Monday, April 23, 2012

Reflecting on your first round of interviews

After you complete your first set of interviews, I’d like you to take some time to reflect on your experience. First, share with the rest of us what happened during your time at The Gathering Place and describe the key highlights of your interactions with the women at TGP. Second, think back to the expectations you identified in your previous post: Did your experience confirm your expectations? If so, how? If not, why not? Did anything surprise you or unsettle your expectations? If so, what happened? Last, I’d like you to reflect on what you learned as a qualitative researcher: What techniques worked well as you conducted your interview(s)? What might you do differently next time?

13 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Overall, I’d say that my first trip to the Gathering Place went pretty well. After going around to a few of the tables while Geoffrey introduced us and explained what our purpose was, it was pretty easy for Emma and me to introduce ourselves and ask to interview women. Probably my favorite moment was when Carolyn explained to us that she was in a way grateful to be homeless. She had been fired from her job for reporting unethical behavior, and as a result she became homeless. However, this opportunity gave her a chance to further develop her artwork and poetry in a way that she couldn’t have if she was still working.

    As far as my expectations go, I think my discomfort and uncertainty with the interviewing process came through somewhat. As I shared in class, I had a hard time delving into specifics of the women’s pasts because I know that at times I can be very uncomfortable discussing unpleasant or painful parts of my life experiences. Before I went, I had also anticipated that my work ethic and my buy-in to the cultural message that hard work leads to success might make me more prone to judging these women. In general, I found that to be untrue. In fact, many of the women said that working or trying to find a job gives them hope and a purpose. Even though I can be quick to jump to conclusions about the women in our readings, I was able to listen to and be compassionate towards the women at the Gathering Place because I saw them face-to-face as individuals.

    When I go back to the Gathering Place next time, the biggest thing I will change in my interviewing techniques will be probing more (in a respectful manner, of course) to find out more details about the women’s pasts. Overall, the most useful technique is simply listening and using body language, expression, questions, comments, and tone of voice to demonstrate to the women that I care about what they have to say.

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  3. Contrary to my fear of being too awkward during my interviews and not asking the right questions, I think my interviews went fairly well. It didn't take long for it to become really easy to introduce myself to the women. Most of them were excited about what we were doing and wanted to help. I expected the interviews to be slightly awkward, and for the women to be reluctant to talk, but I found quite the opposite. Often, the women didn't even need to be prompted to start talking about a new subject. They wanted to share just as much as we wanted to listen. I was also worried that many of these women might judge me because I was a well-off DU student, but I found that a lot of them had friends or children in similar positions, and none of them were the type to judge anyone at all. They were always respectful and looked us in the eyes.
    My favorite moment was probably when one lady who had been telling us about her art, pulled out her camera to show us all of the work she had done since she became homeless. It was really inspiring to see all of the good that can come out of a bad situation. Another lady told us that her children and grandchildren were what kept her going. Despite her situation, she still tried to send birthday cards and Christmas money so that she could still be a good mother.
    I think it was really useful to look the women in the eye and show that we cared about what they were talking about. That made them more prone to talk about the deeper things. It was also good to ask about family and what they love most about life. But I agree that we could have done a better job of asking more about their past. That's what I'll be trying to do when I go again on Thursday!

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  4. My first experience at The Gathering Place was enjoyable and informative. I was able to conduct three interviews during the hour and a half that I was there. As the interviews progressed, I found myself becoming more comfortable and relaxed in the environment. The first interview conducted was with a woman named J. J, sitting next to her life long friend, has been coming to The Gathering Place since the age of 14. Being my first interview, I felt a little apprehensive about the questions I was asking. Mostly I was conscious of making sure my questions remained sensitive to J, and did not cross any boundaries that would make her uncomfortable. Although J was genuine in her answers, she continued to be concise and relatively private about her life in and outside of The Gathering Place. Although this interview was my shortest, it was very helpful in learning more about the services offered at The Gathering Place from the perspective of a woman who had been using them for half of her life.

    The second interview we conducted was with Rosily. Rosily, like J, began speaking in general terms about what brought her to The Gathering Place. She spoke of coming there for lunch and to use the computers. However, being a little bit more comfortable with the interview process, we were able to push a little bit farther into more the more personal details that brought her to The Gathering Place. Rosily lived in a shelter by night, and was required to leave during the day. She came to the gathering place while her children were at school. Rosily then shared the story of how she was unable to perform her job as a CNA, because the long hours has caused injuries to both of her feet. She spoke of her plans to go back to school this summer and get a new degree.

