Limitations of the Data

Literacy Levels

Participants were not screened for literacy skills. What we know is what they told us. While some participants said they were good readers with good comprehension skills, we do not know what types or level of material they were reading and referring to. Some participants referred to specific tests, as in “I have a Grade 10 education but tests rate me reading at university level.” Others told us they have no problem writing, yet others claimed to be terrible writers and spellers, as in “I do not spell. At all.” Their selfassessments may be skewed to either side of reality.

We did not pursue any kind of assessment, since our definition of “little formal education” resided in participants’ lack of regular Grade 12 completion, not their ability to read and write.

Interviewing: Response Accuracy

The data collection tool we chose, interviews, focuses on participants’ perceptions and experiences and that is what we captured. We had not anticipated determining accuracy of responses, as this would entail different data collection techniques. We were very pleased with the information people were willing to share with us and with the sincerity that they expressed in their answers. However, some of us wondered about the accuracy of some of the responses, mostly those related to the use of computers and libraries as learning resources. They seemed to be brought up as a learning strategy that could be used although the participants did not actually possess the skills to use them. For example, a participant might answer that if he wanted to learn something about diabetes, he would go to the library. However, if the answer was probed and he was asked if he had a library card and currently used the library, he would answer no. Therefore, what participants said they would do to learn something new and what they actually would do might in fact be different. We are not suggesting that the participants were “lying”—rather just that their ideas of what they would do to learn something and what they would actually do in order to learn something were different.

Transcriptions

Interviews were tape-recorded. We discussed the possibility of verbatim transcription. As we could not possibly imagine transcribing the conversations word by word because of the time and energy this would entail, we agreed to take accurate notes of the tapes.

A problem with this method arose later in the process. Researchers felt they should have gone back to the original tapes for complete quotes once they had identified themes and areas of focus. Everyone understood they would go back to the original tapes to accurately document specific quotes, but some felt they might have missed some good things, particularly in each other’s data. Then when they did return to the tapes they were reminded that what they had come to think of as quotes turned out to be only notes. While they were rigorous notes, they were not transcriptions. Completing the transcriptions, even just for the quotes they would each be using, was again a tedious job.