data collection update

it's been about a month and a half since my last post, but i think if anything, it's a good representation of the nature of dissertation work.  re: my dissertation, i've conducted about 12 interviews now and they've all been incredibly interesting.  they've also enabled me to make friends with folks i've known somewhat peripherally for years.  i love that.  in addition, some interviewees have followed up with me post-interview and said, "our chat about such-and-such helped me to think about such-and-such differently," so i think there is some positive impact there, both in terms of how talking about work can extend our relationships to the work we do and also in terms of how talk in general is meaning-making work.

i had laid out some other data ideas that have yet to come to fruition.  first, i wanted to record some workshop sessions, but after the first one, i realized that the act of recording disrupted the workshop space.  a couple of attendees had said things like, "i wanted to make sure to talk enough about power and writing," and i worried that the knowledge that this might contribute to dissertation data was reshaping the content, maybe negatively in terms of impact.  so, while the talk itself was enjoyable for participants, it took away from the goals of the workshop session, one main goal being to workshop workplace writing needs.

interviews have been my primary data source, but i have actually found this same pattern in interviews too. whereas i try to keep the space pretty conversational and am completely open to participants' talk covering a variety of topics (including but not limited to writing and power), participants tend to self-censor or interrupt their own trains of thought to make comments like, "hmm... well, this doesn't have to do with writing, so maybe i should stop," or "well, i don't think this will be relevant and i don't want to waste your time."  so, i find myself having to reassure that everything we discuss is useful to me because i'm interested in the relationships between writing and the other things that come up.  i haven't figured out the right schtick yet to best explain this interest, but i'm getting there.

i had also planned to collect some anecdotes from former employees, but this has not been that fruitful.  a few folks have expressed interest, but have not had the time to provide something.  i'm not sure how to go about this.  i'm thinking about maybe asking each person if they'd be willing to have a 5-minute recorded phone conversation instead.

whereas over the past two or so months, i have been focused primarily on interviewing, i want to spend the next month being equally focused on interviewing and transcribing.  now that my eye flare (which began in october) is in deep healing, i feel more able to transcribe for long stretches.  i hope i can get a lot of transcription in over the next month!  more updates to follow.