    The third interview was with a woman named Pamela. Although all of my interviews were significant, it is this one that truly impacted me the most. With a combination of Pamela’s willingness to share with us and the confidence that I had built up to ask more personal and intense questions, we discovered her truly unbelievable story. Pamela had been homeless for just two weeks at the time of the interview. She was open about her recent relapse into alcoholism, and how it caused her to lose her home and job. She spoke passionately about the people who supported her at AA, and mentioned how one day she would be 40 years sober and be able to invite another struggling individual sleep on her couch and tell her about the resources at The Gathering Place. As Pamela began to reveal an entire lifetime of tragedy, she illumined a great need for some unconditional help but also an undiminished sense of hope for the future.

    Overall my experience at The Gathering Place did reflect what I expected as far as each woman I interviewed represented a completely individualized experience. Also, it confirmed that being homeless does not happed as a result of doing something wrong, but is a reality of many women from a myriad of different stories. As far as qualitative research, I learned the importance of having the confidence to ask more personal questions in a sensitive and respectful manner. Also, I found that these women often want to share their stories, and are happy to have someone to listen and take interest in them.

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  5. My interviews went pretty much how I expected because going into it I wasn't really expecting anything in particular. Introducing yourself to new people can be tough in any situation especially when going into someone's home or comfort zone. Most of the women were genuine. After talking to women they would usually begin to open up more and share more about themselves. Most of the women I talked to were just grateful to talk to someone because they don't have human conversations that often. I really realized the power of a simple conversation and how important it is to just listen to people and let them talk.
    Even though most of the women were grateful for their experience at TGP they each had their own favorite thing about the place and each had a different reason for coming there. My approach to the interviews to make it a casual conversation. I felt like that was the best way to get the women's real stories and make them feel the most comfortable. I also tried to personally connect to the women if I could so they would feel comfortable.
    My favorite part was talking to the children. I loved especially talking to a 5 year old boy Cruze. He was adorable and so happy and full of life. He was really mature but still a bundle of fun. He talked about his hopes for the future and all the things he wants to do. His mom sat there the whole time just letting her little boy talk while she smiled at him.
    I learned how powerful a conversation can be. I've always believed that every single person in this world has a story to share and it's worth listening to. Listening to these women gave me a greater appreciation for my family, education, and friends. I realized that most of these women need a support system to believe in them to get back on their feet. As an interviewer sometimes I would find myself asking leading questions. I need to back up and keep things more open ended when I'm interviewing people. I was also reaffirmed that you don't have to do something "bad" to be homeless sometimes it's just an unfortunate situation that occurs but there's hope for the future through it all.
    Overall I was happy to spend time at TGP

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  6. My interviews went pretty much how I expected because going into it I wasn't really expecting anything in particular. Introducing yourself to new people can be tough in any situation especially when going into someone's home or comfort zone. Most of the women were genuine. After talking to women they would usually begin to open up more and share more about themselves. Most of the women I talked to were just grateful to talk to someone because they don't have human conversations that often. I really realized the power of a simple conversation and how important it is to just listen to people and let them talk.
    Even though most of the women were grateful for their experience at TGP they each had their own favorite thing about the place and each had a different reason for coming there. My approach to the interviews to make it a casual conversation. I felt like that was the best way to get the women's real stories and make them feel the most comfortable. I also tried to personally connect to the women if I could so they would feel comfortable.
    My favorite part was talking to the children. I loved especially talking to a 5 year old boy Cruze. He was adorable and so happy and full of life. He was really mature but still a bundle of fun. He talked about his hopes for the future and all the things he wants to do. His mom sat there the whole time just letting her little boy talk while she smiled at him.
    I learned how powerful a conversation can be. I've always believed that every single person in this world has a story to share and it's worth listening to. Listening to these women gave me a greater appreciation for my family, education, and friends. I realized that most of these women need a support system to believe in them to get back on their feet. As an interviewer sometimes I would find myself asking leading questions. I need to back up and keep things more open ended when I'm interviewing people. I was also reaffirmed that you don't have to do something "bad" to be homeless sometimes it's just an unfortunate situation that occurs but there's hope for the future through it all.
    Overall I was happy to spend time at TGP

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  7. My first set of interviews at the Gathering Place went incredibly well. The two women we approached were immediately willing to share their stories and experiences. In addition, both of them seemed excited at the idea that their stories would be incorporated into narratives that will educate the public and hopefully earn more funds. In both interviews, I found that as they went on, the more personal the stories and details of their experiences became. It was obvious to me that the second woman we spoke to, Patty, viewed sharing her story as a form of catharsis, as it was punctuated with domestic violence. I was utterly in awe of the strength both women displayed, especially in the face of difficult life circumstances. This led me to the idea of highlighting feminine strength in my narrative, sharply contrasted with the prevailing cultural ideals that women are weak, dependent, and need “saving.”

