Gemma Pedley's Independent Study

transcribing cultural differences

2006-04-10T02:42:00.000-07:00

I've been transcribing my American focus group this weekend, and have had a few difficulties!

The transciption process is the same as it was for the UK group as I'm using Transana, however, the American accents are making it slightly more complicated. I can distinguish betwen male and female voices, and I know Meghan's voice but the voices sound very similar. This has made transcribing slower as I am trying to understand what is being said when several people are talking and sound similar. It's taken some time, but I'm getting used to how each individual sounds. The focus group was filmed, which has made this easier, as I can look at the image to distinguish between individuals' comments.

There have also been some phrases and colloquialisms that I have had to try and 'interpret' - with the help of Meghan!

progress

2006-04-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

I have now received the video from Meghan of the American focus group so can begin to transcribe it. There were a few problems with the US/UK format differences that made me think for a moment that that tape was broken, causing a minor panic, but the technicalities of that have been sorted out now!

I'm underway with the writing of the study... It's difficult accumulating all the reading and research I have done over the last year into one piece of writing, and being able to communicate clearly all that I want to say. It's getting there a bit at a time!

American focus group

2006-03-29T07:11:00.000-08:00

Success!!

The group in America was completed last night, and Meghan has put the video tapes used to record the discussions in the post so I should get them in about 5 days. I decided not to use a web camera to conduct the group myself in the end, as when we tried this out there was so much delay and jerking pictures that it was very distracting. I think the people in the group would feel a lot less comfortable if they couldn't really hear or see me properly, and the situation woul be a lot less like real life, so the conversation may have not been as revealing. I fully briefed Meghan about what too, so she could follow a similar pattern to what I had done with the group in England. I also think it's good to have an American leading the group because the participants may feel a lot more at ease to say what they really think, instead of worrying about offending me if I was 'virtually' with the group. I was a bit worried that having different people leading the groups would bring bias into the research, however, the idea of the focus groups is to provoke conversation about specific film clips. These clips remain the same, in exactly the same format and the questions areas being highlighted are the same. Tthe role of the group leader is to facilitate the conversation, and therefore it doesn't matter if the same person doesn't do both of them.

last-minute jitters

2006-03-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

So it's pretty much one month now until the study has to be handed in, and I have a few worries to say the least. I know I'm gonna get through this, and do it well, because it's a challenge and I can do it, I just have to take it a step at a time.

I've been looking through my reading notes in my research diary and have suddenly got worried that I don't actually have enough materials to write my study from. I have a lot but am not sure how many of them are very relevent. I look back at the reading I did when I first set out on my research and wasn't entirely sure where I was going, and see that that was clear from what I read and what I have made notes on! oh the luxury of hindsight, I just don't have the time to go back and reread everything with the knowledge I have now... But, that's the nature of progressive research I guess, you learn as you go along. I think my worries are just because I'm feeling a bit daunted by the prospect of writing the whole thing. Looking through my notes makes me think - what is that I am actually trying to say, and what evidence do I have to claim what I am claiming and why have I even done the study, what does it contribute to the research community?

I'm going to spend next week really getting myself to the place where I feel confident about what I'm going to write. Although I realise that reading absolutley everything I want to is an impossibility, there are gaps that I want to fill, where I have thought about things but am not sure what others have said about it.

I'm worried about my focus group in America as I heard from Meghan last night that she can't do the focus group now until Tuesday (28th March) - which drew my quite close to tears last night when I found out whilst trying to write another essay. I was hoping to have the tapes back from Meghan this weekend so I can get them transcribed and analysed before I start my writing up next weekend. Rationally thinking about it, I'm just gonna have to start writing some parts of it while I'm waiting to recieve the tapes, then take a couple of days out to analyse them...but these are high pressure times! It's so hard when you don't have very much control over the situation!

moving forward

2006-03-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

Despite my concerns I am continuing to move forward with the study, by concerntrating on my analysis of the transcript of the UK focus group. I am familiarising myself with the script and looking for themes through it in a thematic analysis.

I have developed a structure for the write up of the study, which has helped me to think about how I will construct all of thoughts, reading, and research into a coherent form. I have been concerned about fairly distributing my word allowance between sections and knowing what is required of me in each of these areas - for academic purposes and so that the written study makes sense to any reader, and generating a solid structure has been beneficial to this.

I'm continuing to build up my research of texts ready to prepare for writing up the study. I have tried to write the piece as I'm going along, however, am finding the process very difficult. Instead I have continually been writing in various forms as I have undergone the research process but am going to do the final write up intensely from this point on, over a few weeks.

worries

2006-03-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

It's been difficult the last couple of weeks because I don't want to get behind in my schedule for the study, and I feel that it could easily happen. The focus group in America has still not taken place because Meghan has had other committments and problems, which is fine, but means my scheule is under more strain. The problem I have is that this is a situation that I have little control over, as the group can only happen when everything is running smoothly in Florida, and so I can't do much about it. There's also the problem of the distance between Manchester and Florida because after the focus group has been done, I still have to receive the recording of them, transcribe them and then analyse them within a very short space of time... and then write it all up! Ahh, it's slightly stressful, I'm really feeling the pressure with this study and all the other responsibilities of university study and everyday life that I have to balance at the same time.

