Losing Focus: A Visionary-Researcher's Dilemma

When coding and making notes of recordings, I find my mind wandering. This happens often.

Is it because of the nature of my topic studied? Is this a normal thing for qualitative research? Or is it just me?

Come to think of it, my mind wanders a lot when I am studying. I need the discipline of a timer, note-taking, being really diligent about articulating and tracking the process of my work in order for me to be successful in getting "tangible work" completed.

My mind is too big, too broad, too visionary. An idea will come after an idea has been coded and pull me away from more coding. Unless I have my timer on, a whole hour will pass by and I find that I've been day-dreaming.

A researcher is detailed and task-oriented. That kind of processing is something I have to develop and work at -- it's not natural. I can dream, envision, generate ideas without an effort. I need to learn that this is okay, work within my limitations, and celebrate my strengths.

Bleugh

I'm tired.

Lots of interviews. Didn't audiotape a single one, but typed like crazy when I sat there with them having them talk away.

There is definitely emergence happening. But I need a break to go and analyze more in terms of actual written memos. So much is just in my brain, swimming, bumping into each other... concepts coming together like elements forming chunks within the primordial soup that is my brain.

"Bleugh." <-- Let that be my core category.

> . <

(I need sleep.)

p.s.1. I am enjoying listening to Jason Mraz while handling data admin. Note: I hate data admin.

p.s.2. If you're interested, check out the comments in my previous post. Pak Ngah left some neat comments. Check out his blog.

Transcribing & Coding Interviews - Classical GT Process

Quite a few of the advanced classic GT scholars advocate against recording and transcribing interviews.  They prefer to take field notes and to memo.  This is to avoid from becoming overwhelmed by the data.

One thing Barney said to me was that I can go back to my recorded interviews, and instead of transcribing them, just listen to them and making field notes.

But I am having trouble doing that.  I am so afraid of missing out on the data and precious quotes that I end up taking too many notes and transcribing too much.  One 1-hour interview can take me up 6 hours to note.  What is worse is that after about 1 hour of such work, I get tired and don't want to continue.  It is starting to feel tedious (the way that I am doing it).

And so, I decided that if I can "out" the block of mine on my blog and make it public--let the world know of my secret research shame--it might help me to better stick to the process.  The last thing I want is to become so bogged down by the data that I become ineffective in data analysis.

Keep it broad.  If it is an important aspect of the people's lived experience, it will show up again.  I need to trust the classical GT process!

Update to Motivate!

I've been back from the GT Seminar for a little more than a week now. I have met with my adviser, and she likes what is happening. I have spent time with family and got everyone's emotions somewhat settled after my time away. I have also spent time catching up on friends whose marriages and lives are falling apart, and plugging all my clients into sessions again. And on a personal level, I have been doing a lot of soul-searching, reflecting, and writing about a major change that God is taking me through. All is good. So what's missing?

Data analysis.

Over the next two and a half weeks, I need to sit down and do some major coding and memoing. Find those concepts that I want to move into given what emerges from the data (because, as the GT seminar advisors advised, I have too much in the data, and I need to choose).

I'll also need to do a bit of change in my consent forms so that I can follow-through procedurally for the purposes of theoretical sampling.

I have no fears about the next steps in my research. I just need to start.

Grounded Theory Seminar

Thoroughly enjoying the seminar! I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn grounded theory. And do it with Barney, because he's truly a genius at this! (p.s. he is also a wonderful person, once you can get past his old-style sense of humor.)

One More Reason Why Transcribing Has Been Slow

With reference to my earlier post this morning (Friday morning here in C-o-R), I remember now why it has taken me so long to transcribe: Technology.

I use a MacBook.  MaxQDA runs on Windows.  I purchased Parallels which allows me to run Windows on Mac OS.  All that is fine... on the surface.

For the past hour, I have been trying to figure out where to store my MaxQDA files.  I have to figure out if I need to store them in an encrypted folder (through the Mac OS); I need to figure out if the folder can be backed-up onto my external hard drive (check! yay.); and I need to figure out if the files in the Mac OS encrypted folder can be accessed by MaxQDA running on windows (checking and still having problems...).

It's no wonder transcribing has felt like administrative work.  I remember now: I *had* been doing software administrative work, and when interrupted, had been glad to acquiesce.

Grumble, grumble.

End of Data Collection, Round 1

Tonight I leave Country-of-Research.  I have managed to do 9 interviews over the past two weeks, one more this afternoon.  I came hoping to do between 10-15 interviews, so I am happy.

During my first week, I stressed out about not getting enough participants to interview.  And so I did a couple of pilots with people I knew.  As I did the pilots, I started to get a sense of the ideas being uncovered.  

Then the "real" interviews started last weekend.  One after another they came.  Some days, I did two interviews as I tried to accommodate my participants' schedules.  

After each interview, I said to myself: "go transcribe and code."  Until this morning, I have not managed to transcribe a single interview.  Why?  I can think of 3 reasons:

1. I don't like to transcribe.  It's detailed, tedious, and unrewarding work.  I am not good with administrative details.  It has been such a bother to just make sure that my files are ordered and de-identified with a coding scheme, keep my recordings encrypted, and ensure that my paperwork and records are in order.  Transcribing feels like a similar process.

2. I am too busy with other things like meeting up with people, doing clinical work (on the side), attending to family dinners (C-o-R is family's home).  I need uninterrupted sit-down time to transcribe. Yes, I'm allowing that to be an excuse even though I am fully capable of working in spurts if I need to.  ;-)

3. I am not familiar with MaxQDA--the CAQDAS I ended up purchasing.  I purchased it because it was the easiest and cheapest, but even then, I wish I had a little tutorial to take me through the basics.  Each time I started to learn it, I got interrupted by a phone call, or an email, or a knock on the door.

In any case, now that I've done some interviews, I have a sense of what theoretical sampling will be like.  In my mind, I can already begin to see the emerging theory (even without coding!), and have a sense of the kinds of participants I would want to interview in the second round.  But really, I need to be careful of "preconceived ideas" and ensure that my emerging concepts are well grounded.

I need to get out of bed, shower, eat something, and start to figure out MaxQDA.  Give myself a good two hours of uninterrupted time to do so.  Then I can begin transcribing... I think.