What does it mean to position yourself as a researcher?
What specific place will you be doing your ethnography on? What do you already know about this place? What issues might you face in conducting your research at this place?
This response is due by classtime Thursday. Do not forget to respond to at least one classmate.
To position yourself as a researcher you need to be able to take in information and turn it into your own words to explain it back. It does no good to research something and not be able to talk about your research. The specific place that I will be doing my ethnography on will be an elementary school. I already know that it is a school from grades K though 5. I went to this elementary school, so I am familiar with some of the teachers and staff who work there. Some issues that I might face could be that each teacher has a different way of teaching that works for them. Or possible observing the classroom in a way that is not distracting to the children.
ReplyDeleteGood point with being a distraction. I am also thinking about doing my research at an elementary school and I did not think of that. What grade are you focusing on specifically? Or are you doing the school as a whole? Do you know what teachers you want ask questions to first? , being that you went to the school.
DeleteI like the fact that you attended this school. This is going to be easier for you because you are probably comfortable with all of the staff and the environment. Also you know how the place functions.
DeleteTo position yourself as a researcher is to take into account all of the different perspectives of the information you are trying to obtain. The specific place that I will be doing my ethnography on will be in a high school guidance office. I will be doing the high school that I went to back home so I'm familiar with most of the people that work there and the students. Some issues that I might face in conducting research here could be trying to observe but not being able to because of personal matters.
ReplyDeleteI feel like a lot of people will run into that issue but I think there are ways around it to still observe.
DeleteGoing back home is a great idea ! especially going to a school that you are familiar with and will be able to get around easy and you'll recognize people from that school.
DeleteThere are three ways of positioning... Fixed, subjective and Textual positions. For a researcher you position yourself in at least three ways. Fixed are personal facts that might influence how you see your data and subjective is history or personal experiences that may affect your research. Textual is the language you make to represent what you see. Positioning yourself affects how the research sees the data. I will be studying at the bridgewater police station. I've already been inside the police station. I know they are very cooperate with everyone that comes in. Issues that I might face is not getting all my questions answered or I might bump into a question I can't ask like Iowa 80 with the time logs.
ReplyDeleteYou will most likely not get all your questions answered, but still ask them!
DeleteI agree with Julia, you may not be able to have all of your questions answered but still ask them just in case they give you something!
DeletePositioning yourself as a researcher is being able to gather information through many channels and explaining what you researched back to the audience. The strength of a researcher is based on the information you gather. For my ethnography,I plan to do my research on an elementary school classroom for the Hearing Impaired. This classroom is for first graders, who has different levels of hearing impairment.The classroom uses American Sign Language and Speech as its form of communication.
ReplyDeleteAn issue I do see myself facing is snow days. Elementary and College have two different schedules when it comes to snow.I do not see a language boundary , being that I am learning American Sign Language. However, I am pretty confident in my decision in picking this place.
Snow days will probably be an issues, but as long as you make the most of ever visit you should be fine.
DeleteI think this is a great choice to do research for your major! I bet it would be very interesting and it's great that you are learning ASL so you will be able to communicate better in the classroom
DeleteTo position yourself as a researcher, you need to be able to observe all different perspectives of the job of your choice. For myself, I chose to the BSU Radio Station. Some issues I might face in conducting research is not having experienced every part of the job.
ReplyDeleteHi Julia, I agree with you. A researcher needs to be able to observe all different perspectives of the job they choose to shadow!
DeleteJuliaaaaaaaa lol but I also completely agree with you. I also think it's going to be interesting choosing he BSU Radio Station. Including the snow days, it'll also be easy to get to.
DeleteTo positions yourself as a researcher you must be able to gather information from different points of views. You must also know how to organize that information so that you could be able to explain it to someone else. The place that I will be doing my ethnography on will be a Homeless Family Shelter. These shelter I believe are mostly composed of women and children. They probably don't work or don't make enough to be on their own. Each family has a room to stay in and it probably has a certain amount of beds depending on the size of family. They also probably have some sort of responsibility or chore to do in the shelter. A problem I could face is people not want to talk to me.
ReplyDeleteI think them not talking to you might be a problem too. I would try to talk to them and get to know them before interviewing them.
DeleteI think some of the families may not want to talk about their lives, but i'm sure you can get them to open up!
