COM 372—Setting up a Study

If you are doing… an in-depth open-ended study (interview, focus group, open-ended questionnaire):

I can guide you on how to do these, but, in brief, the typical research interview is “guided” but semi-structured. That is, it is only loosely guided with a set of questions geared to the research questions of the study. You might not ask all the questions and you might ask them in different orders.

  • You will have RQs, NOT Hs. There will no variables, but things you want to explore, especially meanings, norms, or perceptions of behavior (since you are doing self-report, remember you are seeking perceptions of behavior or reports of behavior. You will not see the behaviors themselves).
  • Your study should be related in some way to communication…and culture.
  • What you develop, then, is an interview “protocol,” a set of the TYPE of questions you might ask in the interview. But your goal in the interview is actually to have a “guided chat” with the participant, where you take the interview in the direction you want to go, but sometimes with very few questions. If the participant talks about the things you want to talk about, you don’t need to even ask the questions.
  • As you plan your study, it’s nice to have in mind what a final study might look like, as well as what we need if you want IRB approval.
  • Your findings will most likely be presented in set(s) of themes with quotations and discussions.

Below you will find samples of what I need, with some sample “interview protocols.”

What I need from your group as soon as possible is:

1)A clear description of your exact sample and how you will contact them.

2)The text of any e-mail or flier that you will use to invite them to the study (see attached for example)

3)A signed release

4)The questions you will ask in the interview.

Recruiting e-mail:

Hello,

My name is JorieGarbacz. I am a student in a course on culture and communication in the School of Communication at Illinois State University, and I am conducting a study on how nuns in convents communicate their religious identity, both with one another and with parishioners (at ISU, this would include students) and those outside the church. This study is under the direction of Dr. John R. Baldwin, .

I have contacted you because you work at one of the local convents, either in Bloomington-Normal or in Henry, IL.

This will be an interview study. I will tape record it only to make sure that I have your comments accurately. I will join your comments with those of others to develop themes about communicating across cultures. I may prepare a report for churches about religious communication or present findings at a conference. If you want to see the report before I present any portion of it publicly, you may request to do so, to make sure you still want any comments you want included. Participation in this study is confidential and voluntary, and there is no penalty for non-participation. If you are interested in participating in this study, please send me an e-mail, and I will contact you to set up an interview time.

In Christ,

JorieGarbacz,

Student
School of Communication

Informed Consent

By signing below, I agree to participate in the study. I understand and affirm that:

  • I am at least 18 years old.
  • This study is part of a research project being completed for a university class, supervised by Dr. John Baldwin, School of Communication, Illinois State University
  • The results of this study will be used to better understanding the communication of religious identity with my peers and with students.
  • My participation in this project will consist of participating in an interview that may take up to one hour. The interview will be tape-recorded for accuracy, but I can request that the interviewer not tape our conversation.
  • My responses will be confidential. My name will not appear on the transcripts and only the interviewer will know my identity.
  • The researchers may use comments from my interview in a paper for the professor. But before any public presentation of my comments—at conference, in print, or in executive summary to the campus religious group. Thus, colleagues or supervisors might recognize my comments even without my name. I will have the ability to review comments and remove my comments from the study, should I choose. I can request this right from the interviewer.
  • I understand that I will not receive compensation for completing the questionnaire. I can request a copy of the final report by contacting the researchers.
  • The study topic should not be uncomfortable, but I may feel some discomfort telling what my religion means to me and how I express it.
  • My participation in this study is completely voluntary and I understand that I may withdraw from participating in this study at any point without any penalty. I have not been coerced or forced in any way shape or form.

I realize that if I have any questions or concerns about this project, I can contact either:

About the project / About my rights as participant
John R. Baldwin / JorieGarbacz
School of Communication
/
438-7876 / Research Ethics & Compliance

438-2520

______

SignatureDate

Please initial here if you agree to me tape-recording the interview: ___

Interview Protocol

Introduction: This interview is part of a project to find out how religious sisters enact their identity through communication in various situations. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary, and you may stop at any time. Your answers will be kept totally confidential. By answering these questions, you are indicating your permission to participate in the study.

Is it okay with you that I audio record this interview?

Instructions: For the first two questions, please give your personal attitudes toward your life as a religious sister. For each of the following questions please think of a specific circumstance in which you interacted with another person or group of people.

