Walking and Other Field Research Methods
I was recently invited to present walking as a method to geography graduates at Queen's at their GPHY870 Historical and Cultural Issues in Fieldwork course themed "The Field and the City."
Slides with notes as well as presenter notes are found below.
"Life is always walking up to us and saying, 'Come on in, the living's fine,' and what do we do? Back off and take its picture" – Russell Baker
<< Le doctorant en géographie à l'Université Queen, Ronald Roy, étudie, en ce moment à Sudbury, l'immigration francophone. Sa thèse porte sur une comparaison entre ce qui se passe dans la ville minière et celle de Moncton. Il est toujours à la recherche de participants. Vous pouvez le joindre par courriel: ronald.roy@queensu.ca >>
http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/Grands_Lacs_Cafe/2011-2012/chronique.asp...
I use three methods in my current research on Francophone identity and place: Interviews, Walkabouts and Diagramming (mental mapping).
One-on-one interviews:
The interview is helpful for delving into and attempting to understand complex behaviours, experiences, and opinions and it enables the discovery of what is relevant to participants. Due to the face-to-face verbal interchange the interviewee can tell me if a question is misplaced and my interpretation can be checked and scrutinized by participants. All interviews are conducted in French unless requested in english.
Walkabouts:
What I call a “walkabout” is a form of one-on-one interview while walking. Participants and I walk within places such as festivals and events as well as everyday places like community centres and public areas. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of the experiences of French-speaking immigrants in Francophone places.
Group diagramming:
Groups of participants are asked to map the French-speaking places of the city – these are the locations where participants speak French in their every day lives. We then discuss experiences within these places. This is a participatory exercise working with rather than on people and seeks to give voice to participants and to encourage dialogue amongst participants (photo and diagram used with permission from a previous research project).
Attention << nouveaux arrivants >> à Sudbury!
Souhaitez-vous partager vos expériences dans votre nouvelle communauté francophone?
Faites partie d'une importante étude de recherche sur les expériences des immigrants d'expression française dans Sudbury.
Si vous avez répondu OUI à ces questions, vous pourriez participer à une entrevue qui examine les expériences des immigrants d'expression française.
Cette étude est menée par le Département de géographie de l'Université Queen's, Kingston, Ontario. S'il vous plaît contacter Ronald Roy au ronald.roy@queensu.ca ou au 613-583-9161 pour participer.
Pour plus d'informations, téléchargez la lettre d'information içi: http://bit.ly/p2IIBM
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I was invited to address the topic of Gentrification during this term’s first-year human geography overview course at Queen’s University. This marks the first time I delivered a lecture to over 400 students as well as a first in that my lecture was video captured for current students as well as for the next-term when the course is offered again.
View my presentation here:
http://public.iwork.com/document/?d=GPHY101Gentrification.key&a=p22467679
My presentation with notes and Web links is here:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid...
Attention nouveaux arrivants!
Une recherche importante se fait à Sudbury!
Je vous invite à une session de recherche jeudi prochain, le 28 juillet de 17 h à 18 h !
Venez en grands nombres, emmené la famille! Un goûter sera servi. GRATUIT!