DeleteI think this is a great project. Often people have a misconception about homeless. Frankly, anyone could end up homeless. Life situations can change in the blink of an eye. It is often not laziness that leads to it.
DeleteTo position yourself means that you must be able to get your information from all three points of view, fixed, subjective, and textual. The place i am going to be doing my research at is a fire station. I already know that this is a new fire station that was recently built. I know that it holds three fire trucks and i know that my father works there. I do not know how many firefighters work there and i do not really know any other fire fighters that works there. A problem i could face while doing my research is that the other fire fighters might get called to a fire and i would not have anyone to interview, or none of the fire fighters would want to talk to me.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine them not wanting to talk to you when they have the time! They will probably find it pretty cool that you want to know more about what they do. And I am guessing that you want to become a firefighter?
DeleteEven though the fire fighters have a busy schedule during there working time I'm sure they can fit you into there schedule for interviews. I don't think you have to worry about that!
DeleteTo position yourself as a researcher means that you are able to obtain information from many points of view around you and be able to explain what you found to others. The specific place I want to do my ethnography on is the Speech Language and Hearing Center. I know that this would be a good location for me to get to easily. Some issues An issue I might face is that I may not be able to observe everything due to personal or private things or that people may not want to talk to me.
ReplyDeletenice definition. I agree with you when it comes to the issues we may face with trying to interview people.
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ReplyDeleteTo position yourself as a researcher you need to get as much information as possible to make your research excellent. The place i would like to study is a courthouse. What i know about a courthouse is they have many cases a day. There are different types of cases and court houses for different situations or criminal act. Courthouses have judges, officers and jury duty people. Some issues i will run into during the courthouses would be privacy laws also if i would not be able to see if someone was guilty or not if it was an ongoing case.
ReplyDeleteGiovanni, I think observing at the courthouse is very exciting. You can experience how judges, prosecutors, attorneys, defendants, and jurors act differently or the same. You can also experience a defendant being found guilty or innocent.
DeleteGiovanni, this is a very good idea for you. I think you will get some first hand looks on what goes on in your major.
DeleteI agree with you that you need to get as much research as possible because it will make your work that much better and you well informed.
DeleteTo position myself as a researcher is to be an observer with the intent to discover new information. I agree with what professor Williams said last class, we don’t want to write something that others have already written. This has to be something new and different. I will be doing my Ethnography at the New Bedford Regional Airport observing the Air Traffic Controllers. I confirmed and submitted my deposit to another school to major in Air Traffic Control and switched at the last minute. I know the flying side of air traffic control well and hope to gain experience on the other side of the radio where I currently do not know very much. One issue I might face is trying to find a time to schedule. It require a coordination with the air traffic control staff and the airport manager’s office.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like it will be a lot of fun! Will you be along side the air traffic controllers while they do their job, or do you have to watch from afar?
DeleteIn my eyes, to position yourself as a researcher you would have to obtain as much background information to be able to mentally place yourself in the setting you've researched. I would like to research a psychology department at an elementary school in my hometown. I worked as a TA in this school, and would like to expand my knowledge in their psychology department. I already know that the psychologists at this school are the best out of all 3 of the elementary schools in my town, and are very highly spoken about. Some problems that I may face, would be confidentiality with the children, and having a set schedule to go and observe.
ReplyDeletei 100% agree about your opinion on research. And that would be so nice that you would go to a school to research kids psychology thats so caring.
DeleteI agree on your response to your research. I think its cool that you're going back to your old elementary school to research and get to know more about psychology and how school systems use it. Plus you get to see some of your old teachers.
DeleteIt's good that you choose a place that you are already familiar with. And you made a good point about the confidentiality of the students.
DeleteI think that positioning yourself as a researcher means doing the background research, observations, and collecting all of the information yourself, and drawing a conclusion from the information collected. I will be collecting my research in the gymnasium in the Tinsley Center during the basketball games and possibly practices. I have been in this gym and I know what it looks like, but that is the only information that I know. An issue that I may face while conducting my research is not being able to observe the players and coaches close enough during games and practices. I want to be able to speak to some of the players and coaches during the games and practices to see how they motivate each other and themselves, but I am not certain that I will have the permission to do that. Another issue, which is connected in a way to the first issue, is interference. I do not want to interfere with the players concentration during the game, and I do not want to interfere with the coaches doing their job.