1. What does being a religious sister mean to you personally?

2. What does being a member of this specific religious community mean to you personally?

3. How do you perceive this religious community to be different from other religious orders?

4. Tell me about a specific time you interacted with one of your fellow sisters.

5. Tell me about a specific time you interacted with someone who is not a religious sister but someone who you know personally.

6. Tell me about a specific time you interacted with one of your family members after you professed as a religious sister.

7. Tell me about a specific time you interacted with a stranger.

8. Tell me about a specific time your order interacted with the larger public.

* This is a tentative interview format that indicates four primary areas of questions and includes probes as additional means to acquire more detailed and focused responses. The exact questions utilized will vary depending on how each co-participant’s interview progresses, as the interview seeks to provide minimal structure on the participants’ responses.

Sample 2

Email Message/Facebook Message to Prospective Participants

Dear Prospective Participant,

As a graduate student in the School of Communication, I’m conducting an interview study about intolerance within the gay community under the guidance of Dr. John Baldwin as part of my Master’s Thesis. As a member of the gay community myself, I’m aware of the types of intolerance often experienced in this community. We would greatly appreciate your participation in this study.

In order to participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years of age or older and self-identify as gay. If you choose to participate in this study, please contact Robert using the information provided below to suggest a meeting location and time. This interview is expected to last between 30-60 minutes. This interview will ask you to respond to a series of questions relating to your coming out process, intolerance, and advice you wish to give those experiencing intolerance.Your participation is completely voluntary, and anything you answer during the interview will remain confidential. There is no penalty for non-participation. Furthermore, you may refuse to answer any question or withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.

To move forward with participating in this study, please contact Robert by phone at 309.368.7196, or by email at .

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Informed Consent

You are being asked to participate in an interview about intolerance within the gay community. This study is being conducted by Robert Self, graduate student, under the guidance of Dr. John Baldwin of the School of Communication at Illinois State University as part of a Master’s Thesis.

If you agree to participate, you will answer interview questions, which will take 30-60 minutes. Interview questions will ask you to respond to a series of questions relating to your coming out process, intolerance, and advice for those experiencing intolerance. Your participation is voluntary and there is no penalty for non-participation. We would like to audio record the following interview, however participants may opt out of being audio recorded. Furthermore, you may refuse to answer any question or withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.

We believe there are benefits associated with participating in this project. Participants will help extend literature in gender studies, interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and psychology, providing valuable research for educational purposes. Additionally, participation may benefit training programs for individuals experiencing stress from intolerance. We believe there are minimal perceived risks associated with participating in this project, though you may feel some discomfort discussing your coming out process, recollections of intolerance, and/or privacy loss.

Because there are minimal risks involved (discomfort or privacy loss), all reasonable measures will be taken to ensure your confidentiality, as you may report information that identifies you personally in the interview. To ensure your confidentiality, we will not reveal any names, organizations, or anything else that identifies any participant. If you would like to see a professional to discuss any discomfort, you may, if you are a student at ISU, contact ISU Student Counseling Services at (309) 438-3655. If you are not an ISU student, you may feel free, at your expense, to contact a counselor of your choice.

Participants may choose to review comments and make decisions on the inclusion or deletion of comments if they desire, as some excerpts may be presented publically for publication or conferences. Even in the event that excerpts are presented publically, participant information shall remain confidential. Finally, to be a participant in this study you must be at least 18 years old and identify openly as homosexual/gay.

Informed Consent Continued

For questions about this study, you may contact the following individuals at the e-mails provided: Robert Self: , Dr. John Baldwin: .

For questions regarding your rights as a research participant you are encouraged to contact the Illinois State Univeristy Research Ethics and Compliance Office: Phone: 309-438-2529, Email: .

By continuing this interview, you are consenting to participate in this research study.

Thank you for your assistance.

______

Please Print Name

______

Please Sign NameDate

Please indicate your willingness for us to audio-record this interview by initialing here: ______

In the event that you do not wish to be audio-recorded:

Please indicate your willingness for us to take field notes in this interview by initialing here: ______

In the event that you wish to review your confidential comments for inclusion or deletion:

Please indicate your readiness for revision by providing contact information and initialing here: ______

Please provide your contact information here:

Phone (Best number to reach you): ______

Email: ______

Within-Group Intolerance

This is a semi-structured interview. The protocol below indicates primary areas of questions and includes probes as additional means to acquire more detailed and focused responses. The exact questions utilized will vary depending on how each co-participant’s interview progresses.

