Page 432 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

the research is in revealing what Community Conversations accomplish, what participants gain

and experience, and how participants and facilitators in the dialogue appreciate in the moment.

Data collected for this research will result from interviews with participants and facilitators

of recent Community Conversations and I will be examining data from past dialogue gatherings.

Separate interviews with participant and facilitator volunteers will take place one of three ways:

in person, using the telephone, or using internet communication (i.e., Skype, Zoom, etc.). The

scheduling of interviews will be at the convenience of the volunteer and arranged to coincide with

recent Community Conversations so that they will be ‘fresh’ to evaluate & follow-up.

Interview Process Overview

The intent of the interview will be to gather data about how participants and facilitators

experience engagement while being present to their own thoughts, feelings, word usage and

expressed actions in the course of engaging in an invited group dialogue. The interviewer will use

a set of prepared questions, which will serve to guide the conversation between the researcher and

interviewee. Each interview will last 60 to 90 minutes and take place in a manner that is convenient

to the participant.

Each interview participant will choose how the researcher will record the interview; using

handwritten notes and/or an audio/video recording device. After the interview a transcript is

developed. The transcript will include a code in place of the name of the interviewee, so that

participants remain anonymous.

Participants can receive a draft of the transcript for review, corrections and revisions. Once the

participant reviews, and if necessary edits the transcript, it will be coded for this study by the

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