Okay, I have to back up. I came to graduate school to study conversation analysis (simple intro to CA if you're interested). I'm also into sexuality and gender, which led me to take this class. Thus far my research has been heavy on the CA and zero on the sexuality; I picked a very technical CA project on the use of names as a resource in non-recognitional person reference. I thought would be a strategic move academically, but really isn't holding my interest. So, almost at the end of my second year, I'm trying to come up with an entirely new project, which is scary as hell given the ludicrous bureaucratic time constraints we're under.
Anyway, I've come up with an idea for a mixed methods project that I think will sustain my interest through the MA thesis and give me something to build upon for my dissertation. My basic idea is to conduct one or two focus groups exploring some aspect of pornography and videotape it, to give me data to analyze with CA methodology. This is potentially awesome, but definitely tricky.
Focus group(s).
Basically I would get a small group (4-6) together, have a discussion about perceptions/experiences with pornography initially, watch some porn, then talk about it (possibly rinse and repeat with another clip). In focus group methodology, questions are formulated before research is conducted. This informs how you design your focus group, choose participants, write a discussion guide, etc.
Conversation analysis.
To do conversation analysis properly, no questions or hypotheses are formed before data is collected and analyzed. The only guiding question is something very general like, "What is going on in this interaction?" or "How do people talk about pornography?" This allows the researcher to see the intrinsic features of the interaction, without imposing their own agenda.
The Plan:
1. Design a focus group, following the methodology of standard focus group interviewing.
2. Conduct focus group, videotape the interaction.
3. Transcribe interaction and use CA methods to explore the interaction in itself.
(Sometime in here, write brilliant CA-focused thesis and earn MA)
4. Go back to focus group methodology and explore the themes and questions that I started out with, using my CA findings to enrich my analysis.
5. Write a dissertation proposal based on all the above, do new and interesting related studies.
(Ph.D. to follow "shortly")
Issues/Challenges/Questions
- Exactly what would my research questions/themes be for the focus group?
- How should I choose my participants? (gender composition, convenience sampling, etc)
- What kind of porn should I have them watch?
- Should I be an active participant in the focus group, sharing my own perspectives?
- Can I get away with doing a single-case CA study of this interaction?
I have some ideas about how to tackle these, but I need to leave that for another post-- I just wanted to start to get some ideas down. Any suggestions/questions/encouragement welcome!
Posts
PERSONAL VERSUS PROFESSIONAL LIFE:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I know it's suggested to separate your personal life from your work. Personally, I think there's a spectrum for this: You can completely separate the two, which is bad b/c you are more than likely not working in something you are interested in and since it takes up 1/3rd to 1/2 your life, bad idea. The other end is where work consumes your life, not healthy neither. You have to strive to strike a balance in the two. For each of us, that balance is different.
I, myself, tend to stay between the balance and work consuming my life. That is just the price I pay for doing a job I enjoy.
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MIXED METHODS PROJECT
I totally agree with this approach. You do not want to make all the work you did in the last two years in vain; furthermore, you do not want the academia put their resources in vain neither. This will be a great approach.
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PROJECT PARTICIPANTS:
ReplyDeleteSomething that seems interesting to me and would make for a very interesting expansion on the porn focus group is to select a group of five and see how the responses and themes change (let the participants take things in their own direction, keep it open ended--which you have hit on). First start with 5 females; 4 females, 1 male; 3 females, 2 males; 2 females, 3 males; 1 female, 4 males; and finally 5 males.
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PROJECT PARTICIPANTS (2):
Hopefully, you could get a mixture of gay, bisexual, and straight people. This may make the project more difficult than you desire. For now, you may just wish to keep it random. If you get a mixture, great.
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PROJECT PARTICIPANTS (3):
You definitely want a control person. I would have one participant remain in all six meetings if possible and see how he/she changes their communication and approach in different meetings. I would definitely try to find a bisexual person for this. You want someone who can relate to both males and females. Probably going to be a female with good communication skills like yourself.
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KIND OF PORN:
I would start with softcore porn and work towards hardcore and finally taboos and fetishes. I'm sure that you will hit a point where the participants say, "too much". Does this vary with the different ratios of males to females? How the communication is conducted in the different ratios would be the basis of your CA study.
Enhancing, I would progress as follows:
Softcore--webcam stripping, masterbating
Hardcore--foreplay, pussy eating/fingering, handjob, blowjob, pussy fucking, anal sex, threesomes, foursomes, orgy, toys, creampie, cumshots, bisexual, gay, etc.
Extra hardcore--Squirting, ass-to-mouth, squirt swallowing, BOB, etc.
Fetish--pissing, eather, pain, whips, beastality, etc.
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS/THEMES:
ReplyDeleteSince it is porn, let's start with the basics--is this sexually arousing for you? Then, you could take it into ppl taking about fantasies, experiences, etc. and see how those change with different groups. Just let itself play out and see where things go. But start with your basic question and use more progressive examples of porn until it becomes too much. Perhaps allow people to leave if they become uncomfortable to address participants who become uncomfortable.
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SHOULD YOU BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT:
Absolutely. I think you should share your opinions and experiences as well. This will allow the participants to become more comfortable and trusting of you. People like to talk. They do not like to be watched and studied. If they feel they are just talking to you--they'll be more comfortable.
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VIDEOTAPING:
While they should know they are being videotaped, I would do everything possible to push videotaping processes into the background. I suggest a dimmer room for this. It's more arousing to begin with.
Also consider just using microphones if participants are too uncomfortable.
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SINGLE-CASE OR MULTI?
I think you will just have to see what kind of results you get and go from there. It's too early to focus on this.
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ADVISER APPROACH:
This is just me brainstorming and writing stuff out. I hope something in here is of use.
I would definitely point how this will be an add-on to your existing research. I woud also state that the current research topic is not interesting to you anymore. Furthermore, real CA would be perfectly suitable for porn. Not only is porn still taboo for many people, it is adjustable. You can go from a softcore to hardcore to fetish level. You will find people's comfort zone. When they reach that zone, it will be some great CA, but also as they hit their maximum arousal zone. You want to do CA on something sensitive to people. Not only is porn arousing, so people are physically stimulated, but by conversation, they become intellectually stimulated too.
Furthermore, porn has a gender base to it as well or does it? You are not only studying the communication of a great subject, but gender communication as well. Porn is a great all-in-one topic that has great promise.
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CONCLUSION:
I think you are on track to a great project. I find it very interesting. I yoou find this helpful :)
Hi-- thanks for all your comments!! Let me see if I can address these in some kind of order:
ReplyDelete1) Number of focus groups: I probably won't be able to run more than one or two of these due to time constraints, but the 6-group model you suggested is something I could think about for the future.
Choosing participants: realistically, I think I'll probably be going with a convenience sample, but I think naturally there will be a mixture of sexualities and attitudes. Focus groups are just too small to try to engineer, and even if I have one gay person, one black person, at least one male, etc. there is no way I could or should expect these people to be representative of entire groups. Frustrating, but this is a limitation of small-n methodology. For the same reason, having a control person really isn't necessary... This isn't an experimental method, but an experiential one.
I want to get this going fairly soon, so the pragmatics of it are really concerning me right now (how to get participants that will let me videotape, and whether or not to participate in the interaction). I've been doing some more writing and thinking about these things recently, so I think I'll be updating again soon with new (possibly better?) ideas.
Thanks so much for your comments, it really helps me process!