Page 228 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

Through interviews with dialogue group members, I endeavored to discern how the

interviewee experienced the Metasphere of the dialogue talking from their perspective as

participant or facilitator, as a first time or repeat attendee. A list of proposed questions served as

an interview guide (See Appendix). However, additional questions, as needed and based on the

interviewee response were added to clarify, probe and expand statements and details during the

course of the interview which was conducted as a friendly casual conversation.

While I did not conduct formal interviews during the dialogue event (which would have

interrupted the experience) and affected the venue Metasphere, I did document what I observed

about the participant interactions, dialogue settings and venues using field notes. The field notes

were used to inform the data gathered from the participant interviews. Field notes are commonly

defined as written records of observational data based on fieldwork (Hammersley & Atkinson,

2007; Jackson, 1990) used to document social interactions and the context in which they occur.

Because of sizable attendance, there were many instances where I was not able to observe

every breakout group, so interviewees were asked to describe the dialogue they participated in, I

included questions about their table, the venue, and the details about the setting during the

interview process.

Descriptions by the interviewees of the setting for the various Community dialogue

engagements were used to situate the physical environment and spaces where the dialogues were

convened. Asking the participant or facilitator to describe the setting was a good way to begin the

conversation and situate them within the deliberative dialogue group. All interviews were recorded

using a digital audio tape recorder or hand-written notes based on the preference and prior consent

of the participant. Before coding, the transcribed interview notes were given or sent by email to

the appropriate interviewee for review, revision, and correction.

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