[NOTE: This sample has far more questions than you will likely need for a 372 interview study!]

Questions About Coming Out

  • Could you please describe your coming out experience for me?
  • How long would you say it took you to solidify a homosexual identity, and what struggles did you have to overcome in order to create that identity for yourself?
  • For you is this identity contextual? (That is, does your expression of your identity change in different situations)
  • What does it mean to you for someone to have a “homosexual identity”?
  • Values, norms, behaviors that might characterize such an identity
  • Are there stereotypes of this identity? In what ways do you think these stereotypes actually describe gay culture?

Transition: Often people seem to stereotype gays in terms of gendered behaviors—that is ways of acting masculine or feminine. Realistically, everyone (hetero and homo alike) have both tendencies.

  • Which behaviors do you engage in that you or others would say are more feminine?
  • Which behaviors do you engage in that you or others would say are more masculine?
  • Describe for me your main circle of friends – do you mostly befriend heterosexual individuals, or homosexual individuals? Are these mostly men or women?
  • In what ways do you identify well (strongly) with these friends?
  • In what ways do you not identify well with these friends?

Questions About Intolerance

Transition: Unfortunately, identification with some groups may lead to the discrimination of others.

  • Can you recall a time when you witnessed homophobic discrimination?
  • Have you ever been the target of homophobic discrimination, and if yes, could you please describe that instance for me?
  • How do you handle those situations specifically?
  • Can you recall a time when you witnessed discrimination between two homosexual individuals?
  • Do you personally know any homosexual individuals who are uncomfortable in situations where they are surrounded by, or must interact with, other homosexuals? If yes, why do you think this is?
  • What characteristics make you assume an individual is homosexual?
  • Can you describe for me a time when you yourself felt uncomfortable around another individual who was homosexual?
  • Did you know this individual was homosexual or did you perceive them to be?
  • How do you handle those situations specifically?
  • Can you describe for me a time when you thought another homosexual felt uncomfortable around you?
  • What are some reasons that you might feel more or less uncomfortable meeting or spending time with other homosexual individuals?

Questions About Advice For Others

  • In general, how do you prefer to meet new people, regardless whether hetero or homosexual?
  • When you spend time with friends or with new acquaintances, what are some of the things you like to do?
  • If you could give any advice to a homosexual who has just come out who is trying to make friends, what would you say?
  • That about wraps things up. Is there anything else you would like to say that I have not asked about yet?

Hints at Analysis

Open-Ended Questionnaire Exercise

  1. Describe a specific positive or negative experience you have had with an international teacher or teaching assistant. What happened? How did you respond?
  1. List characteristics or behaviors that you think illustrate international teachers or teaching instructors?
  1. What are some positive things administrators, students, andinternational teachers could do to make the multi-cultural classroom a more effective place?

Analyzing Open-Ended Data (especially Open-Ended Questionnaire!)

Step 1: Unitizing: Break each answer into ideas that you can sort into categories.

  • Based on RQs: “We counted as units each idea that provided a direct answer to the research questions (for example…)
  • Based on Spradley’s “semantic relationships”: x is a type of y; x is a stage in y, x is a cause/effect of y, x is a location in/part of y, etc.: x is an aspect of effective teaching. Units were any ideas that illustrates a strategy for effective teaching.

Step 2: Categorization: Sort the “units” of data into meaningful clusters or groups. Two main choices:

  • a priori (based on the lit). If a priori¸ then, in methods under “data analysis,” describe where the categories come from. The literature suggests 4 main aspects of the mothering role, which served as our initial category set for RQ1.
  • inductive(created intuitively from the present data set): Sort in ways that make sense to you. This could include “grounded theory,” which links some categories to others. (Ex: People respond differently to opposition to interracial dating to those with whom they have close relation than to strangers, and depending on the context (e.g., workplace versus bar).
  1. As you go, develop unitizing or categorizing rules (for example, for what counts as a “unit,” or what goes into such-and-such category). These are more for the researcher and need not appear in the paper.
  2. Idea is that someone else, with your set of data and rules, would reasonably come up with the same units or place the units you have in the same categories.
  3. You COULD determine intercoder reliability. Ask me in some future study if you are interested.