American focus group

2006-03-06T06:04:00.000-08:00

Plans for the focus group in America are going well... I have sent the DVD over there for Meghan to use when the group takes place.

We still have to work on making sure the webcams work ok, but I've decided that I will fully brief Meghan about the group and what I want her to do, so she can lead it. We now need to get the group done, but that can't happen until next week, due to things happening in America. This is slightly stressful because the DV tapes that the group will be recorded on will then have to be sent back to me, which will take a few days, before I can analyse them.

film interpretations

2006-02-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

While I've been transcribing the focus group today, I've noticed that a lot of comments are people's interpretations of the films. I was wondering how useful these are...
I realise that these are interpretions and therefore are observed and individuals apply their own world-view (epistemology), values and understandings to what they see to make sense of them. Therefore, their interpretations reveal something of the individual's understanding and experience of Britishness, because they use that in their interpretation.

Every person has the ability to interpret images a different way, although some ways will be more common due to the way the film has been made (dominant reading). The experiences they have must inform that interpretation in some way.

transcribing

2006-02-27T04:46:00.000-08:00

I am not completely transcribing the whole of the focus group because I do not think there is a need to, I have considered why I am transcribing (written in my research diary) and think a complete transcription is not necessary.

I am going to summarise what is said throughout and fully transcribe (without too much detail to colloquialism) sections that I think are important and informative. In this way, I am analysing the data as I go along, making judgements about its 'usefulness' to my research. I will select points that inform me about people's understanding and perception of Britishness. This means the interpretation is very much in my hands, so I will try to not let my own ideas cloud my judgment about what counts as comments about Britishness, but be open.

Transana

2006-02-27T04:25:00.000-08:00

I am using a free software package produced by the Wisconsin Centre for Education Research called 'Transana' to help me transcribe my focus group audio. I've never used it before so its taking a bit of time to familiarise myself with the programme and get used to how it works. It's good because I'm learning new skills that will help to transcribe more efficiently and analyse my data.

After reading several books and articles I have decided that I am definately going to analyse my focus group data with thematic analysis. I am still considering exactly how I will do this, but will set to work transcrbing first, and continue to consider this.

thematic analysis

2006-02-23T02:48:00.000-08:00

I'm currently reading more on thematic analysis before I analyse my focus group data. I want to be sure of exactly what it is that I'm doing before I start on it, so that I can look for and analyse efficiently and accurately.

Richard Boyatzis' book has brought up the debate of whether what I'm doing is themeatic analysis from a theory driven approach; beginning from a theory I have constructed and finding evidence or no evidence of that theory in the data, or a data driven approach; using the data as the first point of reference and looking at it for themes without a hypothesis to prove/disprove.

I have ideas about what I will find, but no specific hypotheses at the moment. I could generate these before I embark on analysing my data, but its not really proving whether something is or is not the same as I thought that I am studying, although it is interesting. I want to understand people's perceptions of Britishness and how these have been constructed, and that may be very broad and so be better look at using a data driven approach. The questions and blank areas that my reading and literature review have produced are being explored more in my practical research, that's the point of the focus groups. I don't want either group to be greatly influenced by my ideas (even though a complete exclusion of my views would be very difficult) but be fresh and simply say what they think, influenced by the clips from the films and encouraged to talk by the questions I have written.

There is also the question of manifest (direct from the information) and latent level (underlying phenomenon) analysis. I think a combination of both of these approaches will be needed.

I am continuing to research these ideas before I begin my analysis.

more thoughts on focus group

2006-02-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

At the start of the focus group I explained to the participants the role of the research and what we would be doing in the group. I explained that the idea was to gain an understanding of what they think is Britishness, and how that is influenced or brought to the surface through costume drama films. I encouraged them to not be afraid to put across their opinions and to be honest about what they were saying.

I decided to adopt this honest approach becasue I wanted the participants to be clear of what was expected from them, and know what we were going to be doing. I also felt there was no need to be secretive about the purpose of the research, as it will not be beneficial to my findings, and also would make it more likely that what they said would be vague and confused.

