When recording an oral history, a researcher cannot prepare for everything. Participants might be very forthcoming, and other may not. My interview with Amy was honest and insightful.
Amy was very open about her financial plan. She didn't confess that their financials were in shambles, but just like any middle class American, spending habits have to be monitored. She seemed proud and confident in her and her husband's decisions related to saving for a house and paying down debt. Planning and weighting options are excellent traits in a coworker, and these are traits I've seen in her in the many projects she undertakes.
I had very few questions for her as she spoke; she was very thorough and detailed. I would nod "yea, makes sense" or the Southern "don't blame ya," and I otherwise focused on recording what she said. I don't know if this influenced her answers, but I was trying to welcome her story.
One weakness I noticed about myself was that I tried to hard to "figure her out." I had an image of who I thought she was, and sometimes I would predict to myself incorrectly about where she was going with her story. I even thought she might be making it up because maybe she was ashamed of living in an old farm house, or being frivolous with her money. I was also very jealous at her ability to plan a way to get out of debt; I hate debt and would love to have a plan, but it seems every time I get a plan together something happens.
Another weakness was interviewing in the car. She would often stop mid-story to ask a question about directions or pay attention to a street sign. She'd forget where she was or her train of thought. It was also hard to read her body language as her body was engaged in the act of driving.
I definitely would not do a car interview again. Seeing her body language probably would have helped me assess her honesty about her financial situation. I could say that I need to get rid of preconceived notions, but I think every researcher has that and must simply use it to his/her advantage.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Stretch Activity #6: The Oral History
I chose to interview a coworker while we traveled to Raleigh for a transfer workshop. She is not new, but I don't get to work with her frequently and I wanted to get to know her better as I will be working with her in the future. This interview was rescheduled from over a month ago because her daughter was sick.
We started with the question: "Can you talk about your dreams or goals you would like to accomplish?"
Her two answers revolved around getting out of debt and building her dream home.
Amy (as I'll call her) is a former elementary school teacher who married right out of college. She has one daughter, but divorced nearly a year after her daughter was born. Both her previous husband and her current husband are firefighters for different counties. When she remarried, she moved out of her parent's house and closer to her new husband's family farm. However, they were not financially ready to buy a house, and they had a lot of trouble finding a home in which to start their new life together close enough to his family's farm so he could still help out. After looking at expensive apartments and tiny houses, an old family friend and church member offered a deceased relative's old farm house for nearly free. Since the home was 100 years old (yet in good shape), the family was happy to have someone to love the home, even if only temporarily. The location was perfect, and the home was large enough to fit their family of three. She stated the house was "bigger than it looked on the outside."
With a home secured, she and her new husband decided to try the Dave Ramsey "get out of debt" program so that they could build their dream home on his family's farm. She said shortly after they married she was able to pay her vehicle off, as his vehicle was paid off and her only debt was her car and her student loans. Through a new position at the college with a significant raise, as well as moving in with her parents, she was able to pay off her other debts before her marriage. They decided to pay her student loans off and, when she was done, they could begin to decide the next step.
Once they got out of debt, they wanted to build a home and start a family. Her daughter is five, and she is 30, so their family is very young. Her husband was never married and has no children of his own. They would be given land from his aunt, who owns the farms he works. He is the main family member who still runs the farm. They would like to put down a large down payment as well.
After our discussion we arrived back at her home, and I ended the recording and unlocked my car to head home for the day.
We started with the question: "Can you talk about your dreams or goals you would like to accomplish?"
Her two answers revolved around getting out of debt and building her dream home.
Amy (as I'll call her) is a former elementary school teacher who married right out of college. She has one daughter, but divorced nearly a year after her daughter was born. Both her previous husband and her current husband are firefighters for different counties. When she remarried, she moved out of her parent's house and closer to her new husband's family farm. However, they were not financially ready to buy a house, and they had a lot of trouble finding a home in which to start their new life together close enough to his family's farm so he could still help out. After looking at expensive apartments and tiny houses, an old family friend and church member offered a deceased relative's old farm house for nearly free. Since the home was 100 years old (yet in good shape), the family was happy to have someone to love the home, even if only temporarily. The location was perfect, and the home was large enough to fit their family of three. She stated the house was "bigger than it looked on the outside."
With a home secured, she and her new husband decided to try the Dave Ramsey "get out of debt" program so that they could build their dream home on his family's farm. She said shortly after they married she was able to pay her vehicle off, as his vehicle was paid off and her only debt was her car and her student loans. Through a new position at the college with a significant raise, as well as moving in with her parents, she was able to pay off her other debts before her marriage. They decided to pay her student loans off and, when she was done, they could begin to decide the next step.
Once they got out of debt, they wanted to build a home and start a family. Her daughter is five, and she is 30, so their family is very young. Her husband was never married and has no children of his own. They would be given land from his aunt, who owns the farms he works. He is the main family member who still runs the farm. They would like to put down a large down payment as well.
After our discussion we arrived back at her home, and I ended the recording and unlocked my car to head home for the day.
Reflection on Stretch #5
Memory is a tricky thing. Often I rely too much on others when trying to remember something. This was key as I wrote my writing for growth entry; my husband's notoriously random memory was key as he reread my first draft.
My major weakness with writing from memory is the order and time lapse between events. For whatever reason, I have a poor concept of time. Often I feel something happened months ago, and it may have been only two weeks. and vice versa. I struggled to remember how long it was from the time the rash started, to when I went to the doctor, to when I was done with treatments. It seemed like a really short amount of time, but my husband said it was longer that a few weeks. The best way I could remember was through the seasons, but my mind was still unreliable in that way. My husband is better at this and since we've shared over 10 years of our lives, he is generally a great partner.
When researching, however, this is when great notes will come in handy. I am sure a researcher will try to remember with limited notes (and may sometimes need to when something happens at an unexpected time) but that will lend itself to false or missing memories. Sometimes, I forget what I walked into the next room to get, so I am sure I will forget an important quote when interviewing or observing. I like staying busy, so this may be related to my skewed internal clock.
I understand now why so many researchers work in teams. It must be incredible to have a second set of eyes when observing or interviewing students. I know I've read how witnesses, though used frequently in court, are notoriously unreliable. Through this exercise I realized that I am not that reliable either with my own life events, which are supposed to be valuable to me.
My major weakness with writing from memory is the order and time lapse between events. For whatever reason, I have a poor concept of time. Often I feel something happened months ago, and it may have been only two weeks. and vice versa. I struggled to remember how long it was from the time the rash started, to when I went to the doctor, to when I was done with treatments. It seemed like a really short amount of time, but my husband said it was longer that a few weeks. The best way I could remember was through the seasons, but my mind was still unreliable in that way. My husband is better at this and since we've shared over 10 years of our lives, he is generally a great partner.
When researching, however, this is when great notes will come in handy. I am sure a researcher will try to remember with limited notes (and may sometimes need to when something happens at an unexpected time) but that will lend itself to false or missing memories. Sometimes, I forget what I walked into the next room to get, so I am sure I will forget an important quote when interviewing or observing. I like staying busy, so this may be related to my skewed internal clock.
I understand now why so many researchers work in teams. It must be incredible to have a second set of eyes when observing or interviewing students. I know I've read how witnesses, though used frequently in court, are notoriously unreliable. Through this exercise I realized that I am not that reliable either with my own life events, which are supposed to be valuable to me.
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