Interviews and Focus Groups complete

 

Hello all,

Today I have completed my last interview. In the end I decided to do two interviews and one small focus group. I found alongside collecting information from artefacts this has given me more than enough information to analyse. 

The issue I am struggling with now is collating my information that I have gathered. I am trying to find common topics and themes to put information together. I feel the main reason I am finding this hard is the fact that everyone has their own personal experiences and it has been great to hear such a variety of points of view and opinions but it is making it more difficult now as I am looking for similarities to create subheadings within the broadness of my question. If anyone who is completing module three now has any suggestions on how they grouped/ looked at their data, this would be very helpful. 

Having looked at literature that refers to collecting and grouping data, I have discovered that creating an abridged transcript has been easiest for gathering the spoken information which has make it quicker to pint point key ideas given. 

I am thinking of putting my key ideas that have been presented in the interviews and within literature into a form of mind map as a clear way of presenting my data before analyzing it. I am unsure if this is the best approach to take but it will allow me to find connections, similarities and differences and to present my data all in one place. 

Any help here would be greatly appreciated. If you are a fellow module three student it would be great to hear your way or ideas of grouping data. 

Module Three Skype - 29th Sept 6pm

In this evenings Skype discussion we talked about where we all are in terms of carrying out our inquiry. 

We agreed that COVID-19 has altered the way we collect data in terms of not being able to carry out interviews in person. Additionally, many of us stated how we are working full time now whereas before lockdown we had more time to focus on the degree work. 

I asked how everyone found writing the questions for the focus groups/ interviews. It was stated that the broader the question the more of a response was given by participants. Adesola suggested that a great way of asking a question was to state "I experienced this..., what's your experience been...". This makes the participants feel comfortable in sharing their experiences after hearing yours, also this makes it more personal. 

Again we spoke about the importance of keeping a reflective journal. Not only for our personal development but also for information from interviews and notes that have been made throughout the data collection. This makes it easier to collate information and link it to themes, literature and own experiences. Many people have focused on themes and collecting data in categories.

Ethically, we looked at how things have changed. COVID again has caused issues in terms of recognising and appreciating where participants are working within their practise and their own privileges. Everyone has had a different impact due to this pandemic and questions that were at first going to be asked may now be more sensitive than before. This may lead to creating a different procedure towards asking certain questions. Additionally, a negative cloud may overhang certain responses because of the arts being so effected. There must be a consideration of participants emotions and distress in this time. 

This call was great to see how everyone is getting along with their inquiry. I found it useful in terms of finding out how everyone is collecting and storing their data. Thank you to all who attended. 

Questioning and reflection - Skype Call 23rd Sept 9pm

To begin we all introduced ourselves - stated what module we are on, what we are currently doing and what we would like to discuss in the call. 

I suggested looking at how COVID-19 is affecting daily practise and if this is having an impact on planning or carrying out the inquiry. Helen offered to start a blog post regarding this topic as it could create a large conversation and will give the opportunity to give people a space to offer their experiences.

We then discussed the idea of questioning, looking at what questions are good for, how we structure them and what are their intentions? A few tips were given from module three students about interview questions. These included starting with broader questions to warm up a focus group or ease into an interview and then semi-structuring the questions more to create a deeper understanding around more specific topics. Overall the notion of questioning others is to gain information and gather different views and experiences. 

We then looked at what is it to question without the purpose of getting a direct answer. By asking ourselves questions we challenge our assumptions. This can help us to analyse our own practise and its relevance and then further open up to different views and ideas. Avoiding assumptions also allows us to avoid bias. We are all learning by questioning so avoiding a narrow pathway is crucial in order to open up space for more knowledge. 

In relation to my inquiry, I have found it crucial to look beyond my immediate subject area and find out more by asking questions on the broader topic of my inquiry. Although I am studying inequality in relation to dance, I am finding it important to increase my knowledge on inequality in general. I'm currently seeking answers through feminist literature from authors from various backgrounds-  not specifically dance as such. This knowledge this will allow myself to have more background information on the inquiry topic which can help shape my understanding. 

The idea of reflection was then discussed. Reflection can be done by questioning actions or can create personal questions. I mentioned how useful keeping a reflective journal can be and that I have found it significant in monitoring progress in terms of knowledge and thoughts. It is essential to constantly question yourself even if, like myself, you are in the process of questioning others. This can allow time to look at and analyse our personal processes and focus on developmental aspects as well as manageability. 

From this discussion it has highlighted to me how important it is to focus on the journey of learning throughout this course. I can get hung up on meeting deadlines and focusing on the work at hand instead of taking a step back to see progress and reflect on how I have developed from what I have learnt.

Please comment below if you missed this Skype and have any further questions regarding the discussion. It would be great to hear if anyone has specific questions they ask themselves which they use to reflect on often. I find it useful to ask myself 'how has this impacted my learning?' after reading literature or watching a video as it focuses my thoughts and guides my future research.

