Reflection on Stretch #6

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.