Filed under: 1
1. Fieldnotes:
• Jargon conversation
Reed, Robert. Personal interview. Prairie Crossing Apartments. 1 Dec. 09.
I took these notes while interviewing one of the members of the cross country team, gathering information about cross country jargon. The method I used when trying to collect this information was first asking about some terms I has heard some of them talking about, trying to grasp the meaning of those for myself. I then asked what other terms are important to them and he eagerly told me. I found that some of these terms were familiar, but many were very unfamiliar and sounded somewhat silly.
• The rec center
Minton, Nick. Personal Interview. Morris Recreation Center. 2 Dec. 09.
These notes were taken while observing Nick working out at the rec center. I did not come looking for Nick, I just happen to be watching some volleyball games up there and saw him working out. I went upstairs to where he was working out and asked if it was ok if I observed. He was ok with it and even let me speak with him when he was at a stationary bike.
• Responses to surveys
Kelly, Logan. Survey. Email. 3 Nov. 09.
I wanted to take notes on his response so that I could break down exactly what his answers were telling me and also how he felt about sharing this information with me. I think that being aware of how he felt about me asking for somewhat personal information gave me an insight on how I should treat approaching him with more questions so that he did not ever feel uncomfortable. I chose Logan because he is the person I am least close to out of the group I interviewed. I wanted to make sure I understood boundaries, if there were any. There ended up not being but I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t stepping on anyone’s toes.
• Workout Log
Reed, Robert. Personal Interview. Robert’s house. 1 Nov. 09.
The workout log is an organizational tool that I found many of the runners use. It keeps track of their progress and helps them evaluate what goals have been met and which goals need to be set. I evaluated the workout log itself because it is something of great value to a cross country runner and it is literary in the fact that they write it down. Also, they read it again later and use it to improve their performance. This directly related to my first topic, looking at the parallel between literacy and body literacy of cross country runners.
• Pictures
Richburg, Haley. Eng102. 2009. JPEGs.
I took several pictures at Robert Reed’s house. He is a great resource because of the fact that literature is everywhere. There is literature on the wall, through posters and old running numbers, there are awards, he has several different kinds of books, he has pictures, he even has a pair of shoes hanging on the wall. There is also literature in the kitchen through food labels and other signs or posters.
• Interaction
Reed, Robert and Kelly, Logan and Donovan, Kate. Personal Interview. Sand Hills Country Club. 4 Dec. 09.
I found it very interesting the way that the runners interact with one another. I decided to take note of this. The runners, despite their differences, work like a family. Kate even talks about the fact that she worked out in her mind who plays what role in the family. She named Robert as the dad and Logan as the weird cousin. There is a lot of history between these people in such a short time and it is interesting to hear about all the ups and downs that they have gone through together.
• Irrelevant Notes:
o Notes taken over audio 29 Sept. 09.
o Observing computer class 29 Sept. 09.
o Story Slam. The Spot. 23 Oct. 09.
o Writing Local History. Library. 20 Oct. 09.
2. Codebook
Motivation:
V- Vanity/ looks
F- Family
R- Respect
X- Relaxation/ to get away
H- Health
A- Improve Athleticism
C- Competition, Success
I- Improve Athleticism
G- God/ Faith
T- Future
Experience:
1- Family
2- School
3- Outside Activity
4- Peers
5- Coaches
6- Formal
7- Informal
8- Local
9- State-Wide
10- National
Lifestyle Changes:
a. Diet
b. Habits
c. Friends
d. Outlook
e. Character
f. Dress
g. Confidence
h. Leadership qualities
3. Artifacts
Pair of running shoes
Posters on walls
Food in pantry
Food in refrigerator
Book on running
Medals
Numbers from races
Workout Log
4. Consent Forms:
Kate Donovan
Logan Kelly
Nick Minton
Kate Donovan
5. Research Tools:
o Initial Survey Questions
These were the first survey questions I came up with. I didn’t send them out to anyone but it did give me an idea of what questions I wanted to ask. It also gave me an opportunity to revise those questions, keeping the important ones, losing the frivolous ones, and adding questions that needed to be asked.
o Another set of questions
I took this set of questions down in class. As we spoke about our projects, ideas popped into my head. I recorded them and included some of the questions in my actual surveys/interviews.
o Actual Questions
This set of questions is what I actually asked the people I was in contact with. This is what got me most of my information about what motivates them.
o Donovan, Kate. Personal Interview. Kappa Delta House. 3 Nov 09.
These are the questions I asked and the jist of the answers she gave me. Although we got a little off track, being in our comfortable environment, I recorded the important information.
o Kelly, Logan. Personal Interview. Email. 3 Nov 09.
This is also the questions and answers that occurred during this contact.
o Minton, Nick. Personal Interview. Facebook. 18 Oct 09.
This was the initial answers he gave me. They were brief but useful in the beginnings of my project.
o Reed, Robert. Personal Interview. Prairie Crossing. 4 Nov 09.
Again, the questions and answers from this session.
o Codebook
6. WA1-WA4
WA1
WA1 was in response to Deborah Brandt’s concept of “Sponsors of Literacy.” I basically wrote about my sponsors, mainly being my family members and teachers.
WA2
This is when I started taking a look at the cross country team. I wrote about the hard work that they do every day and the commitment it takes for them to do what they do. It was basically a tribute to them and explained why I would want to research them as a subculture.
WA3
WA3 was my research proposal explaining what I wanted to do, why, and how I was going to do it. The research proposal planned out almost step by step what I needed to do and how I should go about doing each task.
WA4
I created a media project for WA4. I compiled all the pictures I had taken along with the information that I had learned from studying the runners and made a movie out of the pictures. I just tried to convey what motivates them by simple pictures of them and other things that describe what they are talking about. At the end, I tied it together with literature.
7.
• Jargon conversation
Reed, Robert. Personal interview. Prairie Crossing Apartments. 1 Dec. 09.
I took these notes while interviewing one of the members of the cross country team, gathering information about cross country jargon. The method I used when trying to collect this information was first asking about some terms I has heard some of them talking about, trying to grasp the meaning of those for myself. I then asked what other terms are important to them and he eagerly told me. I found that some of these terms were familiar, but many were very unfamiliar and sounded somewhat silly.
• The rec center
Minton, Nick. Personal Interview. Morris Recreation Center. 2 Dec. 09.
These notes were taken while observing Nick working out at the rec center. I did not come looking for Nick, I just happen to be watching some volleyball games up there and saw him working out. I went upstairs to where he was working out and asked if it was ok if I observed. He was ok with it and even let me speak with him when he was at a stationary bike.
8. RJs
RJ 20
Included the first draft of my table of contents for my research portfolio, as well as an analysis.
RJ 18
This journal was about jargon. I included some terms that I wanted to know more about.
RJ 12
I wrote my thoughts on how I was to go about research in the field. I revealed my feelings and insecurities. There are also some questions that I had thought about asking. Most of them turned out to be irrelevant to my final project. The end is a thing about the importance of the artifact of shoes to a runner.
RJ 11
I talked about assuming and that it would get me in trouble. I was right.
9. Plans
The first presentation I would like to decorate a poster board, being either the science fair kind or just a regular thick poster board. I will also have my computer there with my media project playing. I am inviting a few of the key people that I interviewed and I’m sure that one or two will be there. On the table I would also like to include some artifacts, maybe shoes and some books?? I may try and have something interactive. I guess it will just have to be a surprise!
The second presentation I will explain what I researched, why, how I went about it and then go ahead and show my media project.
