For my log this week, I continued to collect more data and send out the survey to more subjects. I have identified certain people that I would like to include in my more in-depth analysis and am scheduling times to conduct those interviews. As a progression from last week, I have also begun to solidify the overall structure of my final paper and have made concrete decisions as to the way my data and discoveries will be presented.
One of the new problems I am finding from my data is the consistency that has surfaced. I would like to be optimistic and think that people are answering the questions fairly and honestly, but I am skeptical that may not be the case. As a sociologist, I think it is important for me to not anticipate the data or make it what I want it to be, but I am not finding as much substance as I would have hoped. People have been good about answering the multiple-choice questions, but the short responses have been incomplete for the most part. Luckily, I have been able to identify certain people that have provided provocative responses, but in order to have a truly interesting analysis I will need more than is being currently presented.
The data I acquired this week not only changed my perspective of my project, but also changed my approach. Prior to this point, my plan was to interview people and take all of their responses on a more macro scale. I would include every response from their survey, but I quickly learned that is not the point to my project. For example, if I have one subject who identifies that he/she has noticed people dress certain ways to move invisibly through campus, my focus should be on why that student said that and the thoughts behind it. If a different respondent shares they have certain ideas of clothing that is worn to enhance status then that should be my main focus of their response. Essentially, I want to hone in on specific responses and investigate the thoughts and reasons behind those few questions. The reason for this change is that the least responded aspect of my survey is the short answer portion and the people who do indulge in that area often provide meaningful insight. In order to bring out the underlying motivations, I feel as though I have to pick and choose what to examine. I believe this insight will lead me to the kind of raw data I am looking for.
The challenge for my data and data collection this week is the same challenge I have faced throughout, which is getting people to respond. It seems as though there have been quite a few surveys being sent out to the institution, which usually causes people to not pay very close attention in general. I need to be even more personal and intrusive if need be to gain responses.
My next steps are to gain more survey responses, complete more in-person interviews, and use the qualitative data to form connections, which will become a centerpiece to my final paper.