What's your poison...

Last night in class (my research methods class) we did an exercise with a partner in which we had to talk about something we're passionate about, and then ask our partner questions about their passion. I chose, quelle surprise, foreign language. My partner was having a hard time coming up with something she was passionate about, but in the end it turned out to be her marriage and her health (I think that's nice, anyway - what better things to be passionate about?)

We had to talk about what subjectivities the conversation raised. For example, my partner and I connected in the "Non Research Human I" - in other words, we connected in a non-academic way. There's also a "Justice Seeking I" which listens to what another person says and your sense of fair play is raised. One set of students talked about the over-medication of children with ADD and ADHD in correlation with the cutbacks in recess now in schools. The student, S., said that she began to feel angry and a sense of "this is not fair" when her partner was speaking. Apparently, as a researcher, it's important to know your "hot buttons" because you may not hear what the person you're interviewing is saying, but rather your own interpretation and feelings.

According to some of the books we're reading, it's important to keep a sort of journal (Peskin recommends 5x8 index cards) of your feelings during research, in order to keep a continual check on your subjective view of things.

That's kind of boring, right? Sorry, it's all I've got today.