unreliable.
2. Ask direct and easily understood questions. Start with specific questions to which you are sure the interviewee will have an answer, and then move to more penetrating and complex questions toward the end of the interview.
3. Do not be argumentative or judgmental in the interview. You are there to learn how the person you are interviewing understands the world. If their answers seem ridiculous and crazy to you, do not argue with them about the adequacy of their views; instead, seek to understand how they came to hold these views and what their teachings and ritual practices mean to them.
4. Ask follow-up questions to the interviewees responses. There are traditional verbal formulas for this. You might ask, “Do you mean [and repeat in your own words what you believe the interviewee has said],” or “I heard you saying…” Follow-up questions and responses elicit further information and clarification of information already obtained.
5. Relax. Do not be in a hurry to rush on to the next question. A short silence, especially if coupled with genuine interest on your part, can be creative. The rhetorical uses of silence are seldom appreciated in our culture.
Having completed the interview, your work is half done. You will now need to transcribe the interview or, if you did not tape it, write up full field notes within 24 hours. Each interview should be accompanied by a “face sheet” (see Lofland, p. 57) which includes 1) the interviewees name, 2) the date of the interview, 3) the place of the interview, 4) sex, 5) approximate age, 6) ethnicity, and anything else of particular relevance for your own study. Once completed, the interview becomes part of your field notes.
Organizing Field Notes
Even in a short field project, it often happens that field notes become voluminous. In a longer field project which might include dozens or even hundreds of interviews, it is extremely important to have a well-defined system of organizing interviews and field notes.
Here is one possible method for organizing your notes:
1. Each time you observe a meeting or do an interview, place the notes from it in a separate file folder in a project file on your desktop.
2. Put any literature or printed material you collect that is related to your project in separate file folders either digitized on your desktop, or as hardcopies at your desk.
3. Read through your materials, coding them by topic (e.g., history of group, teachings, ritual, religious experience, social scientific categorical explanation of behavior).
4. Include the material in your write-up of your final reports, letting these topics shape the report.
Field research is an ongoing process, and so is any system for organizing field data. Whatever system you use or devise, you need one to do a good job.
Working with Field Notes
Creative insight concerning your field experiences comes in the process of going over your material or topic files like those described in the previous section. As you regularly read over the notes that are collecting, you should be asking questions about the importance, significance and function of beliefs, acts, rituals and social patterns. In the process of reviewing your notes, and as you factor the course material into you project, new insights will emerge, and these insights should be written down and, if you choose the above method of organization, put into the appropriate thematic file. These insights may include new things to look for in future observations; or additional questions to ask in an interview.
Writing the Report
If you have developed files in the manner described above, the final report will almost write itself. The each major heading for the paper will be a topic file. Each file will contain descriptive notes from interviews and observations, while others will be more theoretical and analytical.
A term project which takes a rather comprehensive approach to the study of a congregation might have many of the following sections, although this is only a sample outline:
1. Identify the group. Give its name, location, denominational affiliation (if it has one), and more generally introduce the group. The first paragraphs might also introduce a theme which will run through the entire paper. This could be done by beginning with an anecdote, or some other device for catching the readers attention.
2. The methodology of your study. Tell me why you decided to study this group, how you collected your information, number and type of meetings you observed, number of interviews and with whom they were conducted. Tell me about any problems you ran into while doing the study.
3. The history of the group. When was the group founded, and by whom? Where is it in the Weberian growth cycle? Does the group have a distinctive character?
4. The teachings of the group. What do members believe? What do clergy preach and teach? What are the most important social ethical beliefs of the group? What is the world view of members?
5. What is the practice of the group? Describe a typical worship service, sermon, ritual or other sacramental rite, including meditation. What is the “experience” of the worshippers?
6. What are the social psychological and sociological characteristics of the group? Describe the members: age, ethnicity, social class, gender. How are decisions made in this organization? What are typical programs of the congregation?
7. Social outreach and ministry to the community. How does the congregation relate to community, city, nation and world? Does the congregation have specific programs that minister to those outside the group? Or is outreach intended primarily to convert others to their point of view?
8. What are the unique characteristics of the congregation? What are the specific problems facing the group? What hot issues is it currently facing?
9. Concluding observations. Your personal opinions about the group, including speculations on the groups future.
Proof your papers before you turn them in to me. All papers should go through more than one draft. You may use the first person singular (“I visited the church three times…”), and should follow one of the recognized style guides (e.g., MLA, APA, Turabian). The final paper (excluding excessive indented quotations) should be 8-10 pages in length.
The Appendix
Your final paper may have an appendix that can include your field materials, including notes, tapes of interviews and literature from the group (do not include books).
If you organize your field notes on your computer, you can print them out and submit them. You may submit computer disks in lieu of printouts, or send video via email. The papers themselves will be available in the department of religious studies for one full semester after submission.
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