Interviews are Retro: Keep It Real!

Ive been thinking alot about how we tend to use interviews as our default position when gathering data in qualitative research when there are so many other ways to do it..in particular the problem with interviews is that they are retospective, rather than actually being there when the experience happens, they rely on recall AND on the interviewer. It can be much more useful to ask the person who is living the experience to communicate about it when its happening..so how?

Interpersonal Process Recall: Record the event then immediately after interview the person about what was happening
Audio-diaries: ask the person to record what they are experiencing when it happens, or at prescribed intervals
Journals: a simple but effective technique
Blogs: many methods are available for closed blogging

In quant studies they also use EMA: Ecological Momentary Assessment, see example in method section of paper below

Application of ecological momentary assessment in stress-related diseases

Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi^1,3*, Yoshiharu Yamamoto² and Akira Akabayashi¹

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA)

EMA is a sampling method developed 'to assess phenomena at the moment they occur in natural settings, thus maximizing ecological validity while avoiding retrospective recall' [9]. When applying EMA to stress-related diseases such as IBS and asthma, paper-and-pencil diaries have often been used as recording devices [12,13]. However, such diaries have the disadvantage of 'faked compliance', i.e. disguise of compliance by recording data at times other than those designated even if signaling is used to remind patients of recording data [14-16].

To overcome this 'faked compliance', computerized EMA, i.e. EMA using computers as electronic diaries, has been developed. In computerized EMA, the input time is also recorded by the device in order to avoid faked compliance [17]. In addition, electronic diaries are able to issue randomly scheduled prompts to solicit data entry, thus reducing the risk that the assessment schedule may affect a natural rhythm in patients' lives [17].

Electronic diaries have been often implemented in palm-size computers [18-20] or watch-type computers (Fig. 1) [8,21] while an electronic touch-tone telephone system has been also used as a validated system [22]. The details of proposed guidelines and designing protocols for EMA are beyond the scope of the present report and have been described in previous reports [17,23,24].

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Behind the Mask..looking at the world of Real Life Superheroes!

Lynnwood, Washington, early January 2011, an attempted carjacking was adverted by a masked individual known as Phoenix Jones.

Dressed like he has just step out of a graphic novel Phoenix Jones chased the would-be criminal away, watched on in awe by the greatly appreciative citizen he had rescued (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20027464-504083.html).

Who was this masked avenger?

Phoenix Jones and his partner, Purple Reign are members of a community service and crime fighting group known as the Rain City Superhero Movement (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVIcGOd2jeg&feature=related). By their own admission, generally ordinary individuals who at a moment notice are ready to do battle with the forces of evil in all its forms, and they are not alone-there is Master legend, Urban Avenger, Life, Motor Mouth, Geist, Shadow hare, Storm Dragon to name just a few.

Who are these individuals? 

Growing worldwide is a tightly meshed community of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to create a better world. Some focus on community service such as helping the homeless, other focus on crime prevention with regular patrols and “sting” like operations while even more focus on activism such as making a stand for animal rights.  Collectively they have become known as Real Life Superheroes (although many have taken on different labels such as Extreme altruists, X-altruists, Artivists). This community of do-gooders is not limited to geographical range and individuals who identify with this community can be found in a number of countries including Australia, USA, and European and Asian nations.  A quick internet search will show that while their presence is being felt predominantly in the United States of America, they have spread across the globe in ever increasing numbers and show no signs of diminishing (e.g. http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/, http://worldsuperheroregistry.com/world_superhero_registry_gallery.htm, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lZy7u7qS6s). In fact, a recent HBO special was televised highlight this growing subculture (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zxCLbPncGk)

(numerous sources)

Throughout the years there have been a number of individuals and groups that have attempted community self-policing and service with varying levels of success.  The Real Life Superhero community represent a new incarnation of this, but with a distinct identity and personalities.  However what most obviously sets individuals like our very own Captain Australia (http://www.captainaustralia.net/), from previous attempts such as Neighbourhood Watch and the Guardian Angels is the creation of a “superhero” persona that individuals within this community utilize during their activities.

Little academic research has been conducted on this community. Therefore my project aims to develop profiles of both the community as a whole and personalities of individuals within. This will be the first study of its kind on this new emerging community.  Overall these goals will be achieved by a mixed-method- integrated design combining both qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study to explore “RLSH”’s on both the individual and community level. At the moment I am in the final stages of preparing an exploratory survey aimed at identifying the socio-demographic characteristics of members of this community as well as utilizing a modified Volunteer Motivational Index to explore the drives behind their perceived altruistic behavior. Future research will be aimed towards use of content analysis to gain a greater understanding of how this community interacts. Due to their strong internet presence, much of the data for this aspect of the study can be obtained via internet based research, discussion forums and on-line blogs. However, not all the research will involve staring at a computer screen as participant observational methodology is being incorporated into the project with plans to spend time with some of the more prominent members of the community both here and abroad as they train, prepare and patrol, to gain a better appreciation of the “world” of these Superheroes and what being a RLSH really “feels” like.

Writing Up...

