Category: – Armchair Analysis

Long ago, at an informal workshop, I used this image to explain to young researchers the ideas behind qualitative data analysis. Here are some random thoughts from that time… What do you see? Most saw the old lady, a few who knew this puzzle saw both. And those who could not see both, after a… Continue reading Data Analysis: Learning from optical illusions

Children do it best – launch into a story when asked a question. I believe it is a natural thing for adults could do it too, given time and comfort in the situation. Some links I have been hoarding on stories (for future reading, I promised myself at the time of saving them long long… Continue reading Stories on stories

Of late, I have been spending a lot of time on photography sites looking at some wonderful stuff and looking for tips ands tricks in the process. One thing I never could do with a camera is point it at someone’s face and capture a momnt or an emotion, or even just that face… (portrait,… Continue reading On qualitative research and photography

Or… how does one quantify the human mind? I recently (too recently for the memory to not be painful, so bear with me) filled in long questionnaire to get my personality type assessed. When I say long, I mean the thingy had over 500 questions. Yes, ouch. Ouch is what I said, along with true… Continue reading Why 70? Why not 68? Or 72?

Lorenz at Antropologi has a very interesting link to play as research method – how do we best get data from children? Using insights gained from observing children at play, getting them to produce stories and drawings can be much more productive than merely getting verbal data from them. It keeps their interest levels high… Continue reading Play as research

I have just got back from an extremely relaxing and pleasant overnight cruise on the Superstar Libra. We set sail on Friday night (the 20th), far away from the heat and dust – and noise – of Bombay during Diwali and returned the next day at 2 p.m. Here is a detailed account of my… Continue reading Going local… to what extent?

It is Diwali time in India – the festival of lights – and also the time when boxes of sweets are given to friends and family, dry fruits and nuts are consumed and offered to guests (October-November marking the onset of winter) and gifts are exchanged. This is traditional… And this is what Cadbury has… Continue reading Tradition to suit the times

I keep going back to read Grant McCracken’s views on the problems of what he calls partial ethnography. In the partial view, the ethnographer becomes, in effect, the marketer’s surrogate, a way for the marketer to see into the life of the consumer, his or her eyes and ears in place. The presumption here is… Continue reading Qualitative research – being more than eyes and ears

I keep coming across this debate in ethnography methods about which kind of researcher is better: an external expert, researcher, observer, stranger to the local context. providing an etic perspective to the research and data needs? or a local informant – researcher, comfortable and familiar with the socio-cultural context, informing the research process with an… Continue reading The ethnographer as an outsider