Even though I am conducting interviews for my research project, I have not thought of what the field for my subject of research--audiobooks--should be or where I should conduct these interviews. After hearing Professor Hartel's lecture I started to feel overwhelmed because people who have mp3 players can listen to audiobooks anywhere! Also, I suspect that many people who listen to audiobooks use the internet to access them, rather than borrowing CDs or cassettes from the library. These new aspects that I have to consider for my research are overwhelming me but are also exciting me because I can imagine someone on their computer showing me their audiobook collection with glee just like Professor Hartel's participants were happy to show her their cookbook collections (2010). One quasi-solution to the overwhelming scope of my research topic is to interview people in the library where the interviewee can choose the location to conduct the interview. To illustrate, if the interviewee regularly borrows audiobooks in CD format, then we could go to that section and I could take pictures of that area while we interview. Similarly, if the interviewee mostly borrows audiobooks in
mp3 format, then we could go to a computer, where I can take screen shots of the interviewee using audiobook applications and websites. Overall, I am excited that I am learning, in their basic form, some ethnographic tools to both complicate and enhance my research project.
References
Hartel, J. (2010). Managing documents at home for serious leisure: A case study of the hobby of gourmet cooking. Journal of Documentation, 66(6), 847-874.
Roosen, J (Photographer). (2008). Walk [Photograph]. Retrieved October 25, 2013 from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeproosen/
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