Using Sociological Methods in Literary and Cultural Research

LiFTs MA Workshop

March 24th, 2010

Dr Jane Hindley

Session Overview

1. Introductiona. Session aimsb. Methodological Pluralism and Interdisciplinarity

2. Personal Experience

3. Observation and Participant Observation

a. Covert and Overt Observationb. Ethnomethodology

4. Interviewinga. Surveys and questionnairesb. Semi-structured interviewsc. Life History Interviewsd. Expert Interviewse. Secondary interviewsf. Group interviewsg. General points about questionsh. Some notes on recording

5. Access

6. Research Ethics

1. Introduction: Session Aims

i. To discuss personal experience, observation and participant observation and interviews in relation to the following questions:– What is the scope and purchase of these methods?– What are some of the practical issues that need to be

considered?– What are the ethical issues involved?

ii. To stimulate thinking about how you might incorporate these methods into the design of your dissertation research project, or future research projects

iii. To encourage a bold, creative approach to doing research

Methodological Pluralism

i. What is methodological pluralism? – Equal respect for different methods and approaches; – Recognition that different methods have specific strengths &

limitations

ii. Benefits of methodological pluralism:– Triangulation of different types of data can improve accuracy &

reliability– Combining different methods, types of data, and analysis can

enrich a research project

2. Personal Experience

What does personal experience refer to?• Your biography/ life experiences of time, place, social contexts,

interactions etc.• Your sensory, emotional, and intellectual responses to a text, film, or

performanceSometimes personal experience may give rise to vague intuitions, which

may be clarified and developed through reflection, and in the course of the research process.

Reflection on personal experience can provide: • inspiration and motivation for a research project;• key analytical insights that can be developed and explored in the

course of doing research. • a starting point for challenging the premises or underlying assumptions

that structure existing interpretations or theories.

Personal Experience in the Work of Raymond Williams (1921-1988)

Williams grew up in a small village in Wales, close to the English border. The son of a railwayman, he went to grammar school and then to Cambridge, (the first member of his family to go to university. His experience of rural-urban migration and social mobility inspired two of his major works:

• 1960 novel Borderlands, whose central character Mathew Price, makes a similar journey, and like Williams becomes an academic. A central theme is how Price overcomes the awkwardness induced by social and cultural distance he has travelled compared to his family.

• 1973 cultural history: The Country and the City: which explores the changes in dominant representations of the country and the city in literature.

Personal Experience in Raymond Williams’ The Country and The City

• ‘Country and city are very powerful words, and this is not surprising when we remember how much they seem to stand for in the experience of human communities. […]

• On the actual settlements which in real history have been astonishingly varied, powerful feelings have gathered and have been generalised. On the country has gathered the idea of a natural way of life: of peace, innocence and simple virtue. On the city has gathered the idea of an achieved centre: of learning, communication, light.’ (p.1)

• ‘But it is as well to say at the outset that this has been for me a personal issue, for as long as I remember. It happened that in a predominantly urban and industrial Britain I was born in a remote village, in a very old settled countryside’ (p.2)

• ‘This book is the result, but though it often and necessarily follows impersonal procedures, in description and analysis, there is behind it, all the time, this personal pressure and commitment.’ (p.3)

Potential problems of personal experience methods: i. Bias: projection of personal experience onto other subjects/

inappropriate generalisation from subjective experienceii. Research as therapy? on sensitive/intimate topics can lead to

reliving trauma & generate psychological blocks to researchiii. Inaccuracies: reworking of memory in relation to present realitiesiv. Purple prose, self-indulgence, and self-importance (over-use of ‘I’)

Avoiding these problems: i. Explicitly interrogate personal experience/memory in an objective

way; consider if you have a tendency to optimism, pessimism, exaggeration, etc.

ii. Discuss with other people to find out if they share your perspective, feelings, memories etc.

iii. Check memory against documents of life e.g. diaries, photographs, etc.

Recording personal experience: Audio or written diary (electronic or paper).

3. Observation, participant observation and ethnomethodology

Observation and participant observation can provide insight into: • Patterns of behaviour and interaction, identification of (tacit) roles, norms

and rules• The difference between what people say they do and actually do.• The difference between formal and informal roles, norms, and rules; and

the interplay between them.

Observation………………………………………….participant observation• Experiments in natural settings• Milgram experiments (1963) researcher takes an active role• Stanford Prison experiments (1971) e.g. as member of cast/• All sorts of possible experiments production team, etc.

drama, film & performance e.g. George Orwell, essays Down and Out in Paris and London/

Gautam Malkani, Londonstani (2006)

Overt observation…………………………..covert observation

consent of relevant social actors social actors are unaware of researcher

Open recording notes/audio/video covert recording

Potential problems• Observer effects? i.e. Social Feasibility of maintaining

actors modify behaviour covers/ disguise due to researcher’s presence Difficulties of recording

Researcher fatigueEthical dilemmas of deception Breaking the law?