Module Three Begins...

 

Hello everyone. 

New term, new ideas! 

I have had a one-to-one tutorial with Helen this week and it has focused my mind before starting with module three. After discussing my intentions and visions I can already see new paths and different ideas forming regarding my inquiry proposal. I am excited to start researching and exploring further into the topic of inequality in dance. 

I have noticed immediately that I am focusing too much on specific genders within my proposal. Looking at feminism, I have previously felt that it is essential to look at genders in terms of their different responses. After reflection, gender is not key in my inquiry and I believe I am conforming too much to the cut-dry definitions of gender- male and female. Inequality can happen to anyone and I want to examine how diverse it can be. This means my research will be more all-inclusive and encompass a wider range of perspectives. 

One thing myself and Helen did discuss were ideal terms to use when addressing participants in relation to keeping my research neutral. When I carry out my focus groups I will create an open forum in which I will address all participants as 'performing artists' as opposed to 'female performers' or 'male performers'. This allows all participants to openly express their views without having a gender label. I am unsure how this will effect my analysis but I believe it's essential to hear every response in a neural manor and without any preconceived presumptions. I plan to keep my research ethical throughout. It will be interesting to hear how others in module three are ensuring ethical considerations are applied within their proposal. Please comment below. 

Within these first few weeks of the module, I will focus on reading more into feminism, not just in a performance based setting, but at feminism in general. If anyone reading my blog has any recommendations on feminist literature I would appreciate your suggestions. It would be great to hear from others regarding their inquiry and if there are any connections that we can discuss or share knowledge on. 

Good luck to all starting module three as well as those who are new or returning to the course. 

Module Two Reflection

Module two completed. Being in lockdown has meant that this has been my main focus for the past few weeks. Although I am glad I have submitted my work, it was giving me focus and distraction from the current reality. I hope everyone is staying strong and positive. I have attached a thought that I had when reflecting on my module two topic of feminism...


As my topic bases on the ideas of feminism, I have actually just began questioning whether or not I can class myself as a feminist? The gender roles in dance are so cut-dry, you either perform as the male or the female in many cases (obviously there are exceptions where the gender of the dancer does not matter). Throughout my training and in my daily practise, I have upheld training as a female dancer, doing pointe, and dancing as the female role. I have always applied for jobs as a 'female dancer' with there only being the two options. So this has made me question why have I conformed to such non-inclusive roles throughout my career. The fact that I class myself as a female is irrelevant to the fact that in general dance does not give individuals the option to decide how they want to identify. Dance is based on your physicality therefore if a male wanted to identify as a female or somewhere in-between, it would not be accepted purely for the aesthetics of traditional dance.


It would be interesting to hear anyone's opinions to this reflection I had.

Skype Call 3rd April- Module Two

Hello all,

We initially started the conversation by all sharing where we were on our individual inquiries. This gave me reassurance as everyone else is still working on their inquiry plan and literature reviews, tweaking and altering them. We all agreed we were unsure on what to put in our critical reflection but because we all had little to say on this Adesola suggested we discuss topics we had more opinions and experience on.

Firstly Alison explained about her mock interview that she had done with her friend. Her conclusion was that no matter whether the interview goes well or not, the information that is given is useful no matter how much was given. Try and find the positives and reflect on the responses. It was interesting to hear Alison's experience with her mock interview, it has inspired me to also carry one out because I could tell that she had learnt so much from doing so.

We discussed the use of video verses audio recording interviews. Recording the conversations can allow us as interviewers to study the body language but also can effect the responses from the participants. Notes could be written down about the body language however, but couldn't be looked back on. A reflective journal was mentioned to help when interviewing as it allows us to note down how we feel throughout the conversations. This can be used in conjunction when analysing the interviews, giving our own personal thoughts on how the responses effect our views in relation to our chosen topics.

The discussion of how we will display and analyse our data was mentioned. It was interesting to hear how people are planning on making it visual, for example using charts and graphs, but for others it being qualitative makes it hard. We also discussed what the data we collect will show. Serina mentioned that the absence of data can be powerful because it can highlight what people aren't too sure on that initially we may have thought would be very topical. Additionally, the idea of collecting our data is to enhance ourselves as professionals in our own personal practise and reflect on where we stand on this topic.

Finally, we discussed how and if we had mentioned the current situation of COVID-19 in our inquiry proposal in terms of how this effects how we carry out data. For some individuals, they have planned on carrying out observations which is probably the most effected form of data collections as interviews can be held via Web 2.0. YouTube is an option, but this is a harder way of looking at the class, not physically being there. For myself personally, it doesn't effect my dad collection method as I am using focus groups and interviews, they will just need to be carried out through the internet.

