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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Hello Elizabeth,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">You could team up with a sighted student, or bring an observer with you. It’s the same problem as you would have if you had to read a printed page, and there were no devices to help. Establish in advance, the
kinds of events you want the observer to observe. I imagine that you would be looking for a frequency count of behavior. Very rarely is research conducted without some questions mapped out, in advance. Even Jane Goodall, probably had some questions that
she was hoping to answer, before ever observing any chimpanzee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">All The Best<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Paul Gabias PhD LLD<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> Social-sciences-list [mailto:social-sciences-list-bounces@nfbnet.org]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Elizabeth Mohnke via Social-sciences-list<br>
<b>Sent:</b> January-26-17 5:43 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> National Association of Blind Students mailing list; social-sciences-list@nfbnet.org<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Elizabeth Mohnke<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Social-sciences-list] Seeking Opinions on Blind Research Techniques<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hello All,<span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Elizabeth<o:p></o:p></p>
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