Curate, connect, and discover
So, I have finally been dipping into the book entitled 'Doing Your Research Project'. The one that is hailed as the 'traditional' approach. We have talked about some different approaches to research in our classes, but still I feel a bit stuck between styles. I like the ideas of 'Action Research', yet I am not really trying to challenge anything or change anything about the job I am doing, because it is not my job, it is an independent project. Yet, I think I have been calling what I am doing action research just for the fact that I am aiming to make a 'product' (in other-words a trail) myself as part of my learning about what makes an effective community trail.
I am also quite intrigued by the 'narrative inquiry' approach. I like the ideas of it, but my question is whether I can be a good storyteller or not! I am looking for stories for my project - stories about the park - and looking into other people's trails that they have created, which are stories - and psychogeography itself seems to have its roots in stories - which I must check out - and I am indeed blogging the process so there is some hope that the narrative approach could be incorporated in my study and writing.
Apologies for the very obvious nature of this entry. I am probably not sounding like an MA student!!
In other news, as they say, I've started listening to the radio for the duration of this assignment (ok, as of yesterday) in order to concentrate on the medium of the spoken word - to consider its potential and gain inspiration.
Questions I have been thinking all along, but came to me quite strongly on the underground yesterday are - and these are exactly how I typed them and so don't always make perfect sense, but it is a snippet of my thoughts in action - mostly on te theme of what questions I might ask makers of trails: 'Good practice and effective community trail? Effective for who? The listener or the maker and the community? Or all? What benefits have ppl found? I am looking into alternatives too because can gain inspiration from them... What types are there?! Was there a reason for making a community trail as opposed to another form of interpretation/ engagement? For you what are the positives of making a community trail?'
My next task is to send out the questionnaires and also the text I have been working on to try and recruit participants. I've ordered my digital recorder at last! The Tascam dr-40! Fingers crossed it arrives ok, it works and that I can work out how to use it properly as well as of course get the good stories to record!
Okay, for now it is onwards with reading some articles we were given in class a couple of weeks back about research styles and then for some more reading of my intro to psychogeography book and hopefully a listen of some of the audio trails that people sent me and that I won't be able to go and try them out on the spot as such. I am still hoping for an improvement in weather again to go and try out the trails in location!!!