Dang it's been a long time since I've written a journal entry. Let's see if I can get this ball rolling again.
These last couple of weeks, I have been working on my IRB protocol. IRB stands for Institutional Review Board.
"Brigham Young University’s Institutional Review Board is responsible for the review of all human subjects research conducted at BYU, or conducted elsewhere by University faculty, staff, or students. It also reviews research by investigators from other institutions or agencies who are working in conjunction with BYU."
During my IRB journey, there have been many frustrations, along with many temptations to simplify my project dramatically so my IRB protocol would be easier to compose. I have debated not interviewing children as part of my field study experience so I don't have to fill out as much paper work. I have felt as if everytime I revised my protocol, I still wasn't making any progress and I was doomed to be denied to go anywhere ever.
This experience has put a whole new meaning on "learner-owned education." If I want this project to truly be what I want it to be, and if I want to take away as much as I can from the field study experience, then I need to be able to take responsibility and deal with the nitty-gritty details. There isn't really an easy way out for situations, and if I find one, then it probably isn't going to help me as much in the long run. These frustrations with my project and its development is, I'm sure, a glimpse of what I may feel in the field, because I'm sure there will be many speed bumps along the way. If I don't learn to press forward and deal with frustration now, then I will have a hard time in the field.
So here is the conclusion I have been coming to: I will not yield to the temptation to eliminate interviewing children about parenting for my project. However, I have decided that I would like to interview and observe families all together, as opposed to a more random approach of having a quota for age groups. I would like to, instead, have a quota for families interviewed and observed. This way, I can better see how opinions about parenting change cross-generationally. It would be amazing if I could find a family that had an elder family member living with them, or families that have young children and perhaps an adolescent or something along those lines. I want to be able to include all age groups, but more importantly, I want to be able to include all family members.
Overcoming Ophelia Syndrome is something that will need to be done before I go in the field, so I can better adopt a learner-owned educational process, take more responsibility for my experience, and not freak out when things don't go as planned. The IRB journey that I have been on, and am still on, has helped me change my perspective a little when it comes to this, and has helped me realize who I am vs. who I will need to be in times of project crisis.
I am sure that Alice Jones knows many families in McLeod Ganj. There's a start. She said she'd love to talk to you. You are amazing and you've never run away from a good competition; it's just harder when it's yourself with whom you are having one. Set this up as if you were preparing this trip for someone else and get everything together that would maximize their experience. Then surprise yourself! It will be the most awesome experience in your college career!
ReplyDeleteDo not worry, the IRB is almost done! The rest of the prep class is all down hill from here.
ReplyDeleteInterviewing children is a tricky one. It guarantees that you will go full board, but that is not necessarily a bad thing the way we look at it in the prep class. You really just need to do what it is you want to do, and if interviewing children is fundamental to your research, then there you have it. It will take more effort, but it will pay off.
I went full board last year because I was working with children. It stressed me out, but in the end it all worked out. I was really grateful that I was able to interview them when I got to the field.
Also, way to pull in the Ophelia Syndrome stuff we have talked about! Great linking going on here. Love it!