ReplyDeleteTo position one’s self as a researcher one must be able to gather all information and different perspectives they have encountered and then being able to explain to others. The researcher must understand their findings, as well as their audience. The specific place I plan to do my ethnography on is this little café bagel place in Bridgewater square. The things I already know about the café are that it seems to very welcoming and relaxing, not only that but they have really good sandwiches. Other than that, I’m pretty clueless. The issues I might face when conducting my research is making sure I fully grasp the purpose/meaning of this project when I enter the café. I want to make sure when doing my research, I’m researching the proper material instead of writing down what I think is right. Not only that, but when I have to interview a worker, I want to make sure I'm asking all the right questions that will properly contribute to my project.
ReplyDeleteThe cafe is a great choice because of the location. I've been there and liked it a lot!
DeleteTo position myself as a researcher means I need to go into the place I’m studying and get information on all of the things that happen. Try to gather data that shows what happens there. I need to then study everything that I’ve gathered. To be a researcher I need to see and also understand what happens. I’ll be doing my research at the Bridgewater police station. I know a good amount about the police station, like the basics of what goes on during the day but I’d like to go in more depth. One of the biggest problem I might face during the research is getting to the police station.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to have trouble getting there, then I don't think it is a good idea to make that your place because you're whole grade is riding on the research of this. Even though you have great ideas and ambitions I think you should have a plan b in case this doesn't work out successfully for you.
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ReplyDeleteAs a researcher you must observe and examine the information you encounter. You must study all the standpoints of the research that you are viewing. The specific place where I am going to do my ethnography is at the Bridgewater Police Station. I know the station was founded in 1915 and the police chief of Bridgewater is Chief Christopher Delmonte. I also know there are 32 police officers working at this department. Some issues I might face conducting my research at the Bridgewater Police Station are that it could be difficult to interview all the police officers or some officers might not want to be interviewed. Another issue that can occur is that there could be multiple emergencies that the officers have to tend too that I don’t get a chance to observe/talk to them.
The positive thing about observing a police station is you not only get an idea of what it is like to be working from a police officer, but you really get a feel of the atmosphere in the station as well. I also believe that that would definitely be a good place to do your research on.
DeleteYour knowledge of the police station is outstanding. It'll be nice to do your research at a place that is so familiar to you. I also agree with your difficulties because in hectic situations or serious situations the station might not want to be bothered. On the bright side though during serious situations it will be nice to witness and see how everyone reacts.
DeleteYou have not a great job thinking about what you already know about your location.
DeleteWhat it would be like to position myself as a researcher is that I would have to gather information about something that I am very passionate about. I would learn the behavior and atmosphere of the guidance office and learn how the operation works there. I know that to be a guidance counselor you need to be dedicated and nurturing in order to help patience in what they need. The things I am worried about in studying this is I won't be able to be in the room when they are talking one to one so I don't want to run out of material for all the papers we have to write this semester.
ReplyDeleteI agree with getting information you feel passionate about,
DeleteI think you should definitely still go for it, there can be ways to get around getting information without being directly in the room. It's great you want to help others!
DeleteTo position your self as a researcher means to study a place or a topic and gather enough information and knowledge on that topic to properly inform others who are interested in what you are researching. I want to visit New Bedford airport for my researcher topic in aviation. I hope to answer any questions the class has about aviation or the New Bedford airport its self, and i might even be able to learn some things about aviation i didn't know. In particular i hope to be able to see the control tower. I would also like to walk on the ramp and see how basic operations are carried out at a terminal.
ReplyDeleteWhen positioning yourself as a researcher, it means to gain all the information and facts possible to back-up what you're researching. Not only gaining this information, a researcher also has to make sure to create unbiased opinions on the material being studied. I am specifically doing my ethnography research on non-profit organizations located in Bridgewater, although I do not know much about the area I am studying, I plan to gain insight into the atmosphere of this organization. Hopefully this will give me more insight into my major, communications. I hope to learn how organizations like these work collectively as a group. The issues I am faced with are getting to this specific organization, as well as not knowing what exactly I will be looking for exactly in these observations.
ReplyDeleteBeing a researcher means that you gather information, prepare it for the audience that you will be presenting it too and make sure that you cite all of it properly. The place that i will be doing is a physical therapy office. It is about four minutes away from my house and i already know one of the therapist that works there. They already said it was fine for me to come. I know that it is a rehab center for injuries and deals with all kinds of people. It is a friendly environment but it also gets intense to get people to be where they need to be.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I think you will be able to gather a lot of useful information by going to a physical therapy office. It is actually quite ironic seeing as you recently got the surgery done on your knee. from your own personal experiences and interviews you will be able to put together a great report.
