INF oktober Conversations and interviews INF October 2005

INF oktober Plan for today Discuss interview assignment Brief summary of reading (ch. 6) Discuss issues related to project work:  Analytic memo  Literature review  Use of theory

INF oktober Conversations and interviews Reading for today:Chapter 6 in Silverman Distinguishes between ’naturally occuring talk’ and more or less structured interviews The benefits of audiotapes:  A public record (data can be shared with other researchers)  Tapes can be replayed and transcripts improved  Tapes preserves sequences of talk, not just statements On transcription:  Should you tidy up the ’mess’? (pauses, overlaps, badly constructed sentences, half sentences etc)  Takes a lot of time

INF oktober Conversation Analysis CA is concerned with the sequential and structural organization of talk (stable, organized patterns). Attempt to describe how people produce orderly social interaction, through precise analysis of detailed transcripts. Examples:  Turn-taking and repair  Conversation openings and ’adjacency pairs’  Institutional talk

INF oktober Discourse Analysis Analysis of interviews, texts and talk (more heterogeneous than CA). Discourse as text and talk in social practices (e.g. rhetorics). Some concepts:  Interpretive repertoires (identities, category systems)  Stake  Scripts

INF oktober for your projects: Writing in the process is important – don’t wait until the report writing! Produce an analytic memo (individually) after every instance of fieldwork and share within the group. Create a template that you all use The analytic memo can work as a ’mini-report’:  Some facts such as: Author, date, content/topic, place  A summary of what was done and the findings (several pages, can include drawings etc.)  The reflections you made during or after the instance (thoughts to explore further or to discuss in the group, themes that seemed important, what puzzled you, what was problematic etc.)  Practicalities and other things: things to remember to do (e.g. committments you may have made towards the people you interacted with) Pictures, drawings, video, other documents that ’belong’ to this (note down e.g. filename) (The handouts for today (on memos, reports) can be found on the 2004 course site, under ’lecture notes’)

INF oktober Conducting a literature review Locating and summarising the studies about a topic Including:  Research studies  Conceptual articles  Others Identify key words Database search Priority for journal articles and books Check availability Look at abstract, skim articles and chapters Design a literature map: visual picture of the research literature in my topic Summarise and organise: major themes and gaps

INF oktober 20058

9 Literature review Use the literature Development of ”sensitizing concepts” (Blumer 1954) A tool for thinking and analysing

INF oktober Interpretive research in IS interpretive methods of research in IS are "aimed at producing an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context" (Walsham)

INF oktober Interpetive research: use of theory Initial guide to design and data collection  Initial theoretical framework  Sensibility to data  Danger of not-seeing Part of an iterative process of data collection and analysis  Being open to field data  Modify initial assumptions and theories A final product of the research  Concepts  Conceptual framework

INF oktober Interpretive research: empirical work Access to other people’s interpretations Own role as researcher  Outside observer – not direct involvement  Involved researcher (action research, participant obs.) Evidence: interview as primary data source  Styles of interview  Reporting media Reporting fieldwork  Credibility: document your process of data collection  Importance of details (research site, motivation for choices, num of people, data sources,... and theory- data iterations)

INF oktober Types of generalizations from interpretive case study (Walsham) Development of concepts Generation of theory Drawing of specific implications Contribution of rich insight

INF oktober Principles for conducting and evaluating interpretive research Klein and Myers 1999, MISQ The fundamental principle of the hermeneutic circle. The principle of contextualization. The principle of interaction between the researchers and the subjects. The principle of abstraction and generalization. The principle of dialogical reasoning. The principle of multiple interpretations. The principle of suspicion.

INF oktober Project report Due by 15. November 2005 Size: ~20 pages Expand proposal with:  Reworked introduction, motivation, literature review, methods discussion  Describe the actual fieldwork you have conducted  Report the findings in a form and structure that has emerged from the group’s analysis work  Discussion, conclusion  Individual reflection notes (1/2 to 1 page each or more)

INF oktober More on the reflection notes Aim: Support your learning process (being or becoming a reflective researcher) Suggestions for content:  What did you experience related to data collection, analysis, writing?  What problems emerged, and what happened then?  How did the cooperation in the group turn out?  What has been your own pre-occupation/focus during the time?  What has happened to your research skills?  What are the lessons learned from the project work? Advice: Maintain a diary or log during the group work period Can be submitted individually if you don’t want to have it in the report.