Posted by Suggestion on March 26, 2005 at 13:35:35
In Reply to: Re: You are coming late into the discussion posted by Monika Kosz on March 26, 2005 at 07:29:54:
I think your open ended questions are not formulated very well. Maybe more specific wuestions something along these lines would help all of us, and still wouldn't compromise your undisturbed observation?
- Were posters displayed on your walls as a rule?
- Did your group have posters, graphical symbols or objects which symbolised meanings only members could comprehend?
- What symbology if any, overt or covert, did the group use?
- Did you have special gestures which would help you identify each other in public?
- Did you have jargon which was a secret language in a public place?
- Could you recognise a leader just by his appearance or the way he was dressed?
- What were the privileges if any, that leaders typically displayed?
- Did your group prefer any kind of architecture or modify and renovate properties in a way that made it more suitable for your use?
- Did you ´have a headquarters? Did you ever see it? If yes, can you describe it?
You wrote: "Now I can see that the problem is in your lack of knowledge about the nature of organizational culture."
Maybe you should assume we know a lot more than you think and that is the root of the problem, you assuming we know too little.
You wrote: "I repeat it once more: THE TITLE OF MY WORK IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF A SECT ON THE BASIS OF COG and I do not research all the aspects of it only the ones connected with organizational culture."
And I reassert, maybe you aren't asking the right questions that are helping your participants to answer you.
In research, the researcher must display at least some understanding of the interview subjects, even if the questions must not influence the answers. Overly neutral questions like yours can have adverse effects. You can come across too naive to the point of insult. What you are doing is what I have witnessed Europeans doing on many an occasion - it can be comparable to walking up to an African-American and asking, "Where are you from? Which country are your ancestors from?" just because you don't want to assume you know anything about that person.
The normal reaction you can expect is dumbfoundedness, a momentary loss of words, a feeling of disbelief. "where do I even begin? Haven't you read anything about history? What, do you want me to admit that I am the offspring of slaves? Why, am I less of an American?" etc.
A better question might have been, "What do you know about your ancestry?"
A lot of this is a question of education and awareness.
You wrote: "I am really begining to feel like an intruder who constantly has to explain the intentions and reasons. All I wanted to do was getting the answers to the questions and I can see that it is far more difficult than I had expected."
We are not the simplest of interview/test subjects, and you do have to know what you're dealing with. I think you do have to question if your approach has been the most suitable one, and if your questions which you've said you are bound by, are the best ones to ask. The same questions, with a change of wording, might help.