Validity of analysis

2006-02-16T02:42:00.000-08:00

I am trying to narrow down and really define the approach that I am using to analyse my data so that I analyse it in the most appropriate way. The linked website http://onlineqda.hud.ac.uk/Intro_QDA/qualitative_analysis.php has brought up some considerations of validity... (see link for more ideas on validity)

The concpt of 'truth' in qualitative research is very different from that in quantitative research explained by the website;

The most fundamental challenge to these ideas has come from those who reject what they describe as the realist assumptions that underpin such procedures. Such researchers, who include a wide range of post-modernists and constructivists, argue that we cannot assume that there is just one, single, fundamental social reality against which results can be check to see if they are valid. Rather, all we can say is that there are many different social realities and views about our world and there is no way we can give any single one a privileged position as the reality. For them, it does not make sense to ask whether a qualitative analysis reflects what actually happened in the social world as it is always possible to have different interpretations.
Nevertheless, the assumption of most participants and respondents and the belief of many qualitative researchers is that most of the time, for most purposes, it does make sense to say that we inhabit the same, shared social reality. At the same time, humans are fallible, and it is always possible to make mistakes in ones interpretation or observation of this social reality. Therefore it makes sense to follow procedures that minimise mistakes and simple misinterpretations.

To maintain validity…

Consider negative cases
In line with the recommendation in triangulation to try and explain differences in results that arise from different data sources, it is good practice in qualitative analysis to look constantly for what are called negative cases. These are cases, settings, events and so on that are out of line with your main findings or even that directly contradict what your explanations would predict…usually the response to a negative case, a case that doesn’t seem to fit, is to re-examine the data to try to find a way of explaining why that case has happened in such an untypical way. The upshot is commonly a modification of your ideas and assumptions (Seale, 2000) and eventually a richer and more complex theory and explanation.

thoughts about the focus group

2006-02-15T03:11:00.000-08:00

Before doing the focus group I was wondering how to approach it - whether I needed to be formal and detached from the converstaions; being very much the observer, or if I should get involved in the conversation and lead it in an informal, chatty way. I spoke to Clive about these issues, which made me realise that I could do the groups however I saw was the most appropriate - there is not one defined way that I have to do it, approaching it as I am.

One thing we discussed was how a good way of getting people to talk about their own experiences is to offer a story of your own that they the follow up with their story. This is what I wanted to happen, the groups are designed for people to watch clips, respond to them and then comment on them in relevance to their own lives, as a British or American person. However, I did not want to dominate the conversation too much.

I decided to take an informal approach to the group, being 'normal' with the group so that they felt comfortable and relaxed and therefore, more likely to talk. This was especially important because I knew all of the people in the group, and purposefully chose people who knew each other so they would be more open to discussing issues and talking about their own lives. It would have been strange for them if I had completely changed how I talked to them. We also did the group in my friend's living room, so it was relaxed and informal - a similar situation to how it would be if you were watching the whole of the films for entertainment out of a focus group situation. I included my opinions when I thought it approprate, but tried not to dominate the conversation, allowing people the space to talk first. I did this more to develop an equal feeling between us all, and therefore a relaxed environment and encourage converstation, rather than 'directing' it in a certain way.

It was interesting that we all drank a lot of tea during the focus group - very quintessentially British! (maybe we are all that the films say we are, and we don't realise it!?!)

methodology

2006-02-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

Now that I've got some data I need to analyse it in the most effective way, so I've been looking at the the followign website;
http://onlineqda.hud.ac.uk/methodologies.php#Constructionism (good link for furthur reading)
The methodology section made me think about my approach to the research again, and what that actually is.

Some relevant quotes;

Constructionism

What is it?This approach looks at the systems people create to interpret the world around them and their experiences. It can also be refeferred to as social constructionism. The epistemological view that the phenomena of the social and cultural world and their meanings are not objective but are created in human social interaction, that is, they are socially constructed. The approach often, though not exclusively, draws on idealist philosophy. Some writers distinguish Social Constructivism as a more radical version of social constructionism, but often the terms are used interchangeably

This is relevant because I am looking at how perceptions of British identity are constructed through costume drama. Identities can be constructed through the cultural and social medium of film, and conversations and interactions that are a result of that. I expect people's understanding of Britishness also comes from the many other social and cultural influences and experiences in everyday life (TV, magazines, talking to people).

Discourse Analysis

What is it?A study of the way versions or the world, society, events and psyche are produced in the use of language and discourse. The Foucauldian version is concerned with the construction of subjects within various forms of knowledge/power. Semiotics, deconstruction and narrative analysis are forms of discourse analysis.

Is this what I'm doing?
Films are constructions made by those who produce them, and therefore display the opinions and world views they hold, so the viewer is influenced by the 'power' of the film makers. The producers can choose what knowledge the viewer has access to, about Britian from the film, but then individuals have the ability to interpret that in their own unique way.
This study is an understanding of people's perception of British identity as produced through the discourse of costume drama film... but I'm not doing a semiotic, deconstruction or narrative analysis.

focus group Britain

2006-02-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

I conducted my first focus group, the British group, yesterday.

I felt it went quite well, the discussions went in directions that I didn't expected in some cases, and didn't cover some areas that I thought it might, but I expected that. The group of people were vocal and gave lots of views. The session lasted about 2 hours, which is longer than anticipated but we did have a short break half way through, and the fact that it was a group of friends who knew each other, meant that the participants felt happy spending that much time together.