Just a quick post to share this article by Ron Chenail about writing up...it covers so many of the things we have been talking about recently but really puts the turbo on the creativity and number of options availalbe to us in writing up

Here The Qualitative Report, Volume 2, Number 3, December, 1995(http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR2-3/presenting.html)

Some quotes to reinforce the points:
“I write in order to learn something that I didn’t know before I wrote it…not to write until I knew what I wanted to say, until my points were organized and outlined… this static writing model coheres with mechanistic scientism and quantitative research… It ignores the role of writing as a dynamic, creative process….(Richardson L. 1990)
“Writing-up qualitative research inevitably results in the emergence of new ideas and ways of viewing the data and hence plays a crucial role in the analysis process.”(Pitchforth et al. 2005)

Shut Up and Write continues

We had a very productive first ShutUp and Write meeting this Friday with 13 people joining for 7 hours of writing....many people writing up results, a few writing research proposals, discussions and other things...we had lots of interesting chats during the breaks, comparing analysis methods, working on adding some literature to results sections but generally I think the real benefit was simply having an opportunity to write without the distractions of being at home, without access to the internet but in a collegial and supportive setting

I found it pretty amazing how much I got done, writing about half a paper, which is really saying something..plus...Toblerone, Brownies, quiche, slice, fruit and many more goodies...

We planned to more meetings;

1. October19 9am-4pm in the Conference Room in Psychology Clinic, Mackie Building

2. Novermber 30th 9am-4pm OTC 405 as before

Bring your own lap top for the October meeting, computers provided for November.....please email me to express an interest...p.rhodes@sydney.edu.au

Behind the Times

The more I read the more concerned I become about how we are lagging behind in clinical psychology in Australia when it comes to qualitative research in psychology..been reading this INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY Dennis Howitt Loughborough University where he provides a history of qual in psychology, marking the 1980's as when qual became more accepted..

That is certainly not the case with clinical psychology here where we lag way behind...even in 1940 it was understood that science can include qualitative..

If we rejoice, for example, that present-day psychology is . . . increasingly
empirical, mechanistic, quantitative, nomothetic, analytic, and operational,
we should also beware of demanding slavish subservience to these presuppositions. Why not allow psychology as a science – for science is a broad and beneficent term – to be also rational, teleological, qualitative, idiographic, synoptic, and even  non-operational? I mention these antitheses of virtue with deliberation, for the simple reason that great insights of psychology 
in the past – for example, those of Aristotle, Locke, Fechner, James, Freud– have stemmed from one or more of these unfashionable presuppositions. (Allport, 1940, p. 25)

Thank god for Health Psychology and Critical Psychology who still wave the flag...

Discourse Analysis??

Its a pretty interesting reflection on the conservatism of clinical psychology that we have never had a study conducted in our program using discourse analysis...never.....pretty astounding when you think of all the potential it holds for deconstruction of our practices and all the power plays requiring such......it demonstrates how easy it is to set up a research silo, a product partly of our poor engagement with other disciplines.......

Here is a really great article on it, particularly Foulcault influenced discourse analysis, by Linda Graham from Queensland University of Technology...she quotes Stephen Ball (1995: 267) t “the point about theory is not
that it is simply critical” ..its purpose is  “to engage in struggle, to reveal and undermine what is most invisible and insidious in prevailing practices.”

Her work relates to ADHD and includes critque of the DSM...here.......pretty impressed by her work!!!

Graham, Linda (2006) The Politics of ADHD. In Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Annual Conference, 26th-30th November, Adelaide.

This essay offers a critical review of the problem we call “ADHD‿. In the first part of the discussion, the author presents an analysis of the literature surrounding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Adopting a lens informed by the work of Foucault, she teases out the medical and psychological models to show the interdependency between these otherwise competing knowledge-domains. She argues that as it currently stands the construct serves political ends and questions whether a diagnosis of ADHD is helpful - and if so, for whom? In the second part, the author considers what role schooling practices might play in the pathologisation of children and interrogates the ADHD phenomenon as a symptom of the pathologies of schooling. Graham concludes by suggesting how we might arrest the rising rate of diagnosis by thinking 

A 5 step reflecting process for collaborative coding?

Today we held a great collaborative coding session where a project was presented with focus groups held at three time points..we split the group in three, allocated transcripts from each time point and then came together after discussion in each group to compare notes as across the whole project...

This got me thinking about the best procedure to run such team reflections and how it can draw directly from Post-Milan Systemic Family Therapy reflecting teams

A 5 step reflecting process for collaborative coding....

1. Step 1...each group reads transcripts
2. Each team discusses meaning
3. Each team shares their analysis with each other while the researcher remains silent
-This discussion should start with affirmations directed to the researcher before constructive comments
-This discussion should always be tentative "Iwas wondering....."
4. The researcher is then asked what interested her the most about the process
5. The group is asked how this relates to their own projects

The allocation of discussion groups ca be made in many ways: analyse using different theories/look at transcripts from those with specific attributes/compare data from different data collection methods...ie: supports triangulation...