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essentially a conversational population from which I could later extract episodes of heightened sociable interaction. Second, it provided me with conversational context which could be drawn upon in the analytical stages. In addition, on replaying the tapes, capturing as much of the interaction as possible would give me some sense of the ebb and flow of events, some 'feel' for the gatherings beyond that which I may have derived from mere co-presence. Above all, recording in this way provided a permanent 'record' of what had been said. In addition to the collection of conversational data, I carried what is generically referred to as participant observation. Participant observation is a rather grand title for the exercise I actually engaged during my presence in these sociable settings. This involved taking observational notes in situ and post gatherings. By and large however, these were limited in both quantity and quality. There was an interesting distinction to be made between this activity in English settings and that in German settings. In the former, my observations of conversational interaction seemed rather unproblematic, in that I could observe 'behind' the interaction as it were. The interaction itself involved little cognitive effort -I just 'got involved' as the others did. In the German settings things were a little different. Here, observation took the form of a type of 'practical PO' or ethno PO: My observations directly informed my actions in an attempt to 'do sociability right'. In this sense, my observations of German gatherings yielded more new and perhaps even more pertinent aspects of the milieu that I was in. Caveats aside, I contend recollections of observations do provide an overview of things that weren't recorded or selected. The results of this ethnographic technique are perhaps best illustrated in Chapter 5. A second additional method that I employed that I am even more hesitant about posited as 'method'was the consultation with my wife, Elke. Throughout and subsequent to the data gathering phase, I seldom consulted with participants themselves regarding the nature of their comments and involvement in the interaction. However, I regularly 'checked' my observations with Elke for verification and validation. In this sense, Elke can be regarded as my'key informant'. Finally, much of the analysis that is carried out in Chapters 5 to 7 below is frequently embedded in more anecdotal evidence from my own past experience in both settings. This does carry at least some validity, as it is 1 or-
largely anecdotal evidence from which the research questions for this study have emerged. Further, I feel that any omission of my own 'extra-thesis' observations would be a waste of good data, and possibly unethical. These additional perspectives - at least as peripheral methods - will add to the overall picture that will emerge in later chapters, providing contextual information (alongside conversational through the continuous recording procedure, both situational through my own personal knowledge of the setting, its participants, and relations between them, and cultural through consultation with my wife). This is in line with what is commonly termed 'Ethnography of communication' (see Hymes 1974), and has successfully been employed in previous seminal cross-cultural work (e. g. Moerman 1988)9. 4.3 Management and Initial Analysis of Conversational Data After recording, an initial note was made as to when and where the recording took place, the nature of the gathering (e. g. domestic birthday gathering, informal meal, general 'get-together), who was present, any missing data (e. g. if the tape / mike was accidentally turned off for any period), and any other observational notes or contextual information not manifest in the talk itself. Each tape was given a code (Gl; G2 etc. for German tapes and El; E2 etc. for English tapes). Labels were attached to all tapes and the plastic 'record' tabs removed. The initial analysis of the conversational data involved several stages. The first of these was essentially a combination of 'close listening' and 'ear auditing'. As soon as possible after each recording, I played back each cassette in full. As well as giving me an idea of what I had actually recorded, this initial listening allowed me to 'audit' each tape by identifying episodes of focused conversational interaction and of those, episodes that were a) of some length, b) audible, and c) clear enough to allow later transcription. Essentially I was looking for episodes where I heard some theme or topic to be collectively taken up and developed by the group; something that I assumed could have been referred to after the interaction as 'having been talked about'. Using the tape 107
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essentially a conversational population from which I could later extract episodes<br />
<strong>of</strong> heightened sociable interaction. Second, it provided me with conversational<br />
context which could be drawn upon in the analytical stages. In addition, on<br />
replaying the tapes, capturing as much <strong>of</strong> the interaction as possible would give<br />
me some sense <strong>of</strong> the ebb and flow <strong>of</strong> events, some 'feel' for the gatherings<br />
beyond that which I may have derived from mere co-presence. Above all,<br />
recording in this way provided a permanent 'record' <strong>of</strong> what had been said.<br />
In addition to the collection <strong>of</strong> conversational data, I carried what is<br />
generically referred to as participant observation. Participant observation is a<br />
rather grand title for the exercise I actually engaged during my presence in<br />
these sociable settings. This involved taking observational notes in situ and post<br />
gatherings. By and large however, these were limited in both quantity and<br />
quality. There was an interesting distinction to be made between this activity in<br />
English settings and that in German settings. In the former, my observations <strong>of</strong><br />
conversational interaction seemed rather unproblematic, in that I could observe<br />
'behind' the interaction as it were. The interaction itself involved little cognitive<br />
effort -I just 'got involved' as the others did. In the German settings things were<br />
a little different. Here, observation took the form <strong>of</strong> a type <strong>of</strong> 'practical PO' or<br />
ethno PO: My observations directly informed my actions in an attempt to 'do<br />
sociability right'. In this sense, my observations <strong>of</strong> German gatherings yielded<br />
more new and perhaps even more pertinent aspects <strong>of</strong> the milieu that I was in.<br />
Caveats aside, I contend recollections <strong>of</strong> observations do provide an overview<br />
<strong>of</strong> things that weren't recorded or selected. The results <strong>of</strong> this ethnographic<br />
technique are perhaps best illustrated in Chapter 5.<br />
A second additional method that I employed that I am even more hesitant<br />
about posited as 'method'was the consultation with my wife, Elke. Throughout<br />
and subsequent to the data gathering phase, I seldom consulted with<br />
participants themselves regarding the nature <strong>of</strong> their comments and<br />
involvement in the interaction. However, I regularly 'checked' my observations<br />
with Elke for verification and validation. In this sense, Elke can be regarded as<br />
my'key informant'. Finally, much <strong>of</strong> the analysis that is carried out in Chapters 5<br />
to 7 below is frequently embedded in more anecdotal evidence from my own<br />
past experience in both settings. This does carry at least some validity, as it is<br />
1 or-