Audio Essay: Approach to Truth

This pages features a new, experimental concept-the 'audio essay'. This essay aims to apply the methods of qualitative research methodology to our experiences during the production of our documentaries. The bottom of the page features an explanation of the relationship between my own approach to audio documentary production and principles of qualitative and ethnogrpahic research. The main part of the page presents a series of radio talks which reflect different aspects of my experience during the process. Each talk uses certain concepts within the social research framework which are explained on the side panel. The combination of the theory in text and appplication in audio should hopefully come together as a meaningful whole to the reader/listener.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Approach to Truth

Based on the theory I have read which combines audio journalism with qualitative research methods, I have formulated my own approach to truth. This approach shaped the processes involved in the production of the documentary. This first commentary explains how this was done.

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Important Concepts

Triangulation:

This is the use of a wide variety of sources and methods of interpretation in order to avoid personal bias and superficiality (Christians, 2004). The three perspectives that can be taken during triangulation are historical, synchronic and theoretical views of an issue (Christians, 2004). Denzin and Lincoln (in Christians, 2004) describe triangulation as “the display of multiple, refracted realities simultaneously” (p49).

Interpretive Sufficiency:

This is the aim for truth in journalism which, instead of striving to be objective, aims to serve as “authentic disclosure” (Christians, 2004, p46). This kind of truth incorporates the context, motives and presuppositions of situations into its definition (Bonhoeffer in Christians, 2004).

Validity:

There are two types of validity-external and internal. External validity involves a naturalistic observer who doesn’t generalize but represents the class or social unit to which their subject properly belongs (Christians, 2004). Internal validity involves interpretive accounts which should reflect genuine features of a situation and not the conclusions of the researcher (Christians, 2004).

Deliberative Naïveté:

This is the absence of preconceived ideas or presuppositions about the subject or matter as the interview enters into the process with an open mind (Kvale, 1996).

Narrative:

A narrative is a story that is factual but uses fictional story telling techniques to tell a story about a person or group and how they change over time (Beach in Scanlan, 2003). Winburn (in Scanlan, 2003) describes narrative as storytelling where the narrator makes sense of the action for the reader because they have the authority, based in their reporting, to do the interpretations. (See Scanlan, C. 2003. What is Narrative, Anyway?, www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=49550)

Audio Essay

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Approach to Truth

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