Tentative Idea for Ethnography

For this project, I plan to work with Alyssa Nabors and Cindy Skach. For the first week, we want to try individually one of our ideas. Then, at the end of the week, we want to compare and discuss how the first week went and decide which of the ideas would be able to provide the best option for the ethnography project.

(Original Idea) Use of electronic devices, such as cellphones and music devices, v. reading or other activities while riding the bus. Since I moved offcampus and started riding the bus on my way to/from campus, it always amazes me that more than half of the students riding the bus will be using such electronic devices.

1) What type of group of people are you planning to study? 

     Students that use the bus as their way of transportation to and from school.

2) What do you want to or expect to learn from these people?

     Why do students rather keep to themselves and utilize electronic devices instead of socializing or engaging in other activities such as reading, writing, etch.

3) How you are going to study them two hours per week?

     I already spend around 30-40 min a day riding the bus. Since before this assignment was presented, I would already observe and think about the students' behavior.

4) What quantitative data would you record?

    - the number of students who are engaging in different types of activities (talking on the phone, listening to music, playing games on their cellphones or ipods, reading, talking to other students, etc)

    - how many female against how many males

    - apparent classification (maybe distinguished by how many are wearing their Aggie rings)

5) What qualitative data would you record?

    - maybe I can observe if there is any sign of interaction between the students using electronic devices with the rest of the students, or not at all. And the same for those students that are not using electronic devices, or engaging in any other activity.

6) How are you planning to interact with the people you are observing?

     - since we are all students and are able to spend at least 15 to 20 min sitting or standing right next to each it would be easy to start a conversation with any of them.