[nabs-l] Seeking Opinions on Blind Research Techniques

Fri Jan 27 05:10:48 UTC 2017

Hi Elizabeth,

Well I was imagining the idea is to look at interactions between 
students and others, which would involve other people telling the 
students that they have to take certain things on there tray or 
that they haven't eaten enough and such.  Measuring how much of 
the student's food has actually been eaten, would, as you 
suggest, probably require sighted assistance.  And just going and 
looking around hoping something will strike you as interesting is 
bad research design.  You should start out with a research 
question before you go to your first observation.  Of course 
something unexpected might come up, and you might change your 
mind about what to study, but whether your sighted or not, to 
make systematic observations you have to know what your looking 
for to make sure you make a note of each instance.  Typically 
anthropologists have to get a grant to fund research, which 
requires having looked at the relevant literature and come up 
with a research question and a detailed plan to answer it.  Given 
that you are deciding what to focus your research on, you can 
pick a question that can be answered non-visually.  Perhaps 
something about the dynamics of conversations among the students?  
Or something that involves you asking the students about their 
opinions of the food that day or about their classes?  Or 
listening for staff interactions with students?

Best,
Karl

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Elizabeth Mohnke via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 27 Jan 2017 03:53:13 +0000
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Seeking Opinions on Blind Research 
Techniques

Hello Karl,

I do not understand how someone could tell what someone is or is 
not eating based on pressure and authority figures. Is there any 
way you could explain this to me? I am not quite sure how 
conversations alone could tell me what someone actually eats or 
leaves behind on their plates or in their lunch box.

As for directing people to look for certain things, I would 
believe this would be rather difficult in the beginning as I 
would simply be observing while eating lunch with my first grade 
buddy. I would simply be making general observations about what 
is going on around me so that I could possibly find something to 
focus my research paper on. However, if I am only looking for 
specific things in the beginning then I could miss out on other 
things that might be important for my research.

So would I simply ask other people to describe what is going on 
visually around me? And if I am not able to find some sort of 
visual assistant, then how else could I complete this project? We 
need to observe during twelve lunch periods that are about an 
hour and a half long. I currently do not have the money to pay 
anyone to assist me, and I am already at odds with my 
disabilities office regarding readers for other classes.

I would really like to be able to conduct the research on my own 
rather than depend on the observations of others for my research. 
I think it is one thing to have someone assist you by 
interpreting words and a completely different thing to have 
someone assist you by interpreting actual observations. It seems 
like they would be the one doing the research and not me.

Thanks,
Elizabeth
-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Karl 
Martin Adam via NABS-L
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2017 10:19 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Cc: Karl Martin Adam <kmaent1 at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Seeking Opinions on Blind Research 
Techniques

Hi Elizabeth,

You would still be going to the sight, listening to the 
conversations that go on, paying attention to all the other 
auditory cues you can etc.  Taking someone with you could work 
something like when an actual anthropologist uses a translator 
except instead of translating one language to another, they would 
be translating specific visual information that you asked them 
for (like what the students eat, how much they leave on their 
plates, etc.).  I think given your list of topics, a lot of this 
isn't visual anyway, so you could do this on your own.  All the 
things involving authority over food choices and peer pressure, 
for instance, involve paying attention to conversations, which 
you could do at least as well as any sighted person.

HTH,
Karl

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Elizabeth Mohnke via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org Date sent: Fri, 27 Jan 2017 02:17:12 +0000
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Seeking Opinions on Blind Research 
Techniques

Hello Justin,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my message. Can you 
expand upon this idea? How would I use another person to conduct 
my research without this person doing my research for me? If I 
were to use another person for my research, would my research be 
based on their observations and not mine? I am the one who needs 
to be conducting the research and not someone else.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Justin Williams via NABS-L
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2017 8:46 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Cc: Justin Williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Seeking Opinions on Blind Research 
Techniques

You could have someone go with you.  It would be aloud as an 
accommodation.
You could have the professor or disability help you find someone, 
or you could find your own person.
You might have to pay them.  Such as paying another college 
student, or a classmate.
 Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Elizabeth Mohnke via NABS-L
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2017 8:43 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>; social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org
Cc: Elizabeth Mohnke <lizmohnke at hotmail.com
Subject: [nabs-l] Seeking Opinions on Blind Research Techniques

Hello All,

I hope everyone is off to a good start to the beginning of a new 
semester. I would like to participate in a service learning 
project for an anthropology class I am taking this semester, and 
I am wondering if anyone has any tips or advice on conducting 
participant observational research for social science classes.

The research includes twelve visits observing a first grader 
during lunch at a local elementary school. We are then asked to 
propose a specific research topic related to behavior and food, 
and write a paper based on our observations along with some 
scholarly resources.

I have never conducted participant observational research before, 
so I am not completely sure how I would be able to do this as a 
blind student. Since observing other people includes both visual 
and non-visual aspects of the environment and the people in it, 
what would be the best way for me to be able to obtain the visual 
aspects of the environment and the people in it as a blind 
student while conducting my research?

Some suggested specific topics for the research paper include 
food waste, peer pressure related to food choices, socialization 
during eating periods, physical movement during eating periods, 
gender differences, influence of authority over food choices, 
aesthetic presentation of food and its relationship to food 
choices, and marketing related to food choices.

If anyone knows how I could successfully conduct a participant 
observational research project as a blind student, I would 
greatly appreciate hearing from you. However, please note there 
is also a more traditional research paper assignment for any 
student who does not wish to complete the service learning 
project. So this research project is simply an option that I 
would like to be able to do if I can figure out a way to be able 
to do it as a blind student.

Thanks,
Elizabeth
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