Ethnomethodology (may be especially useful for performance art)Harold Garfinkel (1967) Experiments in Ethnomethodology• The aim of ethnomethodological methods is to uncovering social

norms and rules by deliberate transgression/ ‘absurd’ behaviour in everyday contexts.

4. Interviews

Interviews generate • Reported facts, behaviour and practices,• Reported attitudes, opinions, beliefs, experiences, feelings

4.a. SurveysUse structured questionnaire that usually combine a range of closed and

restricted option questions with one or two open questions.

Types of sample• Census: all members of any given population• Representative/ random/scientific sample (very resource intensive)• Indicative sample • Snowball sample (often used with dispersed/hard-to-reach populations)• Postal questionnaires, filled out by informants; filled out by researcher.

Problems: questionnaire fatigue, non-response, and reliability.

4.b. Semi-structured, depth interviews

Loose interview guide: outlining relevant topics and key points

• Allow much more space than questionnaires for interviewee to voice and discuss experiences, define criteria of relevance, express their

views, sentiments etc.

For creative writing• Usually with a sample of relevant actors; or a range of key actors• Can provide in-depth information about particular social experiences

or worlds, and detailed clarification of relevant facts; • Examples of natural speech, slang, of a particular social/

occupational group etc.• E.g. Rose Tremain

Using interviews in creative writing: Rose Tremain’s (2008) novel, The Road Home

‘Tremain feels strongly that fiction should not be confined to the experiences of the author. "I'm not a writer who writes about my own life. I've always been bored by the idea. I think novelists who stay in the contemporary, like Ian McEwan, say, who does draw a lot on things that have happened to him..." She pauses, diplomatically. "Well it's just, the trouble with drawing on your own biography is that eventually it runs out, doesn't it?"

‘Everyone always asks her, she says, if contemporary and historical fiction are very different to write. The answer, apparently, is not at all. She spent a year reading, mostly about eastern Europe, and interviewing immigrant workers in Suffolk, and then a year writing. The only big difference was "the question of my right to write the story. When you write about history, you can write anybody's story. There isn't this question about authenticity. What I think will happen, but I don't know how soon, is that Lev, as it were, will write his own story. So this in a sense is an interim story. And I hope it's doing his community a service.”’

(Interview with Decca Aitkenhead, The Guardian, April 19th, 2008)

For Studies of Film-makers, Writers or PoetsSemi-structured interviews provide an opportunity to ask about:• Choice of genre, form, themes, imagery,• Sources of inspiration and literary influences• The process of writing, production• Clarification of facts about writing/ publication in relation to a wider body

of work

Interviews are an opportunity to record/ experience a writer or poet’s voice.So, for example, how does the poet’s natural speech —dialect, intonation,

accent, syntax, rhythm etc. –shape the language of her/his poetry, prose, or dialogue?

e.g. Tony Harrison ‘a Yorkshire poet’; Martin Newell ‘an Essex poet’.

Asking a writer or poet to read some of their work during an interview can be invaluable as the tone and rhythm of the voice cannot be fully captured by writing and punctuation.

Their reading may give a different meaning to and change your interpretation of a text.

Hearing the Voice/ Changing MeaningTennyson (1954) ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’

Half a league, half a league,Half a league onward,All in the valley of DeathRode the six hundred."Forward, the Light Brigade!"Charge for the guns!" he said:Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"Was there a man dismay'd?Not tho' the soldier knew Someone had blunder'd:Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die:Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

• 3.• Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.

• 4.• Flash'd all their sabres bare,

Flash'd as they turn'd in air,Sabring the gunners there,Charging an army, while All the world wonder'd:Plunged in the battery-smokeRight thro' the line they broke;Cossack and RussianReel'd from the sabre stroke Shatter'd and sunder'd.Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.

• 5.• Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,Cannon behind them Volley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell,While horse and hero fell,They that had fought so wellCame thro' the jaws of DeathBack from the mouth of Hell,All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.

• 6.• When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made! All the world wondered.Honor the charge they made,Honor the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred

Lord Alfred Tennyson

Life History Interviews

Life history interviews can often be quite lengthy and may involve several sessions. Developing a collaborative relationship between interviewer and interviewee can be crucial to their success.

