Learning Journal 11

This past week has brought on several new discoveries for me! First, I decided on a book that I want to read for my Book Review, called "Becoming Tongan."  It's all about the Tongan family and I feel like it will be very beneficial in my research on the family.  I think this is a great opportunity to help me gain a little bit of insight, and if nothing else, have some conversation starters for my encounters/interviews with the Tongan people.

Another thing that I learned this week was the importance of preparing good questions before going into an interview and learning how to be a good interviewer.  Obviously, I haven't mastered the skill by reading a couple of articles and practicing a couple of interviews, but I think it's very beneficial to gain an idea of what you can do to make your experience better.  I'm very excited for the opportunity I will have to sit down with the Tongan people and ask them questions about their families and their views on things.  I think one of the most important things I learned about that though, is the importance of guiding the interview and keeping it some what structured while still tailoring it for the situation at hand. I think I learned that it's actually ok to change your questions around a little based on the answers that the interviewee gives and that you don't have to stick to strict number or order of questions, etc.  I think that keeping this in mind can really help you to have more successful interviews and help the person you are talking to want to open up more.

Lastly, I changed the topic that I will be studying around and am taking a different angle on studying the family.  Instead of studying aggression, I am going to ask the Tongan people multiple different questions about family life in Tonga and get a general consensus of what the family norms are like.  I am hoping to gain insights into the norms of Tongan courtship,marriage, pregnancy, child discipline, gender roles, along with a few other things.  I think that this project will allow me much more flexibility and will help me to gain a broader understanding of several aspects of the family rather than one specific thing.  I'm really excited about this topic and think it will make a successful project in Tonga!