I'm glad I did the practice group, as it made me a lot less nervous in the actual group and improved my ability to lead the group.

focus group trial

2006-02-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

Having spoken to Clive about it, I decided to run a trial focus group with the clips and questions I have generated to see how well it works, and how I can improve it when I do the actual group on Friday.

The trial was a good learning experience...
I tried to be quite conversational in the questions that I asked, and that didn't work very well, my partipants suggested that I should have a more focused questioned that they can talk about so they really understand what I'm asking. I think I need to be sure of what I'm asking them in each clip. They also suggested that it would be easier to talk about their own real life experiences and so questions like, "do you think that the clip was an acuarate portrayal of women?" would be useful.

They suggested that it would help to have the context of the scene explained in some of the cases so that they knew what was going on more clearly. They also said that explaining what the clips were about eg. the role of men, before the group watched them would help them to look out for things to say.

I found it difficult in some cases to communicate what it was that I wanted people to talk about, and generally to generate conversation. I need to decide what my priority questions are from the clips, and phrase them in a very open way. It was good to articulate the questions out loud so I can see whether they made sense and if they were phrased in a helpful way. The tape recording of the trial will show me which questions were the best at provoking a response, and help me to reformulate them for the actual focus group.

sustaining national identity

2006-02-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

Are costume dramas a facility to create and also maintain a national identity?

They produce an image of Britain through history that people can use to create an imagined community of 'the British' in the past and the present. Whether this is an accurate image or not, it develops an idea of solidarity, of something that all British people are aware of and share, which shapes their understanding of Britishness.

The regular showing of new and classic costume dramas, set in a specific histoical period creates an image of "good, traditional Britain", which develops national pride and makes people want to defend all that is British. Therefore, the films could be used to preserve the and maintain national identity; a process that is continual and difficult.

Choosing the clips

2006-01-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of choosing which clips to use for my focus groups. I've been finding it difficult to select which clips to use, because I know I need to explain my choices, but a lot of what sways my selection is the 'feeling' and 'knowing' I have that certain elements of the films are 'typical' to costume drama as a genre. I know these typical elements because I can see similarities between all of the films I have watched, and I understand the stereotypes that are expressed in the films because I have grown up watching them, and knowing what quaint, Britishness looks like. But this is just my view... I can only create a DVD of clips from my own personal understanding of what it typically British within these films.

I've been questioning what it actually is that I am using to qualify particular scenes for my focus groups - I have certain specifications that the clips must have so that I select them. But what are they?

What is it that has made me select the films that I have watched?...

Have all the films had significant box office success?
Are they British produced films about Britain?
Are they Hollywood films?
Are the films based on literature?

I've been speaking to Clive about this, which has made me realise that I do need explain my choices but sometimes you have to look back at the path of selection to see how you made decisions.

The DVD I will produce is my own composition of images that portray Britain and Britishness, to be used as a framework to understand individuals' perception of Britishness. The clips are images, just like a cup of tea or a red phone box that may be viewed as icons of Britian. The clips are intended to stimulate discussion to expand my understanding of what Britishness is to different people.

I'm realising that I have the problem that the ethnographer has, that it is difficult to 'see' what is familiar; I am British and have always lived in Britian so I already have a concept of what it really is. I need to step back. I have to distance myself from what I know about Britian and seeing costume drama as merely entertainment and actually look at what is occuring in the films and see what they are communicatin about Britian, so that I can use them to generate discussions about Britain, even if it is very familiar to me.

What I assume is British may not be British for everyone else.

I need to choose scenes because they contain themes and elements that allow the focus group to discuss what they understand to be British. I am not selecting scenes because I think they encompass all that is British. The clips are the starting point, it is the perception of British identity that they generate (or stimulate to come to the surface, originating from other preconceptions/stereotypes etc) that I am concerned with.

Change of method

2006-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

During a meeting I had today with Clive, we discussed the practicalities of carrying out the research with the focus group in America. The original intention was to have a video conference with the group of people, using the University of Central Florida's conference facilities for the group in Florida. However, the faculty is unable to pay for that to happen, because of the expense of running 6 phone lines at the same time. This is unfortunate as I was looking forward to the experience of almost 'being' in America with the group to run my research discussions, and using the latest technology available to do that.

We discussed options of how to overcome this problem, which will provide me with similar data and information to the original method, and came up with 2 solutions:

a) I will lead the focus group from England using one web cam, so I can talk to the group. The DVD with scenes on it will be sent to Meghan in Florida by 'express' and she can play the DVD following my instruction to the group. Meghan can set up a tape recorder in the room where the group is sitting and record the sound from the discussion (she could also set up a DV camera if I wanted) and send that back to me when the group has finished. I could lead the discussion over the camera, and a web cam could be sent up in the room in America so I can see the group and respond etc.