DeletePutting yourself in the position of a researcher is being motivated to find information. after all that's what research is for. for my Ethnography site I am choosing a pipefitting construction site. I already know the basics of the job; requiring math and measuring skills, welding skills, soldering skills, and physical strength. The only issue I see myself getting into is the guys working not wanting to give me the time of day. If it were me working and some college kid wanted to talk to me I'd tell him to hit the road.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that sometimes they seem like they don't want to help you. But I wish you the best in your topic.
DeleteTo position yourself as a researcher you should include many different points of view including yourself and the points of view of informants and third person point of view to report on background information. They are three types of positions which are fixed, subjective and textual. The place I am doing my ethnography on is a small business in Bridgewater. I will most likely be a frozen yogurt small business. I know that they must keep the place clean and have a friendly environment. The issues I might face is not gathering enough information.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work referencing the reading.
DeleteTo position yourself as a researcher, being motivated to research and gather information. It also means for you to gather the information and study and prepare it for say a presentation. There are three types of positions: fixed, textual, and subjective. That's why I am doing my ethnography project at the New Bedford Regional Airport. There I hope to learn more things about aviation and get to observe what goes on down there. I particularly would like to be in the control tower or work on the ground to see how everything is managed.
ReplyDeleteJared, excellent work referencing the text and explaining what you learned in the reading.
DeleteTo be able to position yourself as a researcher, you must be able to dedicate time and energy on gathering detailed information. I am a criminal justice major and for my ethnography report I chose the Brockton Court House as my location to do my field working. It is open to the public and I think I could gather a lot of information by going in, sitting down and listening to different court cases as well as trying to interview anyone that will allow me to. A problem I could possibly face, as well as many of the other students in the class is getting people who are actually willing to take time and do an interview with me. Especially with the field I am interested in, I need to come up with questions that can get me good information but cannot cross the line or become too personal. being in a court house i'm not too sure who will be willing to take the time and talk with me for a bit but I sure will try to get some people to open up and answer my questions.
ReplyDeleteTo position yourself as a researcher you need to need to put yourself in the proper environment for your research so that you are able to usefully observe and take in information. Finding the proper place to take in good information is essential so you need to position yourself well to succeed in your research. I will be doing my ethnography at the Tinsley athletic center. I don’t know too much about this place besides that it holds the basketball court and the fitness center. The only difficulty I could think of is that if there is multiple snow days on days that I would be visiting since the Tinsley center would be closed.
ReplyDeleteSInce it is on campus you will have many times you can access it so snow days shouldn't make a big impact.
DeleteTo position yourself as a researcher you need to be able to absorb and take in all the information you have gathered. You need to be able to take the information that you got and be able to present them to people who don't know anything about it so that they can understand it. I am doing my enthnography on the aquarium. I know that the people working there need to know information about the fish and creatures they have there. They also have to be trained, especially if they are working with live animals doing shows. The problem I might face is getting to the aquarium, I live on campus but I am tight on money for multiple trips on the trip to Boston.
ReplyDeleteTo be a researcher you need to be willing to take out the time and effort. It also means that you need to gather all the information before hand so you can back up what you're researching on. I'm hoping to do my ethnography at the children's center here on campus. I already know that it's a day care/ preschool. The ages range up to 6 years old. There are also many student helpers that go to this center and help the teachers out. My issue is that they haven't got back to me yet so I'm hoping they'd let me do my research here.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the children's center will be very helpful, you will get a grip of your area of interest and plus its located in our campus. I hope that they will let you conduct the research. Good luck.
DeleteIn order to be a researcher you must put a lot of time and effort in the position. You must be able to prepare the information in a way so that people who don't know the topic can at least get a sense of it. I will be doing my ethnography on the children s center I just started working there recently. My issues might by time, having enough time to do everything I could on this.
ReplyDeleteTo position yourself as a researcher you is to open your mind to seeing the the different perspectives there are to receiving, recording, land projecting information about a specific topic. It takes commitment and patience to gather and configure that information effectively. The place I am choosing will be Massport's Administrative Office. I know that there are a number of different figureheads running the operation and it might be difficult to get in touch with them due to their busy operation.