Key points to consider relate to time:• Chronological time vs. individual’s biographical experience of life

and the life-cycle• External frames of events vs. how these impinge on people’s sense

of their own lives (epiphanies, turning points etc.)

4.d. Expert InterviewsOften used at a preliminary stage of research as a means of obtaining: • Background knowledge of a topic, field• Orientation about existing research and bibliography on a particular topic; • Identification of possible problems of access and feasibility• Guidance on focus and angle• Contacts

4.e. Using secondary interviewsSecondary interviews whether, tv, radio, newspaper, internet, dvd, etc.

can be a useful starting point for developing interview guides and a valuable resource for any projects.

Key points to consider include:– Editing processes– Interaction between interviewer and interviewee

4.f. Group interviews and focus groups

4. g. Some general points about writing questions• Check whether the questions are well formulated and in the

appropriate register. Are they clear, concise? • Test out your questions on someone else beforehand.

4. h. Ways of recording interviews:

i. Written notes: Disadvantages: not v. accurate or reliability; distracting; you may only record

what you expect to hear.

ii. Advantages of Audio recording and transcription:• Accurate, and reliable• Capture tone and nuance (e.g. irony, humour, pauses etc)• Fluency of interview: researcher can concentrate fully on the interaction,

prompting, probing etc. Disadvantage: transcribing is time-consuming

iii. Advantages of Video recording: captures whole body language of interaction as well as speech

• Disadvantage: Distracting, and may be overwhelming for interviewee

5. Access: Be bold & persistent!

Think carefully about how you approach potential interviewees or gatekeepers for doing observation: what is the appropriate form?

• Email?• Telephone? • Letter?• Informal contacts?

Whichever form you choose, explain the purpose of the interview and the aims of your project.

6. Ethics a. General ethical principles• Avoid causing harm to research subjects/ participants • Accuracy in reporting findings• Precautionary principle: think through possible harms as part of the

design and planning stage of a research project, including how you want to approach issues of privacy, anonymity and confidentiality.

• Consider ethical implications at different stages of the research• Discuss possible ethical problems with supervisor and departmental

research committee - see new university regulations, which can be accessed at: http://www.essex.ac.uk/reo/research_community/research_governance/ethics_in_research/guidelines_for_ethical_approval_of_research/

b. Ethics in personal experience methods:• Are you compromising other people, including people you care about? • Are you betraying confidences, privacy?

c. The ethics of interviewing: • Consent form? • Send interviewee a transcript for correction or additions?• Respect off-the-record remarks

d. The ethics of covert observationDoing covert observation requires very careful consideration. • Is covert observation the only way to investigate the topic? • Are you harming specific individuals? • Are you operating outside the law?• Are you clear that there are benefits to be gained from the study? • Will you feel comfortable/ capable of maintaining a disguised role?• Discuss with supervisor, departmental research group.

The Secret Policeman: BackgroundBBC Documentary broadcast October 2003Reporter, Mark Daly

• 1993 black British teenager, Stephen Lawrence wasmurdered by white gang while waiting for a bus in London

• 5 suspects arrested, but released, no-one prosecuted,• Case taken up by Daily Mail and other national media• Public inquiry led by Lord Macpherson in 1999 uncovered gross

incompetence in the police investigation• The Macpherson report concluded that the police were

institutionally racist.• New policies were adopted by UK police forces to eradicate

racism

Primary aims of the documentary were to find out:• were new anti-racist policies being implemented ? • was possible for racist recruits to enter the police force ?• and would any officers with racist views in a discriminatory way

once they finished training?

Preparation for covert observation included:• Application to enrol as a police recruit in Manchester police force• Eye operation to correct short sight (good vision is a pre-requisite)• Technical preparations for camera and sound recordings

Covert observation involved: • 5 months of covert observation as a new recruit in the police training

centre • and 8 weeks as a qualified police officer before his cover was blown• Recording formal training and informal social contexts,

conversations in dorms, bars; on duty etc.• Keeping a video diary throughout preparation and observation

The Secret Policeman: Questions

1. Do you think Mark Daly was justified in doing covert research?

2. How would you characterise Daly’s questions in the extract?

3. Do you think he was right to reveal the names and faces of the recruits who exhibited racist language and behaviour?

4. Would you feel able to do covert observation on this or any other topic?

Exercise 2: Using Secondary Interviews Interview with Margaret Atwood by Harriet Gilbert, Meridian

Feature, 18 November 1996,  BBC World Service Questions

1. How would you characterise this interview?

2. What strategies does the interviewer

use?

3. Do you think Atwood is the ideal

interviewee? If so, why?

4. How might you use this interview

in a project on Atwood’s work?