The problem with this is that there may be a bad delay between the image and sound, so this needs to be tested out, otherwise it could make a discussion impossible.

b) If the web cam solution will not work, I will fully brief Meghan about what I am doing and want from the group, and ask her to lead the discussion. I can watch/listen in on web cam, but will avoid speaking and leading it (as that was the orginal problem). The DVD will be sent there, and recorded sound sent back as originally planned.

To decide which is the best option I will test out the web cam with Meghan in FLorida and see how effective it is.

postmodernism

2006-01-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

I am in the middle of writing an essay on postmodernism and identity, and this has made me think about how postmodernism applies to my study.

The process of organising and running a focus group via a video conference over the internet, is a very postmodern phenomena. This 'reduces' time and space considerably because although we will be a few thousand miles apart it is athough we are all going to be in the same room. Therefore, this research is very much being done with a postmodern understanding of the world. This seems very natural to me and to the student generation, who I am researching.

Does the fact that the American participants can 'virtually' be in England affect their perception of British identity, both during the focus group and generally in life? I suspect that it does, because they are not just viewing these films in isolation, as heritage commodities that have been exported, they experience Britian over the internet, and through television, and from travelling there because of developed transport and communication systems that are a part of globalisation and the development of the global community throughout the world.

Therefore, its important to consider how postmodernism has an affect on people's perceptions of British identity.

Which films?

2005-12-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

I've been watching different costume drama films so that I can choose a selection of scenes from them to use in my research. I want the scenes I choose to demonstrate the stereotypes of Britishness that may have had an influence on British identity today.

One of the films I have watched is 'Sons and Lovers' based on D H Lawrences novel. Watching this film has brought clarity to me, about what elements of costume drama I am concerned with, and therefore what I need to focus on in order to focus my research and decide which scenes to include. I do not want to include any scenes from this film, because the film deals with the British working-class and the social and economic problems that arose from it. This is interesting but not the focus of my study. I am interested in the typical attitudes, behaviour, relationships and lives of the middle and upper class, the British elite, and high society. I want to understand what elements of this have been incorporated into British identity today, or what people think or perceive as constituting Britsh identity that has been influenced by the stereotypes created by these films about high society, both it's good and bad points.

The issues that have risen from my viewing so far include;

Having to marry for wealth and position to secure a place in society
Men being the instigators of relationships with women
The importance of a reliable and good character
Exclusion of people who are not of the right class through birth or wealth
Men rescuing women
Women needing to be rescued

Data collection

2005-12-16T06:18:00.000-08:00

In the meeting I had with Clive today, we discussed some of the practicalities of how I will collect my data, and how I can go about setting the data collection into motion.

I want to conduct two focus groups, one in England at Man Met university and one in America. I will show the groups selected scenes from costume drama films to respond to. The focus group in England should be fairly straight forward practically, however, will require me to be very prepared and practised at leading it so that the group is conducted most effectively. In order to conduct the focus group in America I want to hold a video conference between England and America, so that I can run the focus group myself, and take a leadership role in the discussions, similar to how it will be done in England.

The conference will be conducted through the universities conferencing facilities. I need to ensure the university that I want to work with in America has facilites that enable this to happen aswell, and seek their permission to do the research. My friend in America, a former pupil of the unviersity I will be approaching will help put me in contact will the necessary people in the university, in order to get permission to use their facilities. The conference will provide me with video and audio footage of the whole discussion, of the participants in America and me in England, and I can use this as my data.

It's a bizarre concept that the group and I will both in America and England at the same time, in a virtual sense, watching a film and responding to it! I'm excited to see what happens!

Lacan's mirror stage - a thought

2005-12-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about Lacan and what he calls the 'mirror stage' and how this applies to my study.

Lacan suggests that an infant sees himself in a mirror image, either in an actual reflection of himself or in the people around him. At this point the infant is aware of a 'whole' self which he aspires to be like, but can never attain because this is an imagined state. The infant then spends the whole of the rest of his life disappointed that he is not this 'whole' self and trying to reach it.

Clive mentioned in the lecture today that this is relevent in the postmodern context of television. TVs and cinema screens provide a reflection, or image of the 'whole' people, a certain way, that the rest of the world tries to copy and achieve. The image of wholeness that is portrayed in TV programmes and films can not be achieved and so people continue to try and reach it, and then get frustrated which causes them to contiually search for their 'wholeness'.

This situation can be applied to my study. The people who watch costume drama films are observing what is perceived as 'whole' people. These 'whole' people represent a British person and therefore, Lacan's theory suggests that the audience, as British people, will try and obtain the wholeness they represent. Therefore, the audience may copy the habits and attitudes reflected by the characters in the films in order to try and achieve 'wholeness' as a British person. This raises the issue of whether the audience identifies with the characters or not, as this may affect how much the audience will try to copy them.

This may cause British people to adopt an identity more like the identity portrayed in the films. This would mean that the films are productive, because they cause people to act and change as a result of watching them.

Which films?