ReplyDeleteThe act of positioning as a researcher consists of going into the field of research to gather essential information in order to obtain answers or characteristics about a particular topic or place. The specific place that i will be doing my ethnography on will be in a Hospital. I already know that it's a public site, but i will need authorization in order to investigate the internal perspective. I might find barriers when conducting my research because i have to respect privacies protocols of the hospital.
ReplyDeleteAs a researcher, you have the position of studying and observing what or who you are doing research on and gather information from it. Then, you have to present your information to others. I will be doing my ethnography on a middle school. All I know about this place is that the school teaches 7 & 8 graders. Some issues that I might face in conducting my research is that if I were to observe a classroom, the students might act differently with me being there and I wouldn't be able to see them act naturally.
ReplyDeleteTo position yourself as a researcher means that you need to take time to visit a location in the field of what you are studying. You need to observe what is going on and how things are done. You then need to analyze and understand the data so that you can go on to teach people about what was learned or apply it to your job or everyday life. I will be observing a Boston Public High School Special Ed.class. What I already know is that it can be emotional, requires a lot of patience, and includes students with all spectrums of disabilities. Some complications I can have are snow days or school closings and not gathering enough information.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it mean to position yourself as a researcher?
ReplyDeleteIt mean to do prior research about yourself and the site. Knowing what you are going to face and your comfort levels is important when researching a place. I going to the radio station on campus and I know it is successful station. It is popular locally. I might face not getting enough info to work with for my papers or just in general. I might feel uninterested, but I email the director and just waiting for a response to go and interview the station and learn what they are about and how its run specifically.
Good work reading Nataly. That is exactly what it means. I think you will be okay when it comes to gathering data. I have had students study their before.
DeleteWhat it means to position yourself as a researcher, means you are able to take the time out of your day to review the field of study and you are able to require key info about the place or thing you researcher. I decided to do a local business in my neighborhood called Mikes Donuts. What i already know about the place is that it is a family run business and they have a very loyal clientele. The only problem I will have is being able to get there, because its all the way in Boston, but i think it will be fine.
ReplyDeleteTerrick- how is this related to your career/major? Also, if you think accessing it will be a problem you might want to consider another location.
DeleteWhat does it mean to position yourself as a researcher?
ReplyDeleteTo position myself as a researcher it means for me to go out of my comfort zone and do some studies. Doing this, I am going to try my hardest to acquire as much knowledge as possible so I have a better understanding of my topic. Because my major is business management, I am going to visit my grandfathers Insurance company that he owns. I think this will benefit me because it will not only show me the struggles of owning your own business but the rewards of it. An issue I might find is that I don't want to own an Insurance company so some of the information might be a little different.
What does it mean to position yourself as a researcher?
ReplyDeleteWhat specific place will you be doing your ethnography on? What do you already know about this place? What issues might you face in conducting your research at this place?
To be a researcher, it means to be intently observant with the goal of obtaining new information. I will be conduction my ethnography at Bridgewater State Universities Aviation Training Center as a "back seater". I know flight schools very well, but I am new to this specific Aviation Training Center. I plan to observe various teaching styles of instructors to aid in my studies to obtain my Certified Flight Instructor's Certificate. I will face scheduling and weather issues while at my ethnography, but there are daily opertunities to fly so this should not be an issue
Posted on behalf of Zhenya:
ReplyDeleteI think that to position yourself as a researcher means that you have
to be able to place yourself naturally in a setting that you are going
to observe. It also means to stay very organized by taking clear and
structured notes, and be able to relay this information to any
audience. I will be doing my research in a special education classroom
at the local bridgewater high school. I already know some of the staff
there so it will be easy to communicate with them if I have any
problems along the way. An issue I may face is getting to the high
school because I would need to car pool with someone. So, if anyone is
going to the high school, even if weare not in the same class, def lmk
if you would like to drive over together! That would be awesome
In order to position yourself as a researcher you must be able to describe things to a tee in your own words. What would the point be in researching something then have no clue on how you are going to report back this information. The one specific thing I’ll be doing my ethnography on is the BSU hockey team. I am personally on the team so I will blend in the crowd very well and they will not even know I am doing this project until I start the interviews. One difficulty I would have with this would probably be time management where I would have to be able to take notes while preparing for a game or before or after a practice.
ReplyDelete