Imagine that you are preparing to conduct a series of interviews in a rural community in the Philippines. Through reading
and speaking with experts and members of this community you learn the following about the culture in which you are planning to do your research. People are unaccustomed to
being asked a series of questions in sequence and responding in a regimented manner.
People are uncomfortable discussing personal opinions or behaviors with a stranger with whom there will be no future relationship. People are more comfortable speaking in a
conversational manner in which each person discloses information and contributes to managing the process and content of the conversation. People may be uncomfortable alone with a stranger, particularly if the stranger is of a different gender or social status.
Directions 1. In an essay, describe how you would modify your university’s principles of
research (see the above three bullets under Research Principles) in order to effectively
conduct your interviews? Which research methods would you be willing to reconsider
and which principles would you continue to uphold? Why? Pe-Pua (1989, 2006) and
others have described a social science research method indigenous to the Philippines
called Pagtatanong-tanong. According to Pe-Pua, Pagtatanong-tanong has some of the
following characteristics: The researcher uses a tentative outline of questions that are
revised based on input from the participants. The researcher and the participants share
equally in determining the content and structure of the interview. A relationship is
established between the researcher and the participants such that the participants feel
comfortable asking the researcher questions and expect that they may have contact with
the researcher in the future. The research starts interviewing with a group of participants.
Interruptions in the interview process are not seen as distractions, but as an opportunity
to check on the reliability of information obtained. 2. After reading about these terms in
the textbook, in your own words, define reliability and validity. What expectations do you
have about the validity of the information you would collect in the rural community in the
Philippines using the Pagtatanong-tanong method? How can cultural biases impact
validity of findings? Which of the five types of bias (pp. 44-51 in your textbook) might you
have to be especially careful of in studying this group (at least 2)?