2005-12-06T05:47:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to discover more costume drama films that I can consider for use in my research. Looking through several sites I realise that the kind of films I am interested in are those that could be called 'classics' because they are based upon literary novels.

The following site;
http://www.greencine.com/list?action=viewList&listID=2189
contains list of films that I can follow up, and watch. I will view these to see if I can use them in my focus groups.

Particularly interesting are:

Wives and Daughters (1999) - based on Elizabeth Gaskell
Nicholas Nickleby (2000) - based on Charles Dickens
Jane Eyre - based on Charlotte Bronte

Focus

2005-11-30T02:38:00.000-08:00

I had a meeting with Clive yesterday which helped to focus the direction of my research. I've been struggling because there is so much that I could read, and I just don't have the time to do it. I also want to keep my research relevant, and not spend time researching areas in depth that won't help illuminate my study.

My study is about understanding what people think about British identity, influenced by watching costume drama film. It is not about how the films themselves portray British identity, that would be a completely different study. Therefore, I can focus on the subject of identity and the issues surrounding that, without having to qualify or explain the films by deconstructing them etc (only by rationally explaining my choices) . The film is used to practically expressed theoretical ideas that I have been reading about.

We have developed an outline/framework that the study will follow. In order to ensure my reading is relevant and to help with the construction of the written study I will fit my readings into this model as I go along. I will develop a section which is the theoretical framework underlining my study, this will be made up of ideas and things that I have read that form my understanding of national identity and explain the direction that the research has taken. This framework is personal to me depending on the ideas and theories that I allow to influence my understanding of what is being studied.

To move forward I will concentrate on selecting the films, and the sections of films to be used in my focus groups. I am constantly making decisions about which films to watch, and what sections I think will be relevent, that reflect my personal view of British identiy and what it is and is not, both consciously and subconsciously. I will need to mention this in my study, explaining my rationale behind the choices I make.

What am I doing?

2005-11-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Whilst reading about racism and racial identity today, I really got thining about what it actually is that I am doing in this study. There seem to be several areas that I'm researching and reading about but I'm not sure if I should concentrate on elements of all of them, a mixture of some of them, or concentrating on one of the as my main focus, with reference to the others?

Is the study;

about the role of film in creating identity?
about the differences and similarities between British identity portrayed in costume drama film and British identity as I see it in reality, today?
looking at whether the films depict a truthful portrayal of British identity? eg are class structures correct?
investigating whether people's perceptions of British identity are correct?
looking at how people outside of Britain (specifically Americans) view Britain and 'Britishness'?

Data?

2005-11-18T04:20:00.000-08:00

The independent study workshop yesterday got me thinking about the data that I will be using in my study, and what data actually is.

My research is based upon two focus groups that will look at scenes from costume drama films, and then respond to what they have seen in relation to British identity. From my reading I understand that researchers who have used reception analysis in a similar way have used transcripts and written answers that participants have given to form conclusions. Fingerson (1999) mentions a software program that she used to analize transcripts in her study on teenage girls's viewing of family television programmes. However, I don't intend at this stage to use a similar program, but will adopt some of the other techniques mentioned.

I will film both focus groups, and use the film to create transcripts, and comment on the interaction of the groups. I will also get participants to answer questions in writing, and so will have written texts to work from. I intend to take fieldnotes during the focus groups.
All of these texts are 'data' that I will use to inform my research. I prefer to refer to them as texts as this avoids the connotations of quantitative, scientific research that I associate with this term, and does not fit with my methodological approach.

FIlms

2005-11-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

I have been watching mostly Jane Austin costume drama films to inform my research. These are particularly 'classic' costume dramas which is what I want to focus on, however, this will limit my research to the perception Brtish identity through Austin costume drama.
I will watch and review some costume dramas not based on Austen's work to inform my decision as to whether this is a good idea or not. I don't want to limit my research.

What is the relationship of the novel to the film and why it has been produced? What does this say about the identity constructed in the novels?

Literature Review

2005-11-14T06:54:00.000-08:00

Emerging from my research are several main areas that will be addressed in my literature review;
(NB including key relevent texts read to date)

what is identity?
Barker, C (2003)
Hall and Du Gay (2002)

how is identity constructed and taken on?
Barker, C (2003)
Cook (1996)
Grossberg (2002)
Hall and Du Gay (2002)
Morley and Robins (2001)
Richards (1997)

what is national identity?
Barker (2003)
Morley and Robins (2001)
Richards (1997)
Storry and Childs (2002)

how do cultural differences affect the perception of identity?
Barker (2003)
Kumar (2004)
Morley and Robins (2001)
Richards (1997)

the role of film in contributing to identity (film theory)

Abercrombie and Warde (2002)

Barker, C (2003)
Cook (1996)
Morley and Robins (2001)
Richards (1997)
Storry and Childs (2002)
Turner (1996)

film as a cultural commodity
Cook (1996)
Storry and Childs (2002)

themes surrounding British identity that exist in costume drama film?
'Pride and Prejudice'
'Emma'
'MansfieldPark'
Morley and Robins (2001)

(possibly) the concept of Britishness
Murdoch (1998)
Richards (1997)
Storry and Childs (2002)

Heritage film; cultural commodity

2005-11-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

I've been reading Higson's chapter on 'Heritage Cinema and Television', which has been really interesting and relevent to some of the issues I've been thinkng about regarding costume drama (called heritage film in this article).