Overall, it was interesting to hear how everyone is getting on with their data collection and ideas for analysis. We went round and all mentioned why we found the discussion important. For me, the key part of the conversation and that what related to my current position in the module, was the discussion on how everyone is collecting and reflecting on data. I need to decide how I am going to reflect on my own data. The idea of the reflective journal was a highlight for me. This idea would allow myself to make notes and note down our own feelings that I can look back on. I will look into this...

An important point that was mentioned also was how important it is to notice the absence of data, this highlights what our participants know and don't know and what opinions they have on what topics. Adesola stated a key idea, 'absences as data not absence of data'.

Thank you for reading my blog post, I hope it is useful for those who did not attend the session.

Progress Report

I have found that making myself lists of jobs to do each day has given me a focus, no matter how small they may seem. Today I was able to tick off 'Approved MORE form' as my ethics application was accepted. For the last few weeks, I have been focusing on writing my inquiry proposal alongside filling this form out so I feel that this is an achievement as it has now been submitted.

I have found it helpful to fill out my MORE forms alongside writing my proposal as it has given me guidance as to what is important to mention when writing out the study. Additionally, when changes have been made in the MORE forms, it makes it easier to alter the proposal to match up as it is important to follow the forms when carrying out the study in module three to avoid creating ethical errors.

When looking into the ethical procedures for data collection, I have noticed that the Equality Act in particular plays an important role in my research. Obviously for my study, I will be ensuring that I do not breech any rights or protection laws to enforce equality between all my participants. However, my topic of study questions the enforcement of this law within the performance industry. Although I will be obliging by this law, I want to discover if this is the case for working professionals and if they feel to what extent the law has been broken by. In particular, I am looking at how the roles that females have within performance, being quite traditional, lead to unwanted behaviours from co-workers, directors and teachers.

I have attached a link to a video that explains clearly the definition of discrimination within the Equality Act... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZOf92bIGM4&feature=emb_rel_end.
I think this creates a clear understanding of where the lines are to be drawn in terms of what is and isn't appropriate in the workplace.

Today has been successful in completing the MORE forms, onwards and upwards for the proposal submission. I can now put more focus on the literature review and on improving areas of the study plan.

I would appreciate any comments from those of you who have submitted their MORE forms and how they feel towards respecting the Equality Act.

Thank you for reading, stay safe and happy!

Skype Call Module Two / 20th March

Todays skype call had a module two focus and we had to each explain our proposals and discuss where our inquiry would take us in terms of collecting data and finding information to analyse. Each of us had one minute in which to explain our proposal to each other and then we all had the opportunity to ask three questions on how we are going to carry out the proposal.

Serina discussed her ideas on mental health and how there is limited support for dancers in particular when comparing to sportsmen and athletes. I found it interesting because there are so many comparisons to athletes and dancers physically. It was asked whether she will focus on looking at points that effect these such as economic disadvantages or if the support simply isn't out there in terms of training or people who can help dancers in particular with their mental health. She compared injuries, athletes, Jessica Ennis in particular got support and recovered from an injury and went on to win gold. Dancers however are told that 'the show must go on' and there is less of a focus on recovering from injury.

Alison then presented her proposal, focusing on freelance workers in the industry and how they can progress professionally. She discussed how freelances focus on teaching instead of focusing on themselves individually and achieving in their personal career.

I then explained my proposal... My inquiry focuses on the physical properties of both genders and how this effects the enforcement of feminism within the performance industry. Looking at the anatomical differences of male and females, men are built stronger and females are naturally more flexible. This creates roles within dance, males for lifting and females for decoration. I am also looking at the sexism within objectify females for their body shape and the ability of pointe shoes etc. Not only am I going to look at these issues but also the positives of being a female in the entertainment industry and how it can empower us and promote femininity.

I stated how I am going to try and arrange focus groups with males and females separately so I can get the opinions from both gender perspectives. This then presented the question of non-binary and transgender individuals and where they fall in my proposal. Obviously as an ethical consideration I would need to encompass all genders and include the option to speak to people who identify in a different way from the social norms. Adesola suggested that when collecting data, instead of assuming individuals are a certain gender, I ask individuals how they identify and then can clasp my participants according to their preferences. This way I can still have focus groups split into genders but still be mindful and not make assumptions.

Thomas spoke about his inquiry of comedy in theatre. The view is on popularity of slapstick in theatre and how has comedy and theatre changed since the millennium. He has prepared some interviews with professionals as well as audience feedback of those who are coming out of watching the comedy shows and why they are watching them. He discussed live harvesting as a way of getting his answers, this needs consent so holds some ethical considerations.

We also discussed the positives of using semi structured interviews as they allow extra information to be added by the interviewee instead of just simply asking closed questions in a structured interview. We cannot rely solely on getting answers from other people as well. Literature is a very important part of finding answers in our inquiry. It expands the range of perspectives. There is also a potential that we interview people who are close to us and have similar views- maybe try to interview people out of our social and working networks.