    In my previous post, I had expected that the interviews would be a kind of “guided conversation,” and I think it’s safe to say that this is exactly what they ended up being. In the first interview, we relied moderately on the sheet of questions; however, as it continued, we needed them less and less. In the second interview, on the other hand, I was surprised by how little we relied on the questions – Patty’s story basically unfolded for us, with very little guidance necessary from us. As we conducted the interviews, I found that asking follow-up questions in reference to the interviewee’s answers worked incredibly well. Doing so would often cause them to elaborate further regarding their stories, and also to provide still more useful details, some of which I could immediately envision working perfectly in a narrative piece.

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  8. I went to the Gathering Place on Monday morning, so I was able to speak with the women over breakfast. Our first interview was with a woman named Tyla, who seemed very impressed by the Gathering Place and really enjoyed have a safe place to come that offered her so many different resources. She experiencing a hard time in her life, but things seemed to be turning around for her. Unfortunately, that interview was interrupted by a woman named Claire. Claire seemed to have a lot of unrealistic ideas in her head and she was going off about how the Gathering Place, and several other organizations, had stolen ideas from her mother and failed to give her mother any credit. She rambled on about her mother for a long time, but when we asked her specific questions about the Gathering Place she seemed to really appreciate that she had it as a place to go. Our last interview of the morning was with a woman named Sandy. Sandy was an older woman, who seemed shy but was nevertheless interested in having a conversation with us.

    These interviews did confirm my expectations about the Gathering Place, or at least what I had been taught from this class and from having the woman from the Gathering Place talk about it during class. I realized that there is a very diverse population at the Gathering Place. Some woman come regularly, some hardly ever, some come for a long period of time and some come for just a day. Even more interestingly, some women are extremely appreciative of the services offered at the Gathering Place and anxious to thank the volunteers that make it possible, while others are somewhat uninterested in what they have to offer and just consider it somewhere where they can go and get food like most other homeless shelters or food banks.

    I did have a quite unsettling moment during our second interview, with Sandy. When she was talking about "flying a sign" on the corner of the street and making about $20 a day, I asked her what she normally spent that money on. Her response we "booze and cigarettes."I was a bit taken aback by that response because of how much I had heard about not stereotyping the homeless by believing that they make poor decisions when spending the money they make on the streets. It was alarming to hear those stereotypes confirmed by this woman.

    As a qualitative researcher, I think it is very important to listen to how your interviewee answers questions. A lot of the time the mention things in their answers that could be very interesting if elaborated upon. For example, Tyla talked a little bit about using the computers for social media. Geoffrey then asked her why social media was important to her and she answered that it is one of the only ways that she can stay in touch with family because she doesn't have a cell phone.

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  9. The Gathering Place was completely different than what I expected. I was a little nervous about initially going into my interviews, but the women were completely welcoming and more than willing to talk, some about some pretty tough things they have had to conquer, I was not expecting that at all. I was really amazed at the strong personalities that all the women had that even though you could see how weathered they were by their circumstance the amount of joy they had was astounding. I really enjoyed talking with them and finally being able to put a face to homelessness instead of just stories. No my experience was pretty different from my expectations. I expected more of an emotionless interview to some extent. I expected the women to answer questions but not really delve into what that meant for them, and I was worried I would not be able to get them to go there. In reality though I hardly had to work at all to get the women to share crucial experiences and their thoughts on their own homelessness as well as TGP. The only surprise I had was how easy the women were to talk to. I was expecting not being able to really connect with them for a couple of reasons: age I figured may come into play, and then the fact that I am a well off DU student that has never had to think twice about where I am sleeping or eating the next day. But honestly that was never an issue and making a connection was easy because the women were so welcoming. What I have learned as a qualitative researcher is that you cannot make assumptions. If a woman says something it is easier to have her explain why that is important than just jumping to a conclusion. If you ask her to explain it can create a more profound quote than you would ever be able to come up with on your own so it is worth the prodding even it seems like a super obvious question. What I would do differently next time is ask more difficult questions even it creates an awkward moment where they refuse to answer. You never know what they are willing to answer if you do not ask the hard questions, so it is worth the risk.