Higson argues that heritage film is a cultural commodity, part of the heritage industry. This reminds me of Mike Storry's chapter 'Education, work and leisure' (in 'British Cultural Identities') that mentions the hertiage industry. From this view the film is a product to be sold. Therefore, the film must have elements that are very 'sellable'. In this case, is the representation of British identity in these films just an ideal that sells well? Is it necessary that it portrays any truth at all? and, most importantly, does this matter? Even if the producers of these cultural constructs have the main aim of making money, they are still read by viewers and influence their opinions of Britishness.

NB what does that say about the society we live in today? A postmodern society that is surrounded by consumerism, how does this affect our identity and need to belong?
see
lecture notes http://odl.mmu.ac.uk/SCRIPT/cultural_identities/scripts/serve_home

The chapter also suggests that these cultural constructs are not exclusively English products, they are often Hollywoodised, American influenced adaptations of English classic literature. (with American actors, directors, etc) So it's not as simple as thinking the film is 'thoroughbred English' consructed for England, then exported to other nations. Are these films in fact more acturately American images of Britian that we British then take on? Will my reasearch show that the Americans believe it a lot more than the British?
This is getting exciting!

methodology: reflections

2005-11-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

The independent study workshop today was about methodology, and it got me thinking about my concepts of methodology. What does methodology mean to me? How is it relevent to my study? How does it shape and drive my research? I realise that at this stage I can't necessarily answer these questions fuuly, but these are my emerging thoughts...

Methodology qualifies my research.

I am relying on focus group 'data' for my research. I value individuals stories and opinions about British identity enough to form conclusions based upon them. Even though this doesn't give the view of a complete cross-section of society, I see a small group of student age adults as more informative than a mixed up group because it is more specific. Students are just as qualified as anyone to give their opinion. I think that knowledge about British and American attitutes towards British identity can be gained from discussing ideas with them and asking them to respond to film footage. I'm interested in understanding personal opinions that are provoked from classical custume drama films. I believe knowledge is produced by talking to people and therefore understanding them.

This raises the question of the importance and relevance of film. I see film as an important and informative cultural construct of both American and British society, and therefore a contributor to the lives of people within these societies. I think, therefore that it makes it an interesting medium to investigate; looking at how it shapes perceptions of 'Britishness'.

I also value what other researchers have done before me. My reading into reception analysis has shown the effectivness of this type of approach.

Proud to be Welsh

2005-10-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was at the place where I've just got a job today, filling out forms to apply officially (CRB etc) and the lady helping me filled out a form about my documents of identification. She had to write the country that my driving licsense was issued in, and wrote England. She then stopped, and realised that she shouldn't do that and changed it to UK with correction fluid. She then told me that she couldn't write England on this form because was official and they could accuse her of racism. I found this rather amusing! But she continued to tell me that she'd heard of it happening and she certainly wasn't racist, but was just proud to be English, and so believed she should be able to identify herself and her country as that. She said "the Welsh are allowed to be proud to be Welsh"; so why should it have to be the United Kingdom and not England where I passed my driving test?

It made me think about how we like to be able to choose our own idetity, to be labelled by something that we are happy to be know by, and not forced to assume something we are not. It seems trivial, but it really matters to some people. The 'label' we all want can be very different even though technically we are all from the same geographical place.
This is just not a simple issue!

simplify!

2005-10-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

Just had a meeting with Clive about the proposal due in on Friday. I need to be more to the point in what I'm writing. I was concerned about the tone to use for the proposal, how the reader should be addressed. I need less detail and critical anlysis in this section of the study, this can follow at a later point.

I will look at how this study is relevent to communication specifically, how the study of identity, British identity and costume drama are all relevent to communication.

I need to consider what problems may arise in my research. Practically, having a focus group in another country will be difficult. How will I do it? I need to be considering this for later on.

imagined community

2005-10-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Does Britain really exist?

Is it just an imagined community?

Why?

research and response, how do I do it?

2005-10-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have been reading MacGregor and Morrison's (1995) research paper "From focus groups to editing groups: a new method of reception analysis." (Medai, Culture and Society journal) It raises questions about how I will actually go about my research with small groups of people responding to a selcetion of scenes portraying 'typical' British identity.

After reading about reception analysis, it seems to be an advantageous way of discovering people's reactions to a film. As the researcher I can steer the discussions in directions that will highlight what I'm trying to understand about the perception of British identity. Although the group of people in the focus group won't full represent a cross section of British or American society (one group in each country) it allows me to be specific about who's views I am resarching. I will have to be careful not to make assumptions about the whole of society, make it clear that my conclusions are based on the specifc age, social situation etc of the groups I work with.

