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Women Studies/AES 322, Spring 2006 |
Final Project Research Tips [Download handout] OPTION 1: VISUAL HISTORY/ANALYSIS Suggestions for Finding a Research Image Finding an image to research that fits the criteria of the assignment can be an exciting exercise in detective work that may lead you into the special collections or microfilm archives of the library or out into the city or both. Remember, you are in search of an image that leads you to explore the complex and changing dynamics of race, class, and gender in Seattle. Below are suggestions of some places to start your search. In the process, you may begin by searching the web, but consider this step as only an initial foray. After you have collected some ideas, consult with a librarian (see list below) about ways to deepen your research, as you work to investigate the historical, social, and political contexts of the image you have chosen. Digital Collections: The UW library has collected a large number of their historic photographs in a digital archive. • Under subject group, you can search the Seattle collection. • Within the Seattle collection, check out, for example, the Social Issues Photographs list. Special Collections: What is available for on-line viewing in the Digital Collections archive is just the surface of what is actually housed in Special Collections. If you find an on-line photograph that interests you, go to Special Collections to see what other photographs are included in that specific collection. Once you have identified the image you want to work with, consult a librarian on how to research its background. Seattle Public Library: The SPL Special Collections also has rich materials on local history. And the African-American Collection at the Douglass-Truth Branch includes material on the African-American experience in the United States especially in the Northwest. Pacific Northwest History: History librarian Theresa Mudrock has collected an amazing list of web links for Pacific Northwest History, many of which include image archives. • For example, King County Snapshots. • And, the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project: This project website gives an important overview of civil rights and labor history in Seattle. Once you identify an event, such as the Seattle school boycott of 1966, you can then search local newspapers from that period for an image to focus on. Archiving Seattle: The Urban Archives project at UW has begun to visually archive Seattle through photography. One exercise that they recommend is “Seattle rephotography,” i.e. locating the site shown in an archival photograph and re-photographing the same location in the city today. This exercise can lead to a comparative exploration of urban social space. What has changed over time? Why? As part of this exercise, you might also talk people who currently live and work there about their experience of the location. Map Collection: If you are exploring Seattle’s social geography in terms of a specific historical period or of how race, class, and gender have shaped the city, the UW map collection might also provide you with some useful ways of visualizing social space. Some Resource Links on Analyzing (or “Reading”) Images: These links have been collected by Undergraduate Librarian Laura Barrett, who is currently teaching a class on “Understanding Images.” • Basic strategies in reading photographs The objectives of this site are to develop visual literacy, learn the basic vocabulary used in formal analyses in the visual arts, and combine content information with formal analysis to "read" (analyze) photographs. • Reading images: an introduction to visual literacy “Visual literacy is the ability to see, to understand, and ultimately to think, create, and communicate graphically. Generally speaking, the visually literate viewer looks at an image carefully, critically, and with an eye for the intentions of the image's creator.” OPTION 2: ORAL HISTORY/ANALYSIS Suggestions for Finding a Research Participant (Developed by Kristy Leissle) Below are some suggestions for finding a research participant for your oral history project. Finding research subjects who fit the needs of your study, are willing to take the time to talk with you, and can articulate their experiences in a way that will be meaningful for your work is one of the most difficult and challenging aspects of doing research. But once you find the right person, conducting an oral history (or any other type of interview) can also be one of the most rewarding parts of research. In conducting your search for a good interviewee, remember that you are looking for someone whose life experience is different from your own and who has had an important experience of race, class, and/or gender that is specific to the Seattle area. You may find it helpful to have one or two informal conversations before conducting the oral history interview to get an idea of how this person will talk about their experiences. If your first (or second!) potential interviewees don’t work out, remember that this is a part of research and not to get discouraged. It will make for a better project in the end if you put effort into finding an interviewee whose articulation of their experiences will work well with the analytical goals of this assignment. Suggestions for finding someone with whom to conduct an oral history interview: • If you are doing service learning through Race, Class, and Gender or any other class, start by talking to the people who make use of the services of that organization. If you are, for example, working with an organization that helps recently arrived refugees and you are able to develop relationships with them through your service learning work, this would be an excellent place to start. • Similarly, if you already volunteer for a local organization, or if you participate in any sort of civic, religious, or issue-based group, begin your search with others who make use of or who are served by that organization. • If you do not have any affiliation with groups on or off campus, maybe you have friends or family who do. Ask them to introduce you to people that they have found to be interesting or inspirational in some way. • Seattle is full of ‘ethnic’ restaurants, coffee shops, and tea houses. If you have a favorite restaurant – maybe on the Ave, Capitol Hill, in the International District or the