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  10. The Gathering Place was in some ways much like the experience I anticipated I would have, and very different as well. My group arrived at about 3:00 for snack time at 3:15, and the women we talked to during our interviews turned out to be very interesting. I was taken by how forthright those who talked to us where about their financial situations and their homelessness. For some reason, I expected people to be less blunt about their homelessness, alcohol problems, drug problems, etc. because they might be somewhat embarrassing or personal. But the first lady we interviewed openly discussed alcoholism and homelessness without cutting any corners. Likewise, she was very open about having to live on the streets and the struggle of finding somewhere to sleep every night. This was both very helpful to me from an interview standpoint and also very encouraging to me t shows that people much more involved are important as well. I found that, when asking questions, it is good to ask very, very general and open questions and let the interviewee give their own, specific answers. If we asked very specific or pointed questions, the answers were just as specific and pointed without as much opportunity to learn much from the forms. Ultimately, we learned much more from these broader forms.

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  11. My initial feelings after entering the gathering place were those of unease and nervousness. I was really worried that I was getting myself into a situation that was beyond my capabilities. There were a few women which I could hear whispering under their breathes that we were interrupting their routines. That kind of made me feel bad like I was coming into their sacred space and making them uncomfortable in their home. But after we began our interviews I felt a lot more comfortable because the women wanted to talk to us and share their stories.
    Particularly our first interview was really difficult because the women was stuck on a specific topic that made it almost impossible to move past the superficial into the deeper subject matter, or at least even into the details of her story. We just listened to her and tried to lead her in a different direction. Something really great did come out of that interview in that the woman sitting at the table with us who was silent for most of Alicia's interview decided she wanted to join in towards the end. She really told us some personal details about herself which really gave me insight into what really matters to the homeless, and how they can find one thing that gives them purpose in their life.
    Our second interview fed into this idea of giving purpose to life. We interviewed a woman who said she was overcoming parkinsons disease and her outlet was art. She was a huge participant in the card project and was looking at trying to get an art rack on the Santa Fe Drive in the art district to sell her "miniature art". For me the most inspiring part of the interviews, and the part that gets me thinking about life as a homeless woman was that both of the women had something, no matter how small, that gave them a reason to keep going, to keep their heads up and to come to the gathering place for much needed support.

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  12. My mindset going into The Gathering Place was focused on simply meeting new people. Overall, I think the two interviews we conducted went really well and were effective in highlighting some important issues these women deal with. The women we interviewed were very friendly and talkative, and they seemed to enjoy our presence. During our first interview, one woman got going on a rant that reflected more of her personal opinions about homelessness overall (mainly that she did not feel there was any acceptable excuse for not having a job), and as an interviewer, I thought it was challenging at times to get her to move away from this topic and share something new. So, it is important for me to use this experience in the next set of interviews just in case I get stuck again. I also used the term "affordable housing," which was not the best choice of words. Alicia (the woman we were interviewing) was quick to point out that she did not like that term and I felt bad for using the term. Again, this was a good reminder to really be careful of what kind of language one should use when conducting an interview.

    The two interviews generally lived up to my expectations. Personally, I do not think we got as much thrilling content as we could have, so hopefully the second round reveals some deeper things. But we did get some great insight into programs at The Gathering Place the women appreciate, some touching personal stories, and glimpses of how these women experience the system of homelessness. As for next time, I really plan to continue to review the questions we created in class and have some of the deeper ones embedded in my mind so we can get some more captivating personal stories. I think we did a really good job, but now that we have this first experience I think the conversation will flow even more naturally the second time around. To sum it up, I thoroughly enjoyed my time and I look forward to putting this paper together.

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  13. When I went to The Gathering Place I really did not know what to expect. One thing I noticed I had difficult with was actually just simply approaching women. I know some women may not have ahd the best experience with men so me being a male and walking up to them was some what difficult for me. Beside being a man, walking up to the women was hard because a lot of them looked very focusses on their lunch and looked like they did not want to be bothered. However, i eventually learned that if I'm friendly and smile the worst that will happen is they will say no thank you.

    I also had a problem with getting to that deeper level. I think the problem was that I was so focussed on me. I was worried about how I was going to ask questions, how to get to that deeper level. However After my second interview I realized that the best way to get to that deeper level is to back away and let the women say there story. My last two interviews were very in depth because I took this approach. When ever the women would discuss their story I would ask a few extra questions to get to that deeper story but for the most part the women were very vocal when it came to telling their story.

    Overall, I really did enjoy talking to the women. Their stories were very captivating. One lady gave me a Buddhist chant on a card that she repeats in order to relieve stress. I really did appreciate that and it meant a lot to me. I felt like she was sharing a piece of her world.

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