If anyone has any questions or quires about what was discussed in the skype session, please feel free to comment. It would also be interesting to hear if anyone has any other opinions on my proposal and design of my inquiry or of anyone else's mentioned above and I can forward the comment to them.

Thank you for reading my blog, I wish everyone health during this difficult time. I am finding that attending skype calls and focusing on my degree is giving me a purpose during this time of uncertainty.

Coronavirus impact on the entertainment industry...

Obviously this outbreak has caused crisis globally on so many levels. It has effected everyone's lives in various ways from safety and health concerns to economic issues.

I am going to discuss the issues it has caused specifically to those working in the performance industry. Firstly, every performance needs an audience and currently the public are not allowed to gather in a large group. Many theatres have closed due to this fact already. Additionally, most dancers are self employed meaning if they are unable to work because their contracts are cancelled which means they will not receive money until the pandemic is over (which is an unknown amount of time, potentially months). Another major problem is that many performance contracts are abroad or on sea. With ports and airports on lockdown, people are unable to travel leaving hotels and cruise ships empty.

For me personally, I have been effected in many ways already. I was meant to begin a cruise contract in May which was cancelled. Instead I managed to get a job that began last Sunday in Rhodes working as a dancer touring hotels. However, due to the closure of hotels, I had no choice but to return home after only 24 hours of being in Greece. Luckily I was still able to return home safely as my flights hadn't been cancelled. Currently, I am now in self isolation due to the amount of travel I have undergone in such a sort amount of time. I am also left unemployed until things begin to clear across the world. Luckily for me, I am living with my parents so don't have the pressure of paying rent but I know that is not the case for many individuals.

Looking at the situation on a positive note, I now can put my focus into this degree. Fortunately, doing a distance learning course it allows learning and access to gaining qualifications to still occur.

I wish safety and health to all but mostly to my fellow performers. It's a difficult time so stay safe and positive.

Creating an Inquiry

I realise as I start finding a focus for my inquiry that its important to research a topic that holds interest and sparks questions, making me keen to find more information and expand on what I already know. I have had several thoughts already around what topic of discussion I want to develop and am finding it useful to create mind maps around these ideas. This way it shows me which ideas have potential to be expanded upon and gives me areas of thoughts that link to a common factor.

I have also realised that the knowledge I hold is predominantly from experiences I have been through within my practise. Therefore module two is giving me the opportunity to explore findings from other individuals and scholars that have researched my ideas. Putting the two together will allow me to create deeper questions in which I can explore.

Whilst reading through the handbook, I realised I am unsure in what writing a 'Literature Review' actually was asking from me. After having done some research into how to write one, I am more familiar with the term and it is making the idea of starting on it seem a little lighter.
For those fellow module two starters, I found a useful quote that simplified the idea of a literature review, spoken by Dr John Classen, Biological & Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University...

'Existing literature is the story so far. You have to know where you are before you can go forward'.

Welcome back skype... Friday 24th Jan.

Beginning of Module Two...

I attended the welcome back skype call to give myself a refresher before progressing with my degree.

Initially, an introduction was given for the Module One beginners. I also found this useful to remind myself of how the programme runs. There was a discussion on how we build a community of communication through skype calls, contact with supervisors and blog posts. Some individuals from Module Two presented how useful blogs can be as they allow us to present our findings and ideas on our own practise as well as providing a safe space to share and comment on each others ideas.

Helen and Adesola then went on to talk through the uses of UniHub presenting ideas on how to use the resources effectively to enhance our own learning. Adesola suggested that we use the glossary at the back of the handbook and figure out our own views on the language used consistently within the course. This allows us to be in charge of our own work and create a personal response, helping to engage with our practise.

We then presented our thoughts and suggestions for those individuals starting the course. People proposed ideas such as how useful the blogs can be to stay connected, the recourses such as the library can help to provide books that relate directly to the course and also the importance of attending the skype calls to allow yourself to discuss ideas and findings. Using the study plan is also key in keeping your timings and records of progression in your studies.

To finish the skype call, we all introduced ourselves to allow everyone to present their practises and reasons for participation on the course.


Looking at beginning my Module Two, I have read through the handbook and can see that it provides a progression from the first module and expands on the skills I have acquired from analysing my areas of learning. This module allows the creation of our own personal project, giving us a focus that can be linked to a particular interest or aspect of our practise. I also feel that it will allow a strong consideration of ethics which I find interesting specifically in the entertainment industry.

I am really looking forward to beginning this next chapter in my studies and look forward to expanding my knowledge. I am going to create a focus for myself to try and commit to throughout this module. I am going to participate more in blog posts by commenting and getting involved in discussions through this format and also I am going to try and do more research though expanding my reading lists as I feel this is a skill I need to work on which will help me gain knowledge.