Central District – do you find that one of the staff there seems particularly friendly or is someone whom you chat with when you’re there? If so, ask them if they would be willing to be interviewed. The same goes for neighborhood shops, bars, and coffee or tea houses that you frequent. • Read a few issues of Colors NW magazine for ideas. This is a great local magazine that focuses on issues of race in our region, and sometimes also on class, gender, nationality, and so forth. Many of their stories feature interviews with local residents. • Ask your family. If you are from this area, maybe your parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, or cousins have a different relationship to Seattle than you do –due to immigration, educational experiences, gender, or any number of other reasons. Or, ask your family members if they know anyone – friends, coworkers – whom they could recommend. • Ask each other. Find out what your classmates are working on, and this might give you ideas for your own project. Friends in the departments of Geography and Anthropology might also be helpful here, as they do location-based work and often use interviews. Tips on Conducting an Oral History • Decide your research goals and think about how to focus your interview. • Conduct preliminary research using non-oral sources. This is also something that can be followed up after the interview. (See library resources below.) • If you plan to record the interview, purchase recording media (tapes or disks) and test your equipment beforehand. Practice using your equipment before you go to the real interview. (See student technology resources below.) • Compile a list of topics or questions. (See question guidelines below.) • Verify your appointment a day or two before the interview. • On the day of the interview, give yourself extra time to get there. • Interview and record in a quiet place. Choose a place where the interviewee will feel comfortable, such as the familiar surroundings of a home or office. • Make sure the interviewee understands the purpose of the interview and how you intend to use it. • Listen actively and intently. • Allow silence. Give the interviewee time to think. Silence will work for you. • Start with less probing questions until the interviewee feels comfortable talking with you. • Ask one question at a time. Ask open-ended questions rather than ones that permit a simple yes or no reply. • Wrap up the interview with lighter talk. Do not drop the interviewee abruptly after an intense interview. • Be aware of and sensitive to the psychological forces at work during the interview. • Consider using props, such as photos, to prompt memories. Visual techniques, such as creating a timeline during the interview or asking the interviewee to draw a map (of a house, neighborhood, etc.) can also serve as effective mnemonics. • Label all recordings immediately. • After the interview, make field notes about the interview. Do this immediately or you WILL forget. Important details to note are the physical surroundings of the location where the interview took place, the interviewee’s emotions, your emotions, and other factors that may have influenced the conversation. • Write a thank-you note. How do I ask the questions? • In general, have a list of topics in mind, not specific questions, and not a specific sequence. You may, however, want to have a start-up list of questions to get your interviewee and yourself comfortable before you change to your topic list. • Do plan the topic and form of your first substantial question after the “getting comfortable” phase. Ask a question that will prompt a long answer. • Ask easy questions first, such as brief biographical queries. Ask very personal or emotionally demanding questions only after a rapport has developed. End as you began, not with bombshells, but gently with lighter questions. • Don’t rush through your questions. Allow silence to work for you. Wait. • Be a good listener, using body language such as looking at the interviewee, nodding, and smiling to encourage. If necessary, use verbal encouragement such as “This is wonderful information!” or “How interesting!” Be careful, however, not to interrupt or speak at the same time as the interviewee. • Ask for specific examples if the interviewee makes a general statement and you need to know more. Or you might say, “I don't understand. Could you explain that in more detail?” • Ask for definitions and explanations of words that the interviewee uses and that have critical meaning for the interview. For example, ask a horseman what he means by the shaft of the buggy. How was it used? What was its purpose? • Rephrase and re-ask an important question several times or from different directions, if necessary, to a elicit a more complete answer. • Ask “essay” questions that prompt long answers whenever you can. Find out not only what the person did, but also what she thought and felt about what she did. • Ask follow-up questions and then ask some more. • Be flexible and follow the flow of the conversation; don’t feel like you have to rigidly adhere to a script of prepared questions. Watch for and pick up on promising topics introduced by the interviewee, even if the topics are not on your interview guide sheet. University of Washington Technology Resources You might have your own recording equipment that you want to use. The following audio equipment is also available through the student technology loan program for your use. Marantz Transportable CD-R/RW Recorder: This seven-pound recorder can burn voice recording straight to CD-R’s. Available only at Health Sciences Building branch. Reserve the equipment on the STF website. University of Washington Library Resources The following subject-specific resource websites have been developed by UW librarians. The listed subject-focused librarians are also great resources. You can contact them to make an appointment to discuss your project and ask for advice on how to best use the library collections for your research. American Ethnic Studies Harry Murphy: maurice@u.washington.edu Women Studies Cassandra Hartnett: cass@u.washington.edu History Theresa Mudrock: mudrock@u.washington.edu Newspapers Glenda Pearson: pearson@u.washington.edu Jessica Albano: jalbano@u.washington.edu
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Contact the instructor at: swelland@u.washington.edu
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