The article highlighted to me the importance of having a pilot group to do research with, before doing the research with the actual groups. This is something Clive and I have previously discussed. It would show me where the problems might be in the set up, and help me to decide which scenes of a classic period drama film I could use. I could make decisions myself, and choose scenes that I think may be appriopriate, then set up a 'test run' group who could answer some the questions I have chosen and respond to the film. This would show me how fruitful the questions I have chosen are, and if the scenes are effective enough at highlighting issues about Britich identity. These things could then be refined for use in the actual focus groups.

MacGregor and Morrison challenge the 'data collection' of traditional focus groups doing reception analysis, by using the film medium for respondants to respond to what they viewed in films. This was a really interesting approach, encouraging viewers to evaluate what they'd seen. I have been thinking about how this might apply to my research. The article made me think about the limitations of language in expressing the thoughts of the viewer to the researcher, the researher has to interpret and then invaluate it, and how in a discussion group one or two people can dominate what is being discussed.
How should I get the groups to respond to the scenes I show so that I will understand how they perceive British identity?

In what context shall I get the group to view the scenes? The article made me think about the practicalities and ideal situation that I'd like the film viewed in. Costume drama films are, afterall, designed for entertainment. So, should I get the groups to watch them in a domestic setting? does it matter? Corner (1991) suggests it doesn't matter.

Jean Baudrillard

2005-10-14T02:19:00.000-07:00

An interesting quote I read whilst reading about reception analysis (see last blog for address)

"[M]eaning [...] is only an ambiguous and inconsequential accident, an effect due to ideal covergence of a perspective space at any given moment (History, Power etc.) and which, moreover, has only ever really concerned a tiny fraction and superficial layer of our 'societies'." Jean Baudrillard

Does this mean that the author of a text can never actually communicate their intended meanings to the reader? How can it be an accident if the author makes conscious decisions to do things in a particular way? The presentation of a text must alter how it's perceived and therefore it's meaning in any era, even if that differs from era to era, .

I think that the context, historically and socially, in which the text is read, be it a film, book, play etc will affect what it means to the reader. Someone in the 1970's would have a completely different world view and experience, and therefore frame of reference to understand the text than someone in 2005. Just as two people both alive in the same period of history, would probably interpret things quite differently because they have had different life experiences. Everyone is surrounded by things that influence how they think about things, and this will affect the way a text is understood.

This is perhaps what Fiske etc are referring to when they discuss reception analysis. It is difficult to form conclusions about about a mass audience's interpretation of a text, because everyone within that audience is approaching the film they are viewing from a different, personal frame of reference which is different from anyone else in the world. Is that your identity? If you frame of reference is very individual and personal to your life expereince, then is it a part of your identity? Is it the same thing? If this is true, and everyone individually interprets a text, is it possible for a national, 'British' identity to exist? I think the answer is complex but can be yes. Although we are individuals, we share the experience of Britain, of reading the text of Britain, that is not to say that we all understand Britian to be the same thing, but the experience of being British (however you define that) is shared. This needs to be considered further.

I think that Baudrillard is referring to the larger audience here, an audience as a whole is affected by the historical and social enviroment they are in while reading a text. In this sense every audience is a community sharing the same historical and social space at that specific time, as well as being a group of indiviuals, and therefore conclusions can be made about their general interpretaion of a text. The point that reception analysis raises is that it is not as smple as this, because although the text is viewed in the same 'space' by the whole audoence, meaning in only created when readers take what they see and apply it to themselves individually.

useful link

2005-10-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

The useful link for an overview of reception analysis...

http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cs4ie.html#reception

the difference

2005-10-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

What's the difference between perceiving something and understanding it?

My immediate response is that perceiving is what you actually take on board in a particular situation and understanding it is what you process from that. In relation to my research, perceiving British Identity is what people actually think makes up and can be called British. Understanding it is analysing what you have noticed, and the conclusions you have made from that.

Which way?

2005-10-04T02:54:00.000-07:00

I am trying to decide what specifically I want to study, within the area of British identity. What is it about British identity that I want to discover and understand?

I'm really interested in how British Identity is percieved by people in Britian emursed in everything British and having a British identity themselves, and also how this is different for people in other countires and cultures who are only percieving Britain from the outside. I want to discover how costume drama films constructs this idea of British identity. After a discussion with my tutor Clive about where I am at with my research and where I would like to go, I've decided that setting up a small group interview, centred around watching a film, with a group of people in both of these situations would be really interesting and informative.

To claify my thoughts I'm considering, practically and methodologically, how I would go about researching the various ideas and questions that I have come up with.

Starting Out

2005-10-04T02:18:00.000-07:00

After speaking to Clive and Mike about blogging, I have set up my own blog to record my thoughts and ideas while working on my independent study.