Alys May-James BA Professional Practice Blog

Last week we had a zoom call about how to conduct interviews. Here are a few of the main point I picked up from the discussion. Be open and receptive. Create space for your participants so they can open up about what they want to talk about. Don’t go in with a fixed idea about what you want to find. Let the data you collect speak for itself. You don’t need to include all the information you collect from your interviews. Be selective. Use open questions to allow for further discussion, rather than yes or no answers. Start with an easy question to break the ice. Be an active listener. E.g. Nod, comment on what the participants are saying. Respect everyone’s opinion, even if you don’t agree. Don’t let your own opinions get in the way of the data. Be aware of your own bias and question it. I hope this helps people to carry out their research!

At the beginning of January, I had the privilege of watching the previous module 3 presentations. It was lovely to see the diversity of the topics everyone had researched and how it related to them and impacted their practices and lives. Everyone did an amazing job at explaining their research. I especially enjoyed seeing the artefacts that had been created because they seemed so personal and relevant to each individual. Some examples are; writing and illustrating a story book, creating a pop-up book, Russian Dolls, choreographing dances, and singing songs. The freedom that comes with creating the artefact can be really special- it can be whatever is relevant to you and your practice and research.   What was eye-opening to me was how each artefact and research topic revealed something about the researcher. It has got me thinking how research is a very personal thing- especially qualitative research- not only for the participants and